Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XIII.djvu/840

 816 PRESBYTERIANISM basis all the members of the Reformed pres- bytery, and all the Associate ministers with the exception of two members of the presbytery of Pennsylvania, united. A small minority of the people in the two communions also declined to enter into it; and in these minorities have been preserved the Covenanter or Reformed Presbyterian denomination on the one hand, and the Associate on the other. The earliest settlements of the Associate Reformed church were in Pennsylvania, within the Cumberland valley ; but colonies from these emigrated to South Carolina and Georgia, New York, Ken- tucky, and even to New Hampshire and Maine. One of the first acts of the synod, after its organization in 1782, was the adoption of a se- ries of articles, afterward published under the name of u The Constitution of the Associate Reformed Church; 1 ' but these articles were se- verely attacked both by the Seceders and Cov- enanters, and were finally laid aside for a full- er exposition of the church's faith. The result was that the Westminster confession and the catechism, after a careful revision at several successive meetings of synod, in the articles relating to the power of the magistrate, were published in a volume in 1799, entitled "The Constitution and Standards of the Associate Reformed Church in North America." The ground occupied by this body was substantially the same with that held by the church in Scot- land. For 20 years the growth of the church was very rapid ; and this led to the adoption of a measure in 1803 which proved premature and adverse to its prosperity, namely, the division of the church into the four provincial synods of New York, Pennsylvania, Scioto, and the Carolinas, under a representative general synod. In 1804 the plan of the theological seminary was framed. Dr. John M. Mason was chosen professor of theology ; and the sessions of the seminary began in the autumn of the same year in the city of New York. This was the second theological seminary established in the United States. Dr. Mason's work on " Catholic Communion," published in 1816, was regarded as being in conflict with the church's princi- ples and practice ; and this, in connection with some other grounds of complaint, led the en- tire synod of Scioto in 1820 to withdraw from the superintendence of the general synod. In 1821 the synod of the Carolinas petitioned the general synod to be erected into an indepen- dent synod, on the ground that they were so distant from the place at which the general synod usually assembled that it was impossible that they should be represented in it. The request was granted. For many years after that the southern synod gained but little in numbers, though in later years it became more prosperous; while the western synod rapidly extended itself and became more vigorous every year. About the time of the separation of the western synod, an unsuccessful attempt was made to unite the Associate Reformed and the Reformed Dutch churches, under the name of the Reformed Protestant church of North America. Immediately after this, measures were adopted for effecting a union between the Associate Reformed and the Presbyterian bodies ; the consequence of which was that a portion of the former church became incorpo- rated with the latter, and the library of the Associate Reformed church was immediately removed from New York to Princeton ; though, as the result of a legal process, it ultimately fell back into the hands of its original owners. The act of union by the general synod of the Associate Reformed church was unconstitu- tional, being contrary to the express will of a majority of the presbyteries. However, many of the ministers and congregations who had remained under the care of the general synod went into this union. The synod of Penn- sylvania with but few exceptions was merged in it, and that synod never met again. The synod of New York, however, survived the dissolution of the general synod, becoming separate and independent like its two sister synods of the west and south. But its in- terests languished till 1829, when it resolved to revive the seminary, whose operations had been suspended in 1821, and to establish it at Newburgh, under the care of the Rev. Joseph McCarroll, D. D., who was at the same time chosen professor of theology. An attempt was made in 1827 to revive the general synod on the old footing, but it proved a failure. However, the synod of the west, having di- vided into two, erected a general synod, which first met in 1841, and under which a union was formed with the New York synod in 1855. This united body, previous to the union with the Associate church in 1858, numbered 4 synods, 28 presbyteries, 253 ministers and li- centiates, 367 congregations, and 31,284 com- municants. The remaining synod, known since 1821 as the Associate Reformed synod of the south, still has its separate organization. Cor- dial in its relations with the United Presbyte- rian church, it has one missionary now labor- ing together with the missionaries of the lat- ter church in Egypt. It has a literary institu- tion named Erskine college and a theological school, both at Due West, S. 0. It numbers about 70 ministers, nearly one third of whom are in South Carolina, the rest in other south- ern states. 2. The Associate Presbyterian Church. From 1782, the period of the forma- tion of the Associate Reformed church, the Associate church was gradually increased by ministers sent out from Scotland, and also by the return of a considerable part of those who had previously joined the union. The first in- stitution for the purpose of educating students in theology by this body was established in 1793, under the care of the Rev. John Ander- son, D. D., of Beaver co., Pa. The presbytery of Pennsylvania, being unable to meet the ap- plications for preaching which were made from Kentucky and Tennessee, directed the appli- cants to apply directly to the synod in Scotland