pagent esa £4 ape aka t HE TIA | Hil t i ane! | i i Hi itt peat. PMH HEH i I t ’ 7 SP RUMEPRR OAL LOSES US Ty er iced tenes LATERAL TOE Di CSUSRPSER COT Ceateaeeereaeeeeaaae bony HET HET: | eaaeaeenaes tt HEE CCE TTL LEELA TT it aes Teaae Hishtteek! THEE HEE EERE THATE eUCRREatRaaneES i 99) ; ' tt it i it HET Th itt i t it! | eaiy HUET {itt dj J A ae Ly M APT Sle “~y CY, : SAL ocioAL gin * re i eet i ; ee aD tes, 4 tr et a oa Oe ‘ % Handbook of All Denominations REVISED EDITION NINETEEN TWENTY-FOUR PREPARED BY M. PHELAN THIRD EDITION NASHVILLE, TENN. COKESBURY PRESS 1924 CopyRIGHT, 1924 BY LaMaR & BARTON rr S PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA CONTENTS PAGE PREFACE TO THIRD EDITION........... ee? rete, : vii PL TPURPISE Serer kas SE Sk oY aha ain eae s 1 Pavenc Cc nristianso:: oe ee he Pees peewee Pe Ne at ReTTUITeirOl ROC ee ine ca ses teks Fe PS A Sarees Pyne alts Churches of God in Jesus Christ. Lhd Git nein teat 3 Bite and AAVveNt UMOM A seer cos cece ekee eens 3 DeVENtinLa vy AGVENLISTS S. ac sisi es eck es Seek ee 3 2 ARMENIAN CHURCH IN AMERICA..........ccceeececee 4 RAIS AOE DR BISM ho cie en eit clviek cil a atc Cpeierts ek 4 SEM e TOT See at ee a ee ee ee te ee ee ee an 5 BattisecC nirensOl Curis Vice ole oes feo ee eet 22 PVCU ADLIGT Societe nels hase so Oa ene @ eh es 20 PYEC WIL DADUIStS eth cee eee tees spay S| General Baptists......... Sir ie arta Pee Uateearen re etes Bipy 4 | Dari mark toa Dtistsasern oe cess ok ee Cree oe 24 Old School, or Primitive, Baptists................ 22 PePMIREAPP PISA LISTS ta ats cece Sees cis etr anche acetone 21 MPCENtIe ey DADlists. 5 cis ci eee wT ee Oates 20 Seer PINGING: DADTISt®: .osicdeu kh es aces owe eee es yt 20 Two-Seed-in-the-Spirit Predestinarian............ 23 aaa ESTEE ag dine Saal a ed a a ee a at ea ah pate 22 POET EMILIO CH RG. Birocr cttel, Bot: sat aac ere eee 25 DPITERINNTIR MS Oe Ne aie Sean ety Mion 'e cis aie eee! re « 25 RAPIIVIS DEES TOL NCE Goes. et a he Ye on cc ns ais lee 28 MUPPET MITeN Sot. oe Fea, eae sc Car err ok wes tees 29 CATHOLIC APOSTOLIC (IRVINGITES) .-.....0iscecesees tat) Sa EMM te A tee od ae clos tee pigels HUGH Pte ett stots 31 SUuPTE PATON PENG occ et ta cil Meare trai To er ont as 31 CHRISTIAN AND MISSIONARY ALLIANCE............-... ae CHRISTIANS, OR CHRISTIAN CONNECTION.........--00% 32 CHRISTIAN CATHOLIC CHURCH IN ZION (DOWIE)....... 35 PMPRTIR A CTUNTICTS( os wi alien oc eet Gale e pe mae 36 SINT IA LINION CHURCHES Souci. os viete kites Ct ein ee 41 CHURCHES OF Gop (THE WINEBRENNERIANS).......... 42 CHURCH OF GOD AND SAINTS OF CHRIST (COLORED).,.. 44 ill HANDBOOK OF ALL DENOMINATIONS. PAGE CHURCH OF THE NEW JERUSALEM (SWEDENBORGIAN)... 45 CHURCHES OF THE LIVING Gop (COLORED)............ 44 COMMUNISTIC SOCIETIBG¢\. 6 igh ee res bee ta ae eens 47 “Amana Society c23 icc. os ed oe ee eee ee 47 - Shakers, or the Millennial Church................ 48 LONGREGATIONALISTS 6.20 «ko he bee ee ee 49 DIscrpLEs OF CHRIST. 30... s,s woe eae see ae ee 53 EASTERN ORTHODOX CHURCH ©. nese ee eee 64 ACVANGELICAL CHURCH. 20. ond sign Face Pee rte 67 EVANGELICAL PROTESTANTS (GERMAN)..........2e000% 69 EVANGELICAL SYNOD (GERMAN)........cccccecssecocs 69 FRIENDS Sieh i eee acne 70 FRIENDS OF THE TEMPLE. 3.) y =. ovase ses Gee ee 73 Ho.ineEss Boprres (EVANGELISTIC ASSOCIATIONS)....... 73 JE wis. CONGREGATIONS. |. v:s....5 5.5.) steer rick aie sale 76 LATTER-DAY SAINTS, OR MORMONS.........eccccccees 79 Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day PIBITUES woken ia'sces eae aie oles aw eas nee 88 LUTHERANS (062 OS he isan ee a kes 89 MENNONITES 52. ei's oo Chet elnn Clack. eee 93 MESSIANIC WORLD MESSAGE..............5: Pe eet hie 2? 95 DA RTHODISTS 2030 0. ook so ioe ene Re a ee eee 96 MILLENNIAL DAWNISTS, OR RUSSELLITES.:.....-..+00% 123 MORAVIANS (UNITAS FRATREM).........cccccccceccee 125 NAZARENES (CHURCH OF THE NAZARENE)...........-. 128 PRESBYTERIANS ¢ 7 aio cose we bin 6 oe cent ae eee 129 Associate Church of North America. ............. 143 Associate Reformed Synod of the South......... 443 Cumberland Presbyterian, Colored............... 143 Cumberland Presbyterians: ., <0. «4 +0: oe ae 140 General Synod of the Presbyterian Church........ 143 Presbytétian Church; U.S. oy. 6 Se 139 Presbyterian Church, 1. S.Aj. = 0.2 vac nace ee 138 Reformed Presbyterian Synod. ..............000. 142 United Presbyterian Church.............cccccocs 142 PROTESTANT CPISCOPALIANS. (0500s bb tan bee 146 Reformed Episcopal ‘Church: 2,4... «4 «a vase 150 REFORMED BODIKS Oo occ cl ods hee oo ee 152 Christian Reformed Church....., RAR ar Sh mPa iv HANDBOOK OF ALL DENOMINATIONS PaGE Pearicariat: Relormed.. tas sas alk aie Plo kde cee ae 155 Reformed Church in America..............ce000. 153 Reformed Church in the United States........... 154 MUM ENA THOLIOCS Sere co's Pane ee bor cor Meee aes 155 PEA BE MOUCS ve cr ee icc ae 6 a ea Ba etn Cee 167 PETIA NUECES are oot ee ee. 168 SE TIM EPL MES PGE on tii Chpeen 2 Mere ea erie ine 169 American Rescue Workers. ..........-eecccesees 171 WoenLeera OF Americas hii cis ok eos Cee 172 SCANDINAVIAN EVANGELICAL CHURCHES............020% 172 PCW ENGRPREDERS 2 oot cite io Ue eee we aw eee 173 SepCAES OOS REM BEN oh eee oa cooks be oe ee wale 173 SOCIETY POR ETHICAL CULTURE. 0 a oboe ve we lee caees 174 PREMISE UALISES Co nee re ey te tae be Oe ee ren 174 PR BOSOPHICAL OOCIETIES* fils ch choc cee ewer ees 177 MEET ARIA MA core ee OSE oat sk hae Pe Ree 178 STRAT EMIIRETURENG 0 oes CPi cs Ponce cutee dees 181 REED RMSAL TST SMO Rana ah oh cy le Phaleow oe ee ces STs 184 MEANY A SOCTEE YL, fait ae va Oe nue ee ae cake rere yee 186 Vv PREFACE TO THIRD EDITION Tue first edition of this HanpBook was brought out in 1915, and was undertaken because the author had been unable to find any single volume in the field of denominational literature which filled his own wants. There were encyclopedias, to be sure, through which one might range in search of a single fact; and there were many large volumes on the his- tory or doctrinal position of particular Churches. There was also a work or two in which all denomi- nations were treated, but there was little or no at- tention given in these to the Old World origins and present connections of our various American de- nominations. It is enough to say, therefore, that the present volume was projected along lines which best filled the wants of the one preparing it. The reception accorded the first edition was