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 PRESBYTERIANISM

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PRESBYTERIANISM

Some have even gone so far as to state a belief that all who die in infancy are saved. Such passages of the standards as proclaim the necessity of a union between Church and State and the duty of the civil magistrate to suppress heresy have also to a great ex- tent been eliminated or modified. In its doctriiie on the Sacraments the Presbyterian Church is thoroughly Calvinistio. It holds that baptism is necessary to salvation not as a means (necessitate medii), but only as something that has been com- manded (necessitate prarepti). It teaches that Christ is present in the LorI's Supper not merely symbollically, as Zwingli held, nor, on the other hand, substantially, but dynamically or effectively and for believers only.

C. Worship. — No invariable forms are recognized in the conduct of public services. Directories of wor- ship have been adopted as aids to the ordering of the various offices but their use is optional. The ser- vices are generally characterized by extreme sim- plicity and consist of hymns, prayers, and readings from the Scriptures. In some of the churches in- strumental music is not allowed nor the use of any other songs than those contained in the Book of Psalms. The communion rite is administered at stated intervals or on days ajjpointed by the church officers. Generally the sermon is the principal part of the services. In Europe and in some American churches the minister wears a black gown while in the pulpit. Of recent years certain Presbyterian missionary societies in the United States and Canada have used a form of Mass and other services accord- ing to the Greek liturgy in their missions for Ruthe- nian immigrants

II. History. — The Presbyterian, like the Reformed churches, trace their origin to Calvin. The claims to historical continuity from the Apostles through the Waldenses and the Scotch Culdees have been refuted by Presbyterian scholars. It was in the ecclesiastical republics of Switzerland that the churches holding the Presbyterian polity were first established. John Knox (q. v.), who had lived with Calvin at Geneva, impressed upon the Scottish Reformation the ideas of his master, and may be regarded as the father of Presbyterianism as distinct from the Reformed churches. In 1560 a Confession of Faith which he drew up was sanctioned by the Scotch Parliament, which also ratified the jurisdiction exercised by the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church. This was the beginning of the Kirk or the Scotch Establish- ment. There have been many divisions among the Presbyterians of Scotland, but to-day nearly all the elements of Presbyterianism in that country have been collected into two great churches: the Es- tablished Church and the United Free Church (see Scotland, Established Church of). After Scot- land the important centres of Presbyterianism are England, Ireland, Wales, the British colonies, and the United States.

A. England. — There was a strong Presbyterian tendency among certain English Reformers of the sixteenth century. For a time men like Cranmer, Latimer, and Hooper would have reconstructed the church after the manner of Geneva and Zurich, but during the reign of Elizabeth the "prelatical" system triumphed and was firmly maintained by the sover- eign. This policy was opposed by the Puritans who included both Presbyterians and Congregationalists. Towards the close of Elizabeth's reign, the Presby- terians secretly formed an organization out of which grew in 1.572 the first English presbytery. During the reigns of James I and Charles I the struggle be- tween the Established Church and Presbyterianism continued. In 1(147 the Long Parliament abolished the prelacy and Presbyterianism was established as the national religion. In the same year the West- minster Assembly of divines presented to Parlia-

ment its Confession of Faith. With the restoration of the monarchy (1660), the State Church became once more episcopal. English Presbyterianism now began to decline. Its principle of government was quite generally abandoned for independent adminis- tration, and during the eighteenth centurj' most of its churches succumbed to rationalism. But during the latter part of the nineteenth century there was a revival of Presbyterianism in England. Those who belonged to the United Presbyterian Church of Scotland coalesced in 1S76 with the English Presby- terian Synod (an independent organization since the Scotch disruption of 1843), forming the Presbyterian Church of England, which is a very active body.

B. H'otes.— The "Welsh Calvinistic Methodist Church" had its origin prior to, and independent of, English Methodism. Its first organization was ef- fected in 1736, and it shared the enthusiasm of the Methodists of England under the Wesleys, but dif- fered from them in doctrine and polity, the English being Arminian and episcopal, the Welsh, Calvinis- tic and presbyterian. A Confession of Faith adopted in 1S23 follows the Westminster Confession, but is silent as to election and the asperities of the Cal- vinistic doctrine of reprobation. In 1864 a General Assembly was organized. The Welsh Presbyterians give great attention to home and foreign missions.

C. Ireland. — The history of Presbyterianism in Ireland dates from the Ulster plantation during the reign of James I. The greater part of Ulster had been confiscated to the crown, and thither emigrated a large number of Scotch Presbj-terians. At first they received special consideration from the Govern- ment, but this policy was reversed whilst William Laud was Archbishop of Canterbury. The indepen- dent life of Presbyterianism in Ireland began with the formation of the Presbytery of Ulster in 1642, but its growth was checked for a time after the Stuart res- toration in 1660. During the eighteenth and early part of the nineteenth century there was a general departure from the old standards and Unitarian tendencies caused various dissensions among the LTlster Presbyterians. There are still two Presby- terian bodies in Ireland that are LTnitarian. The disruption in the Scottish churches and other causes produced further divisions, and to-day there are, ex- clusive of the two mentioned above, five Presby- terian bodies in Ireland, the most important of which is the Presbyterian Church of Ireland.

D. Colonial and Missinnarij Churches. — Presby- terianism in Canada dates its origin from 1765, when a mihtary chaplain began regular ministrations in Quebec. There was very little growth, however, until the early part of the nineteenth century, when British immigration set in. Before 1835 there were six independent organizations. The disruption of 1843 in Scotland had its echo in Canada, and seces- sionist bodies were formed, but during the sixties four organic unions prepared the way for the con- solidation in 1S75 of all the important bodies into one denomination, the Presbyterian Church in Canada. There remain only two small organizations not af- filiated with this rnain body. The Canadian Church maintains many educational institutions and carries on extensive mission work. Its doctrinal standards are latitudinarian. Canada has the largest of the colonial churches, but there are important Presby- terian organizations in the other British possessions. In Australia Presbyterianism may be dated from the formation of the "Presbytery of New South Wales in 1826. There have been several divisions since then, but at present all the churches of the six prov- inces are federated in one General Assembly. In New Zealand the church of North Island, an offshoot of tlie Scottish Kirk, organized 1S.56, and the church of South Island (founded by Scottish Free Church- men, 1S54) have consolidated in one General As-