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Church of the Nativity

BETHLEHEM and Friedrich were at their head. (Baxter, Cudworth, Taylor, Wateland, Leland, Butler, Paley), but the general condition of the people was irreligious.

Methodism, which arose from John Wesley, born 1703, was a fervent religious movement. Charles Wesley, Whitefield, John Fletcher, Joseph Benson, and Adam movement. Charles Wesley, Whitefield, home. Periods of American Church His- tory: (1) From 1607-1660, revival and and Friedrich were at their head. tion of North America sprang from religious motives. The colonists sought freedom here because of the oppressions at home. Periods of American Church His- CHRISTIAN ENDEAVOR progress. (2) 1660-1720, trial, disputes with Great Britain, religious decline. (3) From 1720-1750, great revivals. (4) From 1750-1783, political agitation, freedom from British rule. (5) From 1783 to the present, extensive revivals, separation of Church and State, abolition of slavery, evangelization. The Protestant Episcopal Church was founded by the James River Colony (1607); its first General Convention was in 1785; it ratified the Thirty-nine Articles in 1832. The Puritan Pilgrims landed at Plymouth in 1620, and began the development of Congregationalism. The Cambridge Platform was established in 1648. The Reformed (Dutch) Church was established in 1628 in New Amsterdam (New York).

The first independent organization was in 1771. The Baptists began in Providence, R. I., in 1639, through Roger Williams.

CHRISTIANIA The first Christian Endeavor Society in England was organized in 1887, and was followed by similar ones in other countries, and the constitution has been printed in over 30 different languages. The movement is not a denominational one.

Any society belonging to an evangelical Church, which adopts the leading principles as set forth in the constitution, including the prayer-meeting pledge, and which guarantees these principles by the name Christian Endeavor either alone or in connection with a denominational name is admitted to all the privileges of the organization.

The Reformed (German) Church was or- to attend regularly (unless unavoidably ganized in 1741. The Lutherans were established first in New York in 1669; the first Synod was held in 1748. The Presbyterians were organized at the close of the 17th century. The first Presbytery was established in Philadelphia in 1706, and the first General Assembly in 1789. The first Methodist Society in the United States was established in New York in 1766, and the first Conference was held in Philadelphia in 1771. The Reformed Episcopal Church was organized in New York in 1873, under Bishop Cummins. The Roman Catholic Church in the United States was first established in Maryland through immigration in 1632. The Episcopal See of Baltimore was established in 1789. For statistics of the American Churches see the separate articles.