really sur- prising, and the continued demand for the work has encouraged the author to revise it from time to time, to correct errors, for which he is continually on the lookout, and to keep it up to date by making such changes in statistical and other matter as will show the growth and other developments in the Church world. The sources of information used have been so varied and of such an extent that detailed references cannot be made. In the preparation of the original volume the publications of Dr. H. K. Carroll and those of the United States Census Bureau were the Vii HANDBOOK OF ALL DENOMINATIONS basic authorities consulted, especially in regard to the smaller denominations. But wherever available the publications of the various denominations them- selves, on their own history, doctrines, and work, were always consulted. In the work of the present revision the “Yearbook of the Federal Council of Churches” has been often referred to in obtaining the latest statistics for those denominations which do not publish their own annual reports. In the cases of the more important bodies, however, their own yearbooks have been followed in compiling their latest statistics. This third edition is sent forth with the hope that it will fill more completely than any previous edition the needs and expectations of those who are inter- ested in the subject of which it treats. M. PHELAN. Bic SprinG, TEx., April 1, 1974. Vili HANDBOOK OF ALL DENOMI- NATIONS SEED ADVENTIST Tuis is the general name of a family of denomina- tions whose leading tenet is a belief in the proxi- mate and personal second coming of Christ. The movement began in Massachusetts in 1831, under the leadership of William Miller, who previously had been a member of the Baptist Church. As a result of much study of the prophecies, Miller be- came convinced that the second coming of Christ was near at hand, and he began to lecture on the subject. In 1833 he published a pamphlet entitled “Evidences from Scripture and History of the Sec- ond Coming of Christ about the Year 1843 and of His Personal Reign of One Thousand Years.” Miller made many converts to his views, and the doctrine announced in his pamphlet was widely proclaimed. Upon the failure of his prophecy for the year 1843, he fixed 1844—to be exact, October 22 of that year —as the date of the second advent. When this prophecy failed, his followers became divided. It is estimated that at the time of Miller’s death (1849) they numbered 50,000. As a result of various divi- sions, there are now six bodies of Adventists, who, as a rule, simply await the second coming of Christ without attempting to fix a date for it. All hold, however, that it is near at hand, and they generally I HANDBOOK OF ALL DENOMINATIONS look for the personal reign of Christ on earth. All agree also in practicing immersion as the mode of baptism. The following bodies represent the pres- ent divisions of Adventism: 1. Seventh-Day Adventists.—T hese constitute the largest and best organized body of Adventists. The branch was organized in New Hampshire in 1845 by a company of Miller’s followers, who adopted the belief that the seventh day of the week should be observed as the Sabbath. They hold that all the dead sleep in unconsciousness until the resurrection —a doctrine popularly known as “soul-sleeping’— when the righteous will be raised to eternal life and the wicked destroyed. Foot-washing is practiced among them. Members are expected to contribute a tenth of their income to the support of the Church. Local congregations are presbyterian in government. Congregations are organized into conferences, and these send representatives to a general conference, which meets annually. There are no settled pastors, but traveling evangelists visit the various congre- gations. The Seventh-Day branch, in common with other branches, devotes much attention to questions of diet and health, and they have built a number of sanitariums. The headquarters of the denomination were formerly at Battle Creek, Mich., but in 1903 were removed to Washington, D, C., where pub- lishing interests are maintained. The membership is most numerous in the States of Michigan, Cali- fornia, Kansas, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, and Wisconsin, in the order named; but adherents are found in smaller numbers in nearly all the States. Missionary work is carried on in Europe, Asia, Af- 2 HANDBOOK OF ALL DENOMINATIONS "gs ee eae eet re a lela de aaa rica, and Australia. Statistics: Ministers, 1,005; churches, 2,101 ; members, 98,106. 2. Advent Christians—Formed in 1861. They agree with the Seventh-Day body in holding that the dead are unconscious and that the wicked will be destroyed. But they observe Sunday as the Sab- bath. They are strongest in the New England States. Statistics: Ministers, 770; churches, 535; members, 30,597. 3. Church of God.—A branch of the Seventh-Day Adventists, which seceded in 1866 in protest against accepting Mrs. Ellen G. White as an inspired proph- etess. The body has its center at Stanberry, Mo. Statistics: Ministers, 46; churches, 22; members, 848. 4. The Life and Advent Union.—A small New England body, existing since 1848. Statistics: Min- isters, 21; churches, 7; members, 652. 5. The Churches of God in Jesus Christ—Known also as Age-to-Come Adventists. They believe in the restitution of all things, with Christ enthroned as King on earth. They are found chiefly in the Middle West. Statistics: Ministers, 50; churches, 87; members, 3,457. Statistics for all Adventist bodies: Ministers, 1,892; churches, 2,752; members, 133,660. 3 HANDBOOK OF ALL DENOMINATIONS ARMENIAN CHURCH IN AMERICA Tuis is an American branch of the national Church in Armenia, composed only of Armenians who have settled in this country. There are fourteen parishes in America, each under the supervision of a priest, and an Amenian bishop, primate of the Church in America, resides in Boston. In faith the Armenians, with some minor variations, are in harmony with the faith of the Eastern Orthodox Churches (gq. v.). Statistics: Ministers, 17; churches, 34; members, 27,450. BAHAIS, OR “BABISM” THis is a sect of Mohammedanism, originating in Persia in 1844, under the leadership of Ali Moham- med, who proclaimed himself the “Bab” (Arabic for door or gate). The movement stands for the uni- versal brotherhood of man, the unity of all religions, and world-wide peace. There is an organization in the United States, with national officers and an an- nual convention. There are reported 57 “churches” and 2,884 members. 