Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 19.djvu/717

Rh FRANCE.] PRESBYTERIANISM 693 were eighty ministers under five presbyteries. With the close of the war came the close of their troubles, as under William they enjoyed complete toleration. So hopeful were they of regaining supremacy that they sent up a petition to the crown that, since the north of Ireland was almost entirely peopled by Scottish Presbyterians, Epis copacy might be done away with in that part. In 1731 again a deputation of ministers and elders went to Dublin with the vain request that their church might receive legal recognition and be placed on an equal footing with the Episcopal Church. Irish Presbyterianism presents no feature of note until 1840, when the original synod of Ulster and all seceding Presbyterian churches united themselves in the &quot; General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of Ireland.&quot; In 1881 there were 36 presbyteries with 552 congregations, containing 101,403 communi cants, with 621 ministers. Their synods meet in Belfast. Entirely independent of other churches, they, like those in England, live in friendly union with the Scottish Church. Both English and Irish Churches are in sympathy with the Free Church on the questions which brought about the Disruption of 1843. 1 pi- France. The extension of the Genevan system on the a of synodal side became necessary as soon as it was applied to Y a large community. Up to 1555 the organization of the French churches had been incomplete : there had been no settled clergy nor regular administration of the sacraments. In that year, however, at the suggestion of De la Ferriere, a church was formed at Paris on the Genevan plan, com plete in all points, with La Riviere for pastor ; and in a few years the organization was set up in Meaux, Angers, Poitiers, Bourges, Nimes, Blois, Tours, and Orleans. By 1559, according to Theodore de Beze, there were in France 2150 organized churches; in 1562 Cardinal St Croix reckoned the Huguenots as being one-half of the population. These churches were isolated, and therefore weak. The step needed to repair their weakness was taken as it were by accident. Antoine Chandieu, minister at Paris, while at Poitiers in 1558, found there several ministers from the neighbourhood. It struck them that it would be serviceable to have a common confession of faith and system of government. Thereupon the consistoire of Paris summoned a synod, not, hoivever, to attribute to this church any special pre-eminence or dignity. On 26th May 1559 the representatives of eleven churches met in the first national synod and laid down a confession of faith (drawn up by Chandieu) and a system of discipline. The confession, in forty articles, was purely Calvinistic. The emphasis with which the right and duty of the magistrate to interfere on behalf of the truth are insisted upon is important. Foremost in the discipline, as in the confession, comes the fundamental statement of perfect equality : &quot; Aucune eglise ne pourra pretendre primaute ni domination sur 1 autre ; ni pareillement les ministres d une eglise les uns sur les autres ; ni les anciens, ou diacres, les uns sur les autres.&quot; A breach of this law was sternly condemned by the synod of Orleans in 1562. Next to the consistoire, which, as being well understood, is not mentioned, came the colloque (not finally settled until 1572), consisting of the minister and an elder from each church of the district. In 1637 a colloque Avas com posed of representatives from about ten churches. This met twice a year at least and took cognizance of disputes, but had no initiative power. Each province contained in 1637 three or more colloques. Above the colloque was the pro vincial synod, also containing a minister and an elder or deacon for each church in the province. This synod met once a year. Finally, there was the national synod, which met every year if possible. 1 See Reid, Hist, of Presbij. in Ireland ; Carte, Ormond. (1) Ministers were not elected by the congregation (not Church even by a minister and his consistoire), but by two or three officers, ministers with their consistoires, by the provincial synod, or by the colloque. If the congregation objected, the con sistoire was to inquire how far the objection was valid ; if the consistoire upheld the congregation, the provincial synod had the final right of decision (art. 7). In 1572, however, the synod of Nimes laid down the principle that no minister might be imposed upon an unwilling people. (2) In the first forming of a church the elders and deacons were elected by the people ; but here the power of the con gregation ceased. Future vacancies were filled up by the votes of those remaining. The eldership was not to be for life ; but there was always a tendency to make it so. In 1565 the synod of Paris warned the churches not to change without urgent cause, so too in 1572 at Nimes. In 1596, however, it was decided that they were to be changed when ever expedient. (3) The office of deacon was of great im portance; besides having the charge of the poor and sick, he might catechize and, if the minister were ill, offer prayer and read a written sermon. He was a member of the consistoire, but apparently without the right to vote. In 1572 his dignity was increased, and (compare &quot;readers&quot; in Scotland) he was regarded as preparing for the ministry. As regards the consistoire, if a parish was without one, it must be created ; if a great lord had a congregation in his own family, one must be formed from it. In 1565 the power of excommunication was given to it, and it might depose elders and deacons, with appeal to the provincial synod. Its right to manage the affairs of its own church was strongly asserted in 1563, 1565, and 1571 at the synods of Lyons, Paris, and La Rochelle. One of the ministers was president, but only as primus inter pares. Over all marriage and baptismal questions it had jurisdiction so long as it avoided interference with the civil Government by dissolving marriages. The attention paid to marriage by Presbyterianism in all countries is worthy of notice. The ruling idea is the intense sanctity of the tie. Only in case of adultery might it be broken in France. A contract of marriage was declared indissoluble by the synod of Lyons (art. 44) in 1563, though the woman averred that she had been forced into it and that the man had a loathsome dis ease. Still more remarkable examples might be quoted. 2 The office of elder was far more limited than in Geneva ; his supervision over morals was, for example, confined to reporting scandals to the consistory; but in 1572 this was greatly extended. The remarkable feature of the French system is its aristocratical nature : the consistory, by the method of co-optation, was a purely aristocratic council, and the greatest pains were taken by the various synods to crush all attempts towards giving power to the congre gations (e.g., the condemnation of Jean Morelli, 1562-72, and the synods of Yerteuil in 1567 and La Rochelle in 1571). In the national synods, also, the aristocratic formation Synods, soon asserted itself. Up to 1565 every church sent a minister with one or two elders or deacons. On questions of discipline elders or deacons might vote, on doctrinal questions only as many laymen as ministers. In 1565, however, to avoid overcrowding, the national synod of Paris determined that for the future only one or two ministers and one or two elders, chosen by each provincial synod, should be admitted. Thus the national synod, which had hitherto represented single churches, now repre sented only the provincial synods, which of course gained immensely in importance. The church disclaimed any encroachments upon the civil 2 For the method of constituting a consistory, for its supervision of private life and public morals, see Borrel, Histoire de V Eglise de Nimes, pp. 61, 96, 117.