EVANGELICAL ALLIANCE, a voluntary association of members of the different sections of the Christian Church, organized in London 19-23 Aug. 1846. At this meeting was adopted a doctrinal basis, which is, in effect, the recogni tion by the members of the divine inspiration, authority and sufficiency of the Holy Scriptures; the right of private judgment in their interpre tation; the unity of the Godhead and the Trinity of persons therein; the doctrine of human depravity in consequence of the fall; the incarnation, atonement, intercession and media tonal reign of the Son of God; justification by faith alone • the work of the Holy Spirit in con version and santification; the immortality of the soul, the resurrection of the body and the final judgment of the world, resulting in the eternal blessedness of the righteous and the eternal punishment of the wicked; the divine institution of the Christian ministry; and the obligation and perpetuation of the ordinances of baptism and the Lord's Supper. The organization thus commenced has since been extended throughout Protestant Christendom. Branch alliances have
been formed in Great Britain, Germany, France, Switzerland, Sweden, the United States, Australia, and among missionaries in Turkey, India, Brazil and Japan. These national branches are related to each other as members of a confederation having equal rights. The whole alliance appears in active operation only when it meets in general conferences having the character of Protestant ecumenical councils, but claiming only moral and spiritual power. The American branch of the alliance was or ganized in 1867. Conferences of the entire alliance have been held in 1851, 1855, 1857, 1861, 1867, 1873, 1879, 1885, 1891, 1896 1907, that of 1873 having met in New York. American branch held a conference at Chicago in October 1893. The alliance has aided largely in the promotion of religious liberty in Europe and the East. Consult 'Reports' of the conferences; and Arnold, 'History of the Evangelical Alli ance' (London 1897).