4 HANDBOOK OF ALL DENOMINATIONS BAPTISTS “Wit the first decade of the seventeenth century we reach solid ground in Baptist history. Before that the history is more or less a matter of con- jecture, and our conclusions are open to doubt; but after that we have an unbroken succession of Bap- tist Churches, established by indubitable docu- mentary evidence.’’* The first Baptist Church that is known to have existed was formed in Holland in 1608 and was composed of English Separatists who had fled thither to escape persecution. Their leader, the Rev. John Smyth, there became acquainted with the Mennonite theory of the Church. He adopted and announced the view that a Scriptural Church should consist of the regenerate only, who have been baptized on a personal profession of faith. His rejection of infant baptism led to his being dis- fellowshiped by his flock. He then, with Thomas ~Helwys and thirty-six others, formed a Church after his views. Smyth rebaptized himself and the others by affusion. A Confession of Faith was is- sued, Arminian in theology, but distinct in its claim that a Church should be composed only of baptized believers and that “only such should taste of the Lord’s Supper.” Smyth was soon afterwards ex- pelled from the Church he had formed on account of Pelagian views, and the congregation broke up. A part of the company, led by Thomas Helwys, re- *H. C. Vedder, “A Short History of the Baptists,” a book described as of “scholarly accuracy,” and for this reason it is followed mainly in tracing the early history of the Baptists. 5 HANDBOOK OF ALL DENOMINATIONS turned to England and in 1611 formed in London the first Church of this faith on English soil. They came to be called General Baptists on account of their belief in a general, or universal, atonement. In 1644 there were forty-seven of these congrega- tions in England. The Particular Baptists originated in 1633, when several members of a Separatist congregation in London withdrew, on account of their disbelief in infant baptism, and formed a new congregation. In 1640 there was a further division in this second congregation when a part of the membership with- drew and adopted immersion as the mode of bap- tism. There being none of their number who had received such baptism, and “none having so prac- ticed it in England to professed believers,” they sent one of their number, Richard Blunt, to Holland to receive immersion at the hands of the Mennonites (who had adopted immersion in 1619). Blunt re- turned to England and began practicing immersion in 1641. In 1644 seven Churches of this branch united in a Confession of Faith. These congrega- tions came to be called the Calvinistic, or Particular, Baptists on account of their belief in a limited atonement. The name Baptist as a denominational title was first used about 1644 and was applied only to those congregations which practiced immersion. The Arminian, or General, Baptists gradually adopted the practice of immersion, although some of their congregations continued to baptize by affusion as late as 1653. The Confession of Faith adopted in 1644 is one 6 HANDBOOK OF ALL DENOMINATIONS of the chief landmarks of Baptist history. It de- clares baptism to be “an ordinance of the New Tes- tament, to be dispensed upon persons professing faith,” and that only such should be admitted to the Lord’s Supper. “It is the first Confession of history to prescribe a single immersion as the form of bap- tism,” and “it probably still represents the views of the Baptists of the world more nearly than any other single Confession.”* The Confession is explicit in the advocacy of religious liberty as the right, and of good citizenship as the duty, of every Christian man. Baptists did not themselves enjoy the religious liberty which they advocated. Following the Restoration in 1660, Baptists, with other Dissenters, were harshly treated. If they kept perfectly quiet, they were not molested; but if they assembled for religious meetings, they became violators of the law, and the man who preached to them usually suf- fered severe penalties. The best-known victim of such treatment was John Bunyan. Although Bun- yan was never an orthodox Baptist (he repudiated the name and wished to be called simply a Christian and was guilty of numerous other deflections from Baptist practice), he is generally classed as a Bap- tist. He spent at different times nearly thirteen years in prison for the crime of preaching. It was to his third and last imprisonment that we owe his immortal allegory, “The Pilgrim’s Progress.” After 1689 Baptists were given a larger measure of toleration than they had ever known, but instead of growth there followed a period of languishment *MoGlothlin, “Baptist Confessiqns of Faith,” pages 169, 170. 7 HANDBOOK OF ALL DENOMINATIONS and decay. Fifty years after the passage of the Act of Toleration the Baptists were scarcely more numerous than they had been before toleration was granted, while as to their spiritual condition “they had dwindled to a painful state of deadness and in- efficiency.” Extreme Calvinistic views came to pre- vail in the Particular Churches, which discouraged all evangelistic efforts among the unconverted. Among the General Baptists, Socinian views made rapid progress, and the Churches became largely Unitarian in their beliefs. This was followed by worldliness, lax discipline, and superficial preaching, and the members fell away in large numbers. A new era in Baptist history began as a result of the Wesleyan revival of the eighteenth century. Baptists participated in the general awakening, and there began a new era of growth, of zeal, and of missionary activity which has continued to the pres- ent time. The greatest name belonging to this period of Baptist history is William Carey, who combined the occupations of cobbler, school-teacher, and Baptist preacher. Carey became awakened on the condition of the heathen and the duty of Chris- tians to go to their relief. An illustration of the Cal- vinistic temper of the age is found in the authentic story of how once, when Carey attempted to speak on the subject next to his heart to a Baptist gather- ing, he was sternly told to “sit down, young man. When the Lord gets ready to convert the heathen, he will do it without your help or mine.” But Carey found a different hearing at the meeting