Each Congregational church is a self-gov erning body, capable of choosing its own offi cers, expressing its creed in such forms as seem best to it, determining the conditions for the admission of its members, and ordering its public worship as it deems most fitting. But while a Congregational church is a self-govern ing democracy, Congregationalism, always in the United States, and increasingly in Great Britain, has insisted that its churches are knit together in sisterly fellowship, and owe, there fore, to one another, advice in all matters of importance, discipline in evident error and mutual helpfulness. Hence in questions of serious ecclesiastical concern such as the set tlement or dismissal of a pastor, the manage ment of a case of discipline which the local church finds it impossible to handle, the or ganization of a new church, and the like, Con gregational usage in the United States, though not in Great Britain, requires the summons of an "advisory council" composed of a variable number of churches, chiefly from the vicinity, which are represented in the council by their pastors and a delegate each. These councils oftentimes also include a few individuals sum moned by name as experts in the matter under consideration. By such an "advisory council," met for the particular occasion, advice is given; and, though this advice is not obligatory, it is seldom that the opinion of such a council is disregarded.
Membership in a Congregational church is conditioned on the vote of the local church itself, in view of the candidate's profession of faith in Christ, evident determination to live a Christian life and acceptance of the covenant obligations of Christian service in connection with the local company of Christian disciples of which he desires to become a member. While all matters of concern in a local congregation al-e determined, ultimately, by the votes of the membership, Congregational churches transact their business chiefly through the use of cotn inittees, and a standing uprudential committee* to assist the pastor and deacons is appointed in naost churches of numerous membership.
But while each church is thus free to estab lish such a test of the faith of candidates for its membership as it deems proper, Congrega tionalists in representative assemblies or in a more informal way have always been ready to testify to their faith of public creed declara tions. Examples of such witness-bearing have been the approval of the doctrinal portion of the Westminster Confession by the New Eng land churches by the Cambridge Synod in 1648; the modification of that confession by delegates of the English churches gathered at the uSavoy,* London, in 1658, and it's publica tion as the ((Savoy Declaration*• and the sub stantial confirmation of this udeclaration* by the churches of Massachusetts in 1680, and of C,onnecticut in 1708. Later examples of the same readiness of Congregationalists to wit ness to their beliefs is seen in the aPrincipks of Religion)) adopted by the "Congregational Union of England and Wales* in 18,33; the uBurial Hill Declaration') approved hy the uNational Council') of the "United States. in 1865; the uCommission Creed* issued by a committee of the same American body in 1883 and the brief statehient of faith and polity prefixed to the constituticm adopted by the National Council which met at Kansas City in 1913. All of these statements have been re
garded, however, as testimonies rather than as tests of ministerial fitness or church-fellowship.
Aside from its representation in the United States, Congregationalism is strongly en trenched in Great Britain, where its adherents are often lcnown by the name ((Independents.* The churches of this order in Great Britain are grouped together in . county and ' district ((Unions') and uAssociations* and are repre sented in the "Congregational Union of Eng land and Wales') and the ((Congregational Union of Scotland.* In general, however, the Congregational churches of Great Britain have emphasized mutual accountability and organ ization into representative bodies much less than those of the United States. Congrega tionalism is creditably represented in the Dominion of Canada and' in Austria, as well as an missionary soil, where the two extensive Congregational missionary agencies, the ((Amer ican Board,* and the uLondon Missionary So-' clety," have labored. An °International Coun cil,* representative of all lands in which Con gregationalism has found a home, held its first' session at London in 1891, its second at Bos ton in 1899 and its third at Edinburgh in 1908.
Congregationalists in foreign countries num-' bered 666,669 on 1 Jan. 1914, of whom by far the larger number are in the British Isles. There are: In England and V7ales 451,457 " Scotland 35,666 " South AiriC8 22,427 " japan 16,105 and the rest in other countries.
The Congregationalists of the United States reckoned their communicants at 763,182 in 1915, with 6,093 churches and 5,923 ministers. The enrolment in Congregational Sunday-schools of the United States in 1915 was 757,873. The home expenses of the churches of the United States for the year 1914 were $10,716,311- their benevolent contributionsin 1914 were $2,2'72,040.
The ((American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions* by which the missionary work of Congregational churches of the United States is carried on reported the following sta tistics for the year 1915: Mission stations, 103; out stations, 1,458; American missionaries, 656; native laborers, 4,777; churches, 676; communi cants (members), 80,844, of w-hom 5,834 had been added during the previous 12 months. The uLondon Missionary Society,* through which the foreign work of the churches of Great Britain is chiefly carried on, reported, during the same period, 1,730 stations and out sta tions, 480 missionaries, 6,987 native laborers and a church membership of 8Z319, of whom 4,000 had been added the previous year.
'While the title ((Congregational* designates a particular fellowship of churches, or religious denomination, in the United States and Great Britain, the Congregational form of church organization, especially in its aspect of the self-government of the local congregation, is that of many other religious bodies, notably of the Baptists, the Christians, the Unitarians and of certain branches of the Adventists, and Lu therans, so that the Congregational polity is much more widely extended than the adherents of the churches which officially or popularly bear the Congregational narne.