Fellowship Between the Churches.—While each congregation is autonomous, Congregation alism believes that it is the duty of each local church to consult neighboring churches in mat ters of importance. This feature of Congrega tional practice has attained a larger development in America than in England, and is chiefly mani fested by the 'advisory councils,' which Ainerican Congregationalism :s employed since the time of the first settlers on New England soil. Though given a place in the theoretic exposition of early English Congregationalism, the 'advisory coun cil' of America has no exact counterpart in mod ern British usage. Such ecclesiastical acts as the formation of a church, the settlement or dis missal of a pastor. and the consideration of cases of discipline from which quarrel and divi.
sion have resulted, are judged by American Con gregationalism to demand the advice of neigh boring churches. At the request of a church, or of a party in a divided church, the representa tives of neighboring churches meet in an 'advis ory council'—a temporary body assembled to con sider the particular case. Its composition de pends solely on the invitation, and may be drawn from a distance. though usage regards a council the majority of the membership of which is not from the vicinage as seriously irregular. Its authority is not judicial, but its advice is seldom disregarded. On completing its work, an 'advisory council' is dissolved, and the min utes are left with the church with which it met. No member of the council is taken from the church which calls it. The council does not re port to any other organization than the church which asks its advice.
Early Congregationalism in England and America recognized the desirability of gather ings representing the communion as a whole in occasional important exigencies. Thus, the min isters and delegates of the New England churches gathered at Cambridge, Mass., in 1637, when the supposed heresies aroused by Mrs. Anne Ilutehinson were considered, and again in 16-16 48, when English religious polities induced them to formulate their system of church govermnent in the 'Cambridge Platform.' The favor which English Congregationalists experienced from Cromwell induced an assembly at the Savoy Palace, London, in 1658, which set forth Congre gational faith and practice. Besides these gen eral gatherings, meetings of representatives of colonies and districts were held as necessity re quired. Massachusetts called such assemblies to consider the propel- recipients of baptism in 1662, and to find remedies for the declining state of religion in 1079-80. Connecticut sum moned such a gathering in the height of the ex citement of the 'Great Awakening' in 1741. Less formal and distinctly ecclesiastical, but never theless a factor of weight in the religious life of the province, was the annual convention of min isters of Massaelmsetts which met from early Colonial days, at the time of the May election.
Permanent Organiz-ations.—Local stated meet ings of ministers for discussion of matters of ecclesiastical interest existed in England the Commonwealth, and were introduced into Massachusetts in 1690. By 1705 there were five such associations in the province, by which candi dates for the ministerial office were examined and licensed; and in 1708 the system was extended to Connecticut, where, besides these local gatherings, an association representative of the whole Col ony was formed that has assembled annually from 1709 to the present time. Similar State bodies were organized in Vermont in 1795, in Massachusetts in 1803, in New lIampshire in 1809, and have since extended everywhere where Congregationalism has gone in America, while minor local meetings, often coextensive with county lines in their const..ueney, are universal
in American Congregational practice. During the early part of the nineteenth century, how ever, the feeling was strongly manifest that these stated meetings, which were at first of ministers only, should he made really representative bodies by the admission of delegates of churches. This has been widely accomplished. In each State, and in most subdivisions of States, where Con gregationalism is organized, there is now a body meeting for discussion at least once a year, and composed of the pastors and the elected delegates of the chi:relies. The pressing questions of the decade previous to the Civil War led to the gathering at Albany, in 1832, of the first eon vent ion representative of American Congrega tionalism as a whole that had assembled since 1048; and at Boston, in 1865, a similar repre sentative council was held. In 1871 the "Na tional Council of the Congregational Chin-dies of the States" was formed. This body has since met regularly every third year, and can hold special sessions at any time at the re quest of any five State organizations of churches. Its membership is elected by the local and State bodies into which the churches are grouped, and the number of delegates chosen is propor tionate to the number of local churches and of the communicants in the bodies by which they are appointed. The decisions of the National Council, like those of the smaller bodies into which the Congregational churches of the United States are grouped, are not mandatory or judi cial; but the free discussion of matters of com mon concern, their investigation by competent committees, and the recommendation of courses of action by vote, have much weight with the churches. The churches of Canada are not con stituents of this 'National Council,' but are organized in the 'Congregational Unions' of `Ontario and Quebec' and of 'Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.' In the United States, Congregational churches are normally united by permanent representative bodies of three kinds, the larger in a true sense superior to the smaller: ( 1 ) The local associa tion or conference; (2) the State association; (3) the National Council. The usage of Great Britain is muds less developed. Independency is more nearly the condition of English than of American Congregationalism. As has been point ed out. English Congregationalism (loots not have the 'advisory council.' But an approxima tion to the American system of mutual respon sibility and helpfulness exists in the county and district associations, in which English Con gregational churches have long been grouped. Some of these bodies may have come down from the days of the Commonwealth: but their modern development began in Hampshire in 1731, whence they rapidly extended over England. By these `associations' or unions the good standing of Congregational churches and ministers is certified, church advancement is superintend ed, and denominational fellowship variously expressed. Besides their co6peration in these local associations, the Congregational churches of Great Britian are federated in two larger bodies, the Congregational Union of Scot land, organized in 1813. and the Congre gational Union of England and Wales, funned in 1832. The semi-annual meetings of the last-named assembly are the most influential events in modern English Congregational life.