of his association at Nottingham May 30, 1792, when he was appointed preacher. His discourse, based 8 HANDBOOK OF ALL DENOMINATIONS upon Isaiah xliv. 2, 3, kindled a fire in a few hearts which resulted in the same year in the organization of the English Baptist Missionary Society. In June of the following year Carey himself led the way into the foreign field, spending the remainder of his life in India. Carey is justly regarded as the father of modern missions; for, though the Baptists were not the first in modern times to engage in this work, “it was Carey and his work that drew the attention of all Christians to it and quickened the Christian conscience and that gave the missionary cause a great forward impulse which it has never since lost.” The more notable features of English Baptist history during the last century include the forma- tion of the Baptist Union of Great Britain and Ire- land in 1813. It is a home missionary and social organization and is the most representative body in the United Kingdom. In 1891 the long-separated General and Particular Baptists became one body. The century also witnessed a change among English Baptists with regard to the communion and terms of membership. According to Vedder (and other authorities agree), Baptist principles are not now strictly upheld and practiced in England. Large numbers of Baptist Churches have become “open” on the communion question, and many Churches also have a “mixed” membership—that is, Pedo- baptists are received on the same terms with Bap- tists. “In many so-called Baptist Churches of Eng- land the ordinance of baptism [immersion] is sel- dom or never administered. . . . In short, so ef- fectually is the Church disguised as frequently to 9 HANDBOOK OF ALL DENOMINATIONS be reckoned by both Baptists and Independents in their statistics.” The Baptist Churches in Wales, Scotland, and Ireland, however, for the most part adhere to traditional Baptist practices. Ireland has never been a congenial soil for Baptists. After more than two centuries of struggle, the island contains less than three thousand Baptists. “The American Baptist Yearbook for 1923” gives the following statistics: For Great Britain, 404,797 Baptists; Germany, 54,674; Roumania, 21,182; Spain, 44,794; Sweden, 60,530; for all of Europe, 636,246; but it is added, “Estimated that Russian Baptists number 2,000,000.” There are 32,763 Bap- tists reported for Africa, 31,224 for Australasia, and for all Asiatic countries 267,362. The Baptist Churches in America are not directly descended from the English Baptists, but owe their origin to an independent movement. Roger Wil- liams, an English Separatist, on coming to the colony of Massachusetts in 1631, became at once a disturbing element to the authorities on account of his advanced Puritan views. Williams stoutly ad- vocated the principle that the Church and the State should be separate and independent each of the other and that civil magistrates had no right to en- force worship nor punish breaches of the first table of the law, those commandments that relate to the worship of God. It is not at all certain that Wil- liams imbibed these notions from the English Bap- tists nor that he even knew of their holding such doctrines. In spite of his views, Williams was at one time to HANDBOOK OF ALL DENOMINATIONS minister of the Church at Salem. But his pastorate was cut short by his being summoned before the court in Boston and condemned to banishment, the decree beginning: “Whereas Mr. Roger Williams, one of the elders of the Church at Salem, hath broached and divulged new and dangerous opinions against the authority of magistrates.” To escape deportation Williams made his way in midwinter through the wilderness, accompanied by a few ad- herents, bought land of the Indians, and founded the colony of Providence on the principle of civil and religious liberty. He soon abandoned his Pedo- baptist views, and on the site now occupied by Providence, R. I., he organized the first Church of the Baptist faith in America (1639). Williams was baptized (probably by affusion) by Ezekiel Holliman, one of his company, and he in turn bap- tized Holliman and eleven others. Williams later became doubtful of the authority of what ke had done and withdrew from the Church he had formed, preferring to be called through the remainder of his life merely a “seeker.” The Providence Church was divided in 1652, a colony going out to form a “Six-Principle” Baptist Church. The original, or regular, body became extinct shortly afterwards. In 1771 the Six-Principle Church was divided, one branch now bearing the title of the First Baptist Church of Providence. A company of Welsh Baptist immigrants founded the first Baptist Church in Massachusetts in 1665. The laws of this colony were made very strict against the Baptists, and until 1691 persons of this If HANDBOOK OF ALL DENOMINATIONS faith were subjected to severe persecutions. In- stances are on record of ministers not only being fined for preaching against infant baptism, but some were “well whipped.” Not until 1833 were dissent- ing Churches in Massachusetts made free from — taxation for the support of the “State Church.” The most important and influential of the early Baptist centers was the group of Churches in and around Philadelphia, the first Church-dating from 1688. In this section Baptists made rapid progress. The first Association of Churches was the Philadel- phia Association, organized in 1707, composed of twelve Churches. This Association later included Churches in New York colony and as far south as the Carolinas. The “Philadelphia Confession of Faith,’ adopted by this Association in 1742, was strongly Calvinistic and proved a turning point in the history of American Baptists, as thenceforth this type of theology held the day. Up to this time the Arminian Baptists had been the stronger, es- pecially in New England. The Philadelphia Asso- ciation soon became the leading body among the American Baptists, a position it has not wholly lost to this day. “Pretty much everything good in our history,” to use the words of a Baptist author, “from 1700 to 1850 may be traced to its initiative or active cooperation.” The Great Awakening, beginning in 1734, gave powerful impetus to Baptist evangelistic effort and home missionary work. But the new movement met serious opposition in the denomination, and two I2 HANDBOOK OF ALL DENOMINATIONS parties arose—the “Regulars,” who