Presbyterians

the members of various denominations holding a more or less modified form of the views of John Calvin. The principal denominations are the Established Church of Scotland, the Free Church of Scotland, the Reformed Church of the Netherlands and Germany, the Welsh Presbyterian Church, and the various Presbyterian churches of the United States and Canada. In matters of theology the Presbyterians are closely related to the Congregationalists. In matters of church government the Presbyterian polity is midway between that of the Congregationalists on one hand and the Episcopalians and Roman Catholics on the other. Local affairs are everywhere governed by the session, consisting of all the members of the church. The session elects elders and chooses ministers. The churches in a given locality are governed in turn by a presbytery consisting of all the ministers and an elder from each church. The presbyteries are in turn ruled by a synod. This, in the United States, corresponds in boundary usually with a state. The synod is composed of representatives from the various presbyteries, according to membership. The minimum representation is a minister and an elder for each presbytery. Representatives from the various synods constitute a general assembly, or court of last appeal. A member dissatisfied with the decision of a session may appeal to the presbytery, the synod, and the general assembly in turn. In all these matters, the members are on an equality. Deliberations are presided over by an officer chosen for the occasion. The system of government is strictly republican. A majority vote rules.

The first Presbyterian church in America was a Reformed Church established by the Dutch of New Amsterdam in 1628. The Puritans rather suppressed Presbyterianism in New England. The Virginians stood for Episcopacy. Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, and the colonies of the South were more favorable to Presbyterianism. Philadelphia became the recognized center of the denomination.

What is known as the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America had in 1908, 36 synods, 279 presbyteries, 8,895 ministers, 10,017 churches, 1,300,329 communicants. The Cumberland Presbyterian Church was established in 1813; the Colored Cumberland, in 1874; the Southern Presbyterian Church, in 1861; the United Presbyterian, in 1858; the Welsh Calvinistic, in 1869; the Presbyterian Church of Canada, in 1831. There are also other branches, including the Christian Reformed, a lineal descendant of the Church of Holland. It was organized in 1857. Presbyterian authorities claim about 25,000,000 adherents. The number of actual members in the various Presbyterian denominations is distributed somewhat as follows:

In order to avoid duplication of missionary work, and to draw the various Presbyterian bodies into close relationship, a World's Alliance of Presbyterianism was organized in 1873. The first council met in Edinburgh in 1877. Other meetings have been held in Philadelphia, Belfast, London, Toronto, Glasgow, and Washington. The last council was held in Liverpool in 1904.

See Chalmers; Miller; Catechism; Free Church