Presbyterianism

In 1833 the Reformed Presbyterian Church divided into New and Old Lights on the question as to whether their members may properly exercise the rights of citizenship under the U.S. Consti tution.

III. The Modern Period (Since the Civil

War).—Several important church unions mark this period. In the South, under the stress of the Civil War, the two branches that had seceded from the Old and the New School Assemblies, namely, the Pres byterian Church in the Confederate States of America and the United Synod of the Presbyterian Church, united in 1865, and at the close of the war adopted the name of the Presbyterian Church in the United States. In the North also, after several years of friendly negotiations, the Old School and the New School united in 1869 on the basis of "the standards pure and simple," and commemorated the happy event by raising a memorial fund of over $7,000,000. In 1906 the Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. united with the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, and in 1920 with the Welsh Calvinistic Methodists.

In 1902 the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. adopted a "Brief Statement of the Reformed Faith," not as an addition to its standards, but rather for popular use as an interpretation of its Confession, and the next year it made several amendments to this Confession, adopted a "Declaratory Statement" as to Chapters iii. and x., and added two new chapters, entitled "Of the Holy Spirit" and "Of the Love of God and Missions." The Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. administers its national and international affairs, other than those committed by its Gen eral Assembly to its four benevolent boards, to which reference will be made below, through the office of the General Assembly (five departments—administration, vacancy and supply, publicity, church co-operation and union, and historical) which has as its permanent executive head the stated clerk of the General Assem bly; and through the General Council (23 members) of which the moderator of the General Assembly is, ex-officio, chairman (one year term) and the stated clerk secretary by election.

The Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. has, under the super vision of the board of foreign missions, important missions in Africa, Mesopotamia, Persia, Syria, India, Siam, China, Japan, Chosen, Laos, Latin America and the Philippine Islands. Besides this board, it has, since the consolidations (1923) of its many agencies, three other boards, those for national missions (six di visions), Christian education (eight departments), and ministerial pensions ($15,000,000 fund raised, 1927), each of which boards carries on a work comparable in importance with that conducted by the board of foreign missions.

The Presbyterian Church in the U.S. (Southern) unlike the Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A., works not through "boards," but through executive committees, which were formerly more loosely organized, and which left to the presbyteries the more direct control of their activities, but which now differ little from the boards of the Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. The Pres

byterian Church in the U.S. has executive committees on foreign missions, home missions, publication and Sabbath school work, Christian education and ministerial relief, men's work, advisory committee on education, Protestant relief in Europe, Bible cause, reformation day and a permanent judicial committee, which re port to the General Assembly annually.

The United Presbyterian Church of North America has a board of foreign missions, a board of home missions, a board of publi cation and Bible school work, a board of education and a board of ministerial pensions and relief, and a woman's guild and missionary society.

In 1928 the Presbyterian bodies, nine in number, reported 2,800,000 communicant members while other closely related bodies reported 550,00o additional communicants. The Presbyterian Church in the United States of America, the largest of the Presby terian bodies, reported 1,962,838 communicant members; 9,432 churches; 10,013 ministers; 1,614,013 Sabbath school members; total benevolences $15,642,508; total congregational expenses $48,956,022. The next largest body, the Presbyterian Church in the United States (Southern), reported 444,657 communicant members; churches; 2,342 ministers; 431,065 Sabbath school members; total benevolences $5,520,285; congregational expenses $10,306,188. The United Presbyterian Church of North America reported 238,240 communicant members; 898 churches; 927 min isters; 182,304 Sabbath school members; total benevol ences ; $4,254,717 congregational expenses.

BIBLIOGRAPHY.

On American Presbyterianism see C. Hodge, Con stitutional History of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America 1706-1788 (Philadelphia, 2839), Records of the Presby terian Church in the United States of America from 1706 to 1788 (Philadelphia, 1841) ; R. Webster, History of the Presbyterian Church in America (ibid., 1858) ; E. H. Gillett, History of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America (2nd ed., ibid., 1873) ; C. A. Briggs, American Presbyterianism (1885) ; R. E. Thompson, "History of the Presbyterian Churches in the United States" in American Church History Series, vol. vi. (1895 ; a good bibliography, pp. 11-31) ; in the same series vol. xi., "The United Presbyterians" by J. B. Scouller, "The Cumberland Presbyterians" by R. N. Foster and "The Southern Presbyterians" by T. C. Johnson; R. C. Reed, History of the Presbyterian Churches of the World (Philadelphia, 1905) ; E. B. Crisman, Origin and Doctrines of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church (St. Louis, 1877) ; W. M. Glasgow, History of the Reformed Presby terian Church in America (Baltimore, 1888) ; A. Blaikie, A History of Presbyterianism in New England (Boston, 1882), on the Reunion of 1869, Presbyterian Reunion, A Memorial Volume (1871) ; on church law, The Presbyterian Digest, 2 vol. and sup. (Philadelphia, 1928).

(L. S. M.)