disparaged re- vivals, and the “New Lights,” who fell in with the methods of Whitefield. The revival came to be generally accepted, resulting in a rapid growth, par- ticularly in the South. Baptist beginnings in the South were less early than in the North and New England; but by 1800, of forty-six associations in the country, twenty were in the South Atlantic States and seven beyond the Alleghanies. The number of Baptists in the country at this date, as estimated by the Philadelphia Association, was 100,000, distributed among 1,200 Churches. The American Baptist Home Mission Society was formed in 1832. The work of foreign missions was undertaken by American Baptists in answer to a clear providential summons. In 1812 several missionaries, among them Adoniram Judson and his wife, were sent out to India by the Congregational Board. On the way out Judson and his wife changed their views on the subject of baptism. Upon arriving at Calcutta they sought out some English Baptist missionaries who were laboring there and were immersed. Another American missionary, Luther Rice, arriving on a later ship, joined them in their new faith. By a change of faith they had severed their relation with the Congregational Board. There was no Baptist Board in America and no interest in foreign mis- sions. It was resolved that Rice should return to America, relate the story of these new conversions, and throw the new mission upon the Baptists. Rice reached Boston in September, 1813; and as a T3 HANDBOOK OF ALL DENOMINATIONS result of the interest awakened by his story there was formed at Philadelphia in May, 1814, the Gen- eral Convention of the Baptist Denomination in the United States for Foreign Missions. Judson had in the meantime gone to Burma, and there the first American Baptist foreign mission was established. Controversy arising out of this new missionary movement produced a division into two parties— Missionary Baptists, who advocated foreign mis- sions, and antimission Baptists, who took the name of Primitive Baptists (see below). The latter were at first equal, if not superior, in numbers to the former. Another controversy which seriously af- fected the Baptist Churches of the South and West about 1815 was the preaching of Alexander Camp- bell and his followers. (See Disciples.) All the Churches of the Mahoning Association, Ohio, and many other Churches and scores of Baptist preach- ers went over to the new movement. A period of bitter controversy followed, and most of the Churches in the territory of the movement were ‘divided. The division of the Baptists into Northern and Southern occurred in 1844 and grew out of the slavery question. The immediate occasion of the separation was action taken by the Mission Boards, Home and Foreign, both of which at the time of the offending action had a majority of Northern Bap- tists in attendance. In 1844 the Foreign Board de- clared that it would not appoint a slaveholder as a missionary. -This was followed in April, 1845, by resolutions adopted by the Home Board declaring 14 HANDBOOK OF ALL DENOMINATIONS it to be “expedient that the members of the society should hereafter act in separate organizations at the South and at the North in promoting the ob- jects which were originally contemplated by the society.” As a result of these declarations, in re- sponse to a call issued by the Virginia Foreign Mis- sion Society, three hundred and ten delegates from the Southern Churches met in Augusta, Ga., in May, 1845, and organized the Southern Baptist Convention. This Convention established two boards, one for foreign missions and one for home missions. Since the settlement of the slavery question there have been occasional efforts made for a reunion of the Northern and Southern Baptists, but they have met with little favor either North or South. “But Northern and Southern Baptists are not, as some apparently delight to say, two separate denomina- tions. The Churches, both North and South, hold substantially one system of doctrine, agree in all important points of practice, receive and dismiss members from each other without question, and are in full, unrestricted, uninterrupted intercommunion,” says H. C. Vedder. While this is true, each branch—including the Colored Baptist branch, which is classed as “Regu- lar’”—maintains its own separate Church activities. Besides a general convention for each body and general agencies of these conventions, there are State conventions now organized in every State, which promote State missions and other local in- terests. The educational work of the Baptists, be- ginning. as far back as 1756, has had a remarkable i HANDBOOK OF ALL DENOMINATIONS development since 1850. The leading educational institutions of the Northern Baptists are: Brown University, Providence, R. I., chartered as Rhode Island College in 1764; Colby College, Waterville, Me.; Colgate University, Hamilton, N. Y.; Des Moines College, Des Moines, Ia.; Denison Univer: sity, Granville, Ohio; University of Rochester, Rochester, N. Y. The charter of the University of Chicago provides that the president of that institu- tion and two-thirds of the trustees shell be mem- bers of regular Baptist Churches, but it prohibits the exaction of any religious tests af professors or students. The leading theologica} seminaries are: Rochester (N. Y.), the Divinity School of the Uni- versity of Chicago, Crozier (Upland, Pa.), and New- ton (Newton Center, Mass.). Baylor University (Waco, Tex.), Furman University (Greenville, S. C.), Mercer University (Macon, Ga.), John B. Stet- son University (De Land, Fla.), University of Rich- mond (Richmond, Va.), Wake Forest College (Wake Forest, N. (.), and Simmons College (Abi- lene, Tex.), together with the Southern Baptist The- ological Seminary (Louisville, Ky.) and Southwest- ern Baptist Theological Seminary (Fort Worth, Tex.) are thy leading educational institutions of the Southern Baptists. William Jewell College, at Lib- erty, Mn., is listed by both the Northern and South- ern Baptists. The Colored Baptists control ninety- two educational institutions, and, all told, the Regu- lar Baptists (Northern, Southern, and Colored) own or control 286 schools, colleges, and universities. Baptists have no Confession of Faith accepted as such; but many associations and local Churches, 16 HANDBOOK OF ALL DENOMINATIONS particularly in the South, frequently publish a state- ment of Baptist principles. These generally