Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 16.djvu/891

* KEFORMED CHTIRCH IN AMERICA. 787 tors, was lonuallr transferred in the interests of Church union to the Synod of South India, of the South Indian United Church. The mis- sions in China and .Japan are working in hearty union with missioas of other denominations. Bibliography. Consult: Hani^en, The Re- formed Church of the Xethcrlandi (Xew York, 1884) ; Brodhead, History of the Stale of New York (ib., 1853-71) ; Gunn, Memoir of Rev. John H. Livingston, D.D. (ib., 1829; 2d ed. 1850); Demarest, History and Characteristics of the Re- formed Church (ib., 185G; 2d ed. 1890) ; id., Centennial Discourses (ib., 1876; 2d ed. 1877); Corwin, Manual of Reformed Church { ib., 1859; 4th ed. 1902) ; id.. Centennial of the Theological Seminary at Sew Brunsnick (ib., 1885) ; id.. Ecclesiastical Records of the State of Xew York, publislied by the State, under the supervision of Hugh Hastings, State Historian. 2 vols.. 1620- 1700 (Albany, 1901). These are the docimients procured by Rev. Dr. Corwin in Holland ( 1897- 98), with collateral material from other sources; to be followed bv four more volumes ( 1701- 1800). REFORMED CHTJRCH IN THE UNITED STATES, The (Germain Refokiied). A reli- gious body founded liy emigrants from the Pa- latinate and other districts of Germany. Their first minister was Rev. Samuel Guldin, who came in 1710; their first church was founded at Ger- mantown, Va., 1714; and their first peima- nent pastor, who became the organizer of the Church, was Eev. J. P. Boehm, who organized the first congregation at Falkner Swamp, Penn- sylvania, in 1725. Their organization as a de- nomination was completed by Rev. ilichael Schlatter, who was sent by the Reformed Church of the Netherlands (1746) and organized their Synod (then called a Coetus) September 29, 1747. He revisited Europe in 1751, bringing back (1752) six j'oung ministers who became the forerunilers of others sent over by the Reformed Church of the Netherlands. The Church con- tinued under the supervision of the Church in Holland till 1793. during which time that Church sent over 31 ministers and spent about $20,000 on the Pennsylvania churches. When the Cliurch in Pennsylvania became independent in 1793 it numbered 22 ministers, 78 congregations, and about 15,000 members. After it luul become independent it had to face two serious difficulties. One was the change of language from German to English, which caused friction in congregations and the loss of many of the young people, who became English before the Church service did. The other difficulty was the lack of a theological seminary in which to train ministers. The old method had been for prominent ministers to train the young men privately, and three of them had founded what were virtually private theo- logical seminaries: Rev. C. L. Becker, at Balti- more: Rev. S. Helffenstein, at Philadelphia; and Eev. F. L. Herman, at Falkner Swamp. But this method proved insufficient to supply the number required. So the S-STiod of 1820 deter- mined to found a theological seminary of its own. This was opened (1825) at Carlisle, re- moved later to York and to .Mercersberg. and is now located at Lancaster. Pennsylvania. After the seminarv had been founded a classical school was connected with it which grew into Marshall Oollefe. later Franklin and .Marshall College at Lancaster. This movement for the foundation REFORMED CHURCHES. of a seminary, however, resulted in a division of the Church, as those who opposed the movement separated and formed a free synod in 1822, which in 1837 returned to the mother synod. Meanwhile the denomination was spreading soutlnvard from Pennsylvania through Virginia to the Carolinas, and westward through Ohio, Indiana, and the Western States. Most of the German cliurches in New York State went into the Dutch Reformed Cluirch. A missionary so- ciety was organized in 1820 which published (1828) the first Church paper. The Magazine of the German Reformed Church (later called The Messenger). The western part of the Church founded Heidelberg College and Theological Sem- inary (1850) at Tiffin, Ohio. A mission house to educate German ministers was opened at Frank- lin, Wisconsin (1800). The call of Rev. .J. W. Nevin in 1840 and of Rev. Philip Schaff in 1844 prepared the way for the controversy about the Mercersburg theology (q.v.) and the liturgy. As the result of the liturgical movement the Provisional Liturgy was published (1757), the Order of Worship (1806), and the Western Lit- urgy (1867). The Low Church party in the East founded Ursinus College ( 1870 1 at Col- legeville and a theological school (1871) (now at Philadelphia ) . The liturgical controversy continued till 1878, broken only by the observ- ance of the tercentenary of the Heidelberg Cate- chism in 1863, which led to a union of the East- ern and Western sections of the Church in a General Synod. In 1878 that General Synod appointed a peace commission, which later drew up a new liturgy, the Directory of Worship, which was adopted by the Church. Since the peace movement has been completed the Church has been increasing rapidly, gradually centring its work in the boards of the General Synod. Missions were opened in .Japan (1879), among the Indians in Wisconsin (1878), and in China (1900). Doctrinally the Church was cradled in Calvinism, as all its ministers sent by Holland were required to subscribe to the Calvinistic Confessions: but in 1844, under Dr. Nevin and Dr. Schatf, the mediating theology of Germany was introduced. The denomination numbered in 1002 8 synods, 58 classes, 1107 ministers, 248,929 meml)ers, and about 750.000 adherents. Its contributions in 1901 were .*270.- 288 for benevolent objects and $1,303,000 for congregational purposes. Con.sult : Dubbs. His- tory of the German Reformed Church (. ierican Church History Series, vol. viii.. New York. 1895) ; Good. History of the Reformed Church in the United States. n?.n-92 (Reading. 1899) : id., Historical Hand-Book (Philadelphia. 1002); id.. Women of the Rrformrd Church ( ib.. 1902). REFORMED CHURCHES. A term em- ployed in a conventional sense to designate those Protestant churches which follow the doctrines and polity of Zwingli and of Calvin (qq.v.) rather tha"n the Lutheran. (See Lituer.v.ms.i. ) The infliience of Calvin proved more powerful than that of Zwingli. and on the Continent of Europe the Reformed churches are generally known as Calvinistic churches, the name Prot- estant Church in some coimtrics being almost equivalent to Lutheran. One chief distinction of the Reformed churches is their doctrine of the Lord's Supper (q.v.) ; another is that concern- ing the divine sovereignty and election. ( See Cal-