Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 16.djvu/430

* PRESBYTERIANISM. 368 PRESBYTERIANISM. of New Zealand. The first united Assembly was held in Dunedin and the Rev. James Gibbs was niade moderator. 'i'he I'lcsbyteruDi Church of Houth Africa com- prises tlirfe braufhes: The General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of South Africa, the Synod of the Free Churcli Mission of Kafl'raria, the Sj'nod of the Presbyterian Church of Basuto Land. Thcj' had in 1900 71 ministers and aliout 18,000 comniuuicants, and raised' about $73,000. The I'resbytcridn Church of Jamaicu numbers 30 ministers and about 12,000 communicants, and contributes about $340,000. The Presbyterian Church in the United States was founded by the Scotch, Irish, French, German, and Dutch Reformed immigrants to this country. Fugitives from persecution, they took refuge in the more liberal colonies of Pennsyl- vania, Maryland, New Jersey, Virginia, and the Carolinas, and some in New England. The founding of a Presbyterian colony on Massachu- setts Bay took place in 1625. With the arrival of more colonists in 1629 a church was fully con- stituted under the Rev. Samuel Skelton. Christ's Presbyterian Church was establislied at Hemp- stead. Long Island, in 1044. The Rev. Francis Doughty, an English Presbyterian minister, was the first Presbyterian to preach in New York. He ministered there from 1643 to 1G4S. A Pres- byterian Church, however, was not oi'ganized imtil 1717. Francis Makemie. an Irish minister of the Presbytery ef Laggan, is considered the father of organized Presbyterianism in America. He founded several churches in JIaryland and A'irginia. Later lie crossed the ocean to appeal to the mother Church for help. In 1707 he was imprisoned in New York for preaching without permission, for at that time the Eiiiscopal Cliurch was practically the established Cliurch, and no dissenter was allowed to preach without a li- cense. In the meantime other Presbyterian churches had been founded, one in Freehold, N. J., in 1692, one in Philadelphia, in ItiOS, under the care of Jedediah Andrews. The first Ameri- can presbytery was organized in Philadelphia, probably in 1706 — the precise date having been lost — and consisted of seven ministers, Francis ^Makemie, Samuel Davis, .John Hampton, and (ieorge McNish, from Ireland ; Nathaniel Taylor and .John Wilson, from Scotland ; and .Jedediah Andrews, from New England. The growth of the Church was rapid, and in 1716 the Synod of Philadelphia was formed, consisting of four presbyteries: Philadelphia, with six ministers and churches; New Castle, six ministers and churches; Snow Hill, three ministers and churches; Long Island, two ministers and several churches. There is no record at this time that an^ standards of doctrine had been adopted by the Synod, although as most of the ministers were of Scotch descent, it is probable that the A"estminster standards were those to which the young Church adhered. In 1729. by an 'adopting act,' the Synod made the Westminster Confession of Faith their doctrinal standard, "as being in all the essential and necessary articles good forms of sound words and system of Christian doctrine." They also agreed that no one should ■be ordained to the ministry or received into mem- bership who had scruples as to the Confession, "save only about articles not essential and neces- sary to doctrine, worship, and government." JThe ministers from abroad, however, were more strict in their doctrinal ideas, and laid more stress on scholarship, than the native ministers, who insisted more on a living Christian experi- ence, and who, in view of the great needs of the new country, were disposed to receive into the ministry students who were sound in doctrine, but whose opjiortunities for education had been limited. In 1739 party feelings were stirred by the visit of George Yliitefield, and the Synod was divided into a party warmly befriending revivals and a party standing aloof from that form of work. By 1741 this dissension resulted in a schism and two Synods were formed: the Old Hide, called the Synod of Philadcliiliia, in- sisting on a thoroughly educated ministry; the 'Xeiv Hide, or Synod of New York, which laid more stress on piety and zeal. There was Init slight ditt'ereiice between the two bodies as to doctrine or discipline. After a separation of thirteen years this breach was healed and the two Synods united under the title of the Synod of New York and Philadelphia, with more than 100 churches under its care. At this time the tide of population was flowing rapidly westward. The frontier communities con- tained many men of lawless habits. Hostile Indians were numerous. The opposition of the State Church added to the dilhculties of the Pres- byterian pioneer. Men of education and strength of character were needed. The Church found them in the Tennents of New Jersey, Brainerd, the missionary to the Indians, Davies, of Vir- ginia, and many others whose work still lives in the Christian communities they established. In 1766, fearful of the legal establishment of the Church of England, the Synod agreed to meet in annual convention with the tJeneral As- sembly of Connecticut "to unite their endeavors and counsels for spreading the Gospel and preserv- ing the religious liberties of the Church." This arrangement was continued till the war of 1776. During all the struggle of the LTnited States for independence the Presbyterians stood as one man for the defense of the civil and religious liberty of the country. John Witherspoon, one of its most prominent ministers, was a signer of the Declaration of Independence, and before Congress made one of the most effective during the Revolutionary War many buildings were destroyed and congregations disbanded, still the vitality of the Church continued, and when peace was restored it grew so rapidly that the need of a General Assembly became evident. In 1785 a large committee was appointed to con- * sider a form of complete organization for the Presbyterian Church in the United States. In May. 1788. the Synod met and resolved itself into a General Assembly, which held its first meeting in Philadelphia the following year. The first Congress of the countrv was in session in New York at the same time. The first General As- sembly embraced 4 svniods (New York and New Jersey, Philadelphia. Virginia, and the Caro- linas), 17 presbyteries, 419 congregations, and 180 ministers. This Assembly adopted the West- minster Confession of Faith after making changes in chapters 20. 23. and 31. and the Larger and Shorter Catechisms. The form of government of the Scottish Church was also adopted, but modi- fied so as to deny to the civil magistrate any right of interference in Church affairs, except for protection only.
 * )leas for the liberty of our country. Although