follow the Philadelphia Confession or another known as the New Hampshire Confession, which is briefer. While the Philadelphia Confession is as baldly Cal- vinistic as the Westminster Confession, which it copies almost verbally in many of its articles, Bap- tists of the present day emphasize only the “Perse- verance of Saints” article of the Calvinistic faith. From a published address by Dr. R. S. MacArthur the following summary is taken as an expression of Baptist beliefs: “A fundamental principle of the Baptists, and one formerly held by them only, is that a man’s salvation depends solely on personal faith in Christ and the resultant change in inward character and not on baptism and other Church ordinances. They affirm that faith must be per- sonal, that no man can believe for another, no parent for a child, and that, therefore, the Church is not made up of believers and their children, except so far as the children are themselves believers, They administer baptism only to those who profess faith in Christ and give evidence in daily life of having been converted. They administer immersion, the baptism of the apostolic Church, the truly catholic baptism, and when this is impracticable they let the convert die without baptism. Baptists do not be- lieve that baptism is essential to salvation, but they believe that salvation is essential to baptism. . .. If there is ever organic unity, it will begin at the baptistery.” Baptist Churches are defined as “bodies of bap- tized believers, with pastors and deacons, cove- 2 17 HANDBOOK OF ALL DENOMINATIONS nanted together for religious worship and religious work.” Only those “of like faith and order” are in- vited to partake of the Lord’s Supper. Churches are congregational in government, but congregations are associated in religious work, and there is a strong fraternal tie between different Churches. Men are ordained to the pastorate by councils com- posed of ministers and representatives of neighbor- ing Churches. Among the many Church “drives” following the World War the Northern Baptists inaugurated the New World Movement, for raising funds for mis- sionary and educational work. Up to April 30, 1923, there had been collected by this movement $35,519,- 549. The Southern Baptists carried forward a “Sev- enty-Five Million Campaign” for similar purposes. Up to May 1, 1923, receipts from this campaign amounted to $43,933,815. ‘There are 29 Baptist orphanages in the United States, 22 “Homes,” and 26 hospitals, of which last the Southern Baptists own or control twenty. The following are the membership statistics by States of the three Regular Baptist bodies, from Convention reports of 1923 as given in the last edi- tion of the “American Baptist Yearbook”: Northern Southern Colored Baptists Baptists Baptists Alahbamat ao cutins boo scores oa 247,912 285,573 APio0s oa hae on ele oe 4.670 1 4532 Sea Arkansag:'s2neds 1S Steere eS aes 142,825 96,406 California, Northern....... 19.510: - “Ghee California, Southern........ 36,974. OR eee CECE ATIEE fre oe teas o dee cg cero 20,401 ona Heute COMM ORTICUD ora on kos x Hates 29,539: 5. no 5 cota ee ee WIGIAWALG. SS crack a vae tems 2,887 ose kee be 18 HANDBOOK OF ALL DENOMINATIONS Northern Baptists District of Columbia....... *13,300 DLR a foes Seo Sara NN Saar Re REM MRAD o ke ne ini te en's ee ee MR re os ee, eg 5,671 TOM occ ria 8s 96,665 bn TE ee ee ei 77,667 REDO a at hens abo ove Oh 0 owe 47,787 MEBs. etki s eet $1,570 NTT el lane nC aa ei iB Ao ie abe PCy a ERP TAT Wi a aa SR ar a Oia aieks. Sl. Ro? ce 33,955 TO SSU TTT OES AS ROE ID a gn or ake eo Massachusetts............. 90,850 Pigte rae Sc A 54,009 SRE ees) oa keys bees 29,977 PEED ov ges o'x 0 Sa sok wee oe ae c PAIGE OLS. Sade. SSS RUS 72 oh a gaa UEFA cup 4,353 lols CLT. Nepean alate niet, GAS eels 21,748 New Hampshire........... 14,388 Blew :LOrsey. o..o sess 690 HANDBOOK OF ALL DENOMINATIONS New Mexico and Utahiv2euiasee, 325 West Texas..... 0 59dc0 Vir eitiianiiers me ees 36,199 Newey orke ate 12,885 Washington, East.. 9,201 North Carolina.... 24,671 Washington, West.. 10,059 North Dakota..... 249 West Virginia..... 18,956 Ohiguor cose. Cees 113,974 Wisconsin......... 3,329 Okianoma sae eae 91,2947 >) Wyonling..c.5- as ee 1,176 rego tol-cisiets lees 19,807 —_—_———. Pennsylvania, East. 9,431 Total,:UsS... 1,303,266 Pennsylvania, West 24,549 Canada........... 8,664 South Carolina.... 4,111 Mission lands and South Dakota..... 1,855 foreign countries. 71,317 Tennessee......... Zerat ee Pexas tric ae 65,693 Total, world... 1,383,247 The gain in membership in the United States for the year ending June 30, 1923, was 68,572. The largest congregations of the Disciples are those of Canton, Ohio (First Church), with a mem- bership of 4,000; Des Moines, Iowa (University Place), 3,353; Pittsburg, Kans., 3,300; Kansas City, Mo. (Linwood Boulevard), 2,721; Fort Worth, Tex. (First Church), 2,597. The church at Canton, Ohio, has a “Bible-school” enrollment of 5,000. EASTERN ORTHODOX CHURCH Tus is the general name of a family of churches which constitute one of the three grand divisions of 64 HANDBOOK OF ALL DENOMINATIONS Christianity—Eastern Orthodox (or Greek Catho- lic) Churches, Roman Catholic, and Protestant. The Eastern Orthodox Churches adhere to the Greek rite, in distinction from the Latin, or Roman, and all the churches of this group hold the faith, or sys- tem of doctrine, formulated by the seven early ecu- menical councils. The division of the ancient Church into the East- ern, or Greek, wing and Western, or Roman, oc- curred in the ninth century. They were never or- ganically united, but grew up together and co- operated in the early extension of Christianity and in the early ecumenical councils. But from the be- ginning they differed in tradition, nationality, and _ language. The growth of the papacy in the West laid the foundation for the final rupture, the conflict between the pope of Rome and the patriarch of Constantinople finally resulting in each excom- municating the other. The chief doctrinal differ- ence between the Eastern and Western Churches is the ‘‘Filioque” addition to the Nicene Creed made by the Roman Church, making that creed declare that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father “and the Son,” the Greeks holding that the procession is from the Father only, as originally stated. The Greek Church differs from the Roman in other im- portant particulars, as follows: Rejection of the papacy; celibacy is not practiced, priests being al- lowed to marry once; baptism among the Easterns is by trine immersion, sprinkling, as practiced by the Romans, being held to be “an unchristian in- novation”; the attitude in prayer is standing, ex- 5 , 65 HANDBOOK OF ALL DENOMINATIONS cept at Pentecost, when the worshipers kneel; in- fants are confirmed and admitted to the communion at baptism. The Greeks have an elaborate ritual, like the Romans. They accept the first seven ecu- menical councils, but reject all the Western coun- cils. They are not strongly committed against Protestantism, as the reform movement never came into active conflict with the Eastern Church. But the effort made by a patriarch of Constantinople to engraft Calvinism upon the Greek theology failed completely, and the innovator was strangled to death and his body thrown into the Bosporus (1638). Until 1917 secession from the Orthodox Church was rigidly prohibited. The Eastern Church is divided into fifteen branches, each independent of the other. The com- munion embraces the Greek, Russian, and Slavonic nationalities and is found chiefly in Turkey, Greece, Servia, Roumania, Russia, some parts of Austria, in Western Asia, and, chiefly by immigration, in the United States. The largest branch is the Church in Russia, ruled by the Russian Holy Synod. For- merly the Czar was the recognized head of the church, but the revolution, beginning in 1917, has left the church in Russia without a head, and has revealed the fact that the church has but little influence or directing force in the life of the na- tion. The estimated membership of all the va- rious branches throughout the world is 150,000,- 000. In the United States there are seven branches of the Eastern Orthodox Church; but, as in the Old World, all are one in doctrine, discipline, and wor- 66 HANDBOOK OF ALL DENOMINATIONS ship, and all are subject to ancient canon law as to government. The Russian Church has precedence over other branches, for the reason that she was first to be planted in this country. All Slavonic branches, excepting the Bulgarian and the Syrian Church, are under her rule. The Greek branch is under the Synod of Athens. The following are the latest obtainable figures for the various branches in the United States: PUA CITENOUOX eC Ne ee ae ee 410 MASSA COEEDOUOXK se Gore eee ed ke oe eke 200,000 Greek ESELINOOXKE Yes 5. iC ee tee Seek. 200,000 PeIeRIROTE ROCK. tre, ete hc ee no et, 50,000 Dae Si AAPELILIMOUOX clio oh eee eR ee ek 3,000 miata. Orthodox !s-)\. > os dtete cee. Oke 1.994 Bulgarian Orthodox...... 650 Me een ees occ"! 50 SAS o' e's eared aeeehe & watbe: 456,054 EVANGELICAL CHURCH WHILE not usually classified among Methodist bodies, the Evangelical Association is Methodistic in doctrine, polity, and in spirit, and it is repre- sented in the Methodist Ecumenical Conferences. Its founder, Jacob Albright, was at one time a min- ister in the Methodist Episcopal Church. Albright was a German, born in Pennsylvania in 1759. The low religious condition of his own peo- ple around him led him to undertake a religious revival among them about 1790. His efforts met with success, and, like the founder of Methodism, he was soon confronted with the problem of taking care of his converts. The leaders of his own de- nomination “did not wish to do work at that time among the Germans of this country,” and Albright 67 HANDBOOK OF ALL DENOMINATIONS was elected bishop. Two years later a discipline, similar to that used in the Methodist Episcopal Church, was published. Albright’s followers were at first called the “Albright people,’ or the “Al- brights,” but later the name Evangelical Associa- tion of North America was taken. While this movement was begun among the German people, it has now its largest membership among English- speaking people. Differences of long standing culminated in 1890 and 1891 in the trial and suspension of the three bishops of the Association. In October, 1891, two bodies, each claiming to be the legal general con- ference, met, the one in Philadelphia, the other in Indianapolis. The courts were resorted to, and their decisions were generally in favor of the In- dianapolis conference. The opposite wing organ- ized the United Evangelical Church at Naperville, Ill., in 1894. After twenty years of separation the two bodies were reunited in 1921-22. The General Conferences of the two organizations came together in joint ses- sion in October, 1922, at Detroit, Mich., and merged themselves into the General Conference of the Evan- gelical Church. The denomination is strongest in the States of Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Illinois. It has thirty-two Annual Conferences, and maintains extensive pub- lishing, educational, and missionary agencies. Northwestern College and the Evangelical Theolog- ical Seminary are located at Naperville, Ill. Other 68 HANDBOOK OF ALL DENOMINATIONS colleges are located at Myerstown and Reading, Pa., and at Le Mars, Iowa. The Church reports 1,856 ministers, 2,916 churches, and 259,417 members. EVANGELICAL PROTESTANTS (GERMAN) Tuis is the name given collectively to a number of independent German Churches, found chiefly in Ohio and Pennsylvania. They have ministerial as- sociations, in which matters of mutual interest are discussed, but otherwise there are no interchurch organizations. Their theology is very liberal, the individual believer being left to his own interpre- tation of Scripture. In 1916 these Churches re- ported 34 ministers, 37 churches, and 17,962 mem- bers. EVANGELICAL SYNOD (GERMAN) Tuis represents in the United States the State Church of Prussia, which is composed of a union of Lutheran and Reformed elements. According to an official statement, “the object and purpose of the German Evangelical Synod in general is the ad- vancement and extension of the kingdom of God, but especially the establishment and expansion of the Evangelical Church among the German popula- tion of the United States.” The Synod was organized near St. Louis, Mo., in 1840. Other German synods have since united with it. The Synod is divided into eighteen districts, which hold district annual conferences. There is a general conference, which convenes every four 69 HANDBOOK OF ALL DENOMINATIONS years. The body carries on through various boards extensive educational, missionary, and benevolent work. Both parochial and Sunday schools are maintained. The work of the denomination is done almost exclusively among the German population, but in recent years a few English-speaking Churches have been organized. This body is most numerous in the States of Missouri, Illinois, and Ohio. Statistics: Ministers, 1,175; churches, 1,314; members, 317,986. FRIENDS THE founder of the Society of Friends, or Quak- ers, was George Fox, who, becoming dissatisfied with the religious conditions in England, began preaching about 1647. He traveled through Eng- land on foot and soon drew around him a considera- ble following. One of Fox’s early converts was Margaret Fell, a woman of prominence, who be- came one of his strongest supporters. From her house a band of sixty Quaker missionaries went forth to preach the doctrines of the new faith. The labors of Fox and this band of preachers were at- tended by great spiritual power, and thousands of adherents were gathered. On account of some doc- trines preached, as advising against oaths, the pay- ment of taxes for the support of the State Church, and against obedience to all laws deemed by them iniquitous, the Friends came into conflict with the government, and thousands of them were impris- oned and subjected to persection. After many rebuffs the movement took hold in 7O HANDBOOK OF ALL DENOMINATIONS the American colonies in New England as early as 1660. George Fox himself made a preaching tour of the colonies in 1673-81. But the most important enterprise in the history of the Society in this coun- try was the settlement of Pennsylvania by William Penn and a company of his brethren, beginning in 1682. This colony was controlled by the Friends for more than seventy years. Soon after the cessation of persecution (about 1680) the Friends lost much of their aggressiveness and began to turn their attention to internal or- ganization and discipline. Much attention was also given to works of philanthropy and against slavery. From this time there was a steady decline in mem- bership. In 1827 a schism occurred in the societies in Pennsylvania, New York, Ohio, and Indiana, due to the preaching of Elias Hicks, a prominent Friend, who taught doctrines closely resembling Unitarian views. The followers of Hicks came to be known as the Hicksite branch. In 1840 another separation from the main body occurred, although not so serious nor distinct as before, the point of contro- versy being as to the relative authority of the Scriptures and the Spirit. Those who separated are known as the Wilburites, from John Wilbur. Since 1871 the Friends have been active supporters of foreign mission work. The doctrine emphasized in the preaching of George Fox and the distinctive doctrine held by the Friends from that day is that relating to the “inner illumination and guidance of the Holy Spirit” in the individual believer. This doctrine lies at the 71 HANDBOOK OF ALL DENOMINATIONS root of all their special doctrines and explains the peculiar nature of their meetings. The Friends meet and usually remain in silence, in meditation, worship, or self-examination, until some one is moved by the Spirit to speak. In their view all be- lievers are “priests unto God,” and any person, old or young, male or female, who feels so called has the authority to teach or to preach. The ordinances of baptism and the Lord’s Supper are not observed, their belief being that the baptism of the Spirit and communion with the Father and the Son meet all Scriptural necessities. The societies are associated in monthly, quarter- ly, and annual meetings. These meetings appoint overseers for the membership and elders for over- sight of the ministry. It has become noticeable of late that the distinctive Quaker garb is being laid aside and that the characteristic “thee” and “thou” of their speech is falling into disuse. The Society maintains several educational institutions, among them being the William Penn Charter School, Philadelphia, founded by William Penn, and Bryn Mawr Woman’s College, at Byrn Mawr, Pa. There are four divisions of the Friends in this country, as follows: The Orthodox, the most numer- ous branch, strongest in Ohio and Indiana; the Hicksite, strongest in Pennsylvania; the Wilburite, found mainly in Indiana and Iowa; and the Primi- tive, with an insignificant scattered membership. The total figures for all bodies are: Ministers, 1.252; churches, 714; members, 106,548—all reports showing losses during the last few years. 72 HANDBOOK OF ALL DENOMINATIONS Se rere a ated ame) CR EE FRIENDS OF THE TEMPLE A sMALL body, originating in Germany, which has tor its purpose the setting up of the kingdom of Christ on earth, with Jerusalem for its capital. It is expected to restore the temple and the ancient theocracy of Israel. A colony has been planted in Palestine, but the adherents of the movement, never very numerous, are diminishing. In 1916 there were five hundred members in the United States. HOLINESS BODIES (EVANGELISTIC ASSO- CIATIONS) THERE are a great number of independent bodies, bearing various names, widely divergent in many points of doctrine and polity, but which agree in emphasizing sanctification, or “holiness,” as a dis- tinct experience. The U. S. Census reports group many of them under “Evangelistic Associations,” and the Federal Council Yearbook (1923) uses the same classification; but both reports list under dif- ferent names many other small organizations which are distinguished by the same holiness doctrine. All bodies thus distinguished are grouped together here under the general title of “Holiness Bodies.” They are as follows: 1. Apostolic Church, reporting 112 members. 2. Apostolic Christian Church, with 4,766 mem- bers, 3. Apostolic Faith Movement. Originated in a revival at Topeka, Kans., in 1900. It has 2,196 members. 4. Assemblies of God, General Council. Organ- 73 HANDBOOK OF ALL DENOMINATIONS ized at Hot Springs, Ark., in 1914. Governed by a General Council, which meets annually. Headquar- ters of the organization are at Springfield, Mo. Schools are operated at Springfield, Mo., Los An- geles, and San Francisco, Cal., Rochester, N. Y., Newark, N. J., Findlay, Ohio, and other places, in- dicating that the membership is widely scattered over the country. The organization is credited with 1,034 ministers, 1,000 churches, and a membership of 60,000. 5. Christian Congregation. Formed in 1899, at Kokomo, Ind., and existing only in that State, with an annual conference and a presiding bishop. It has 28 ministers, 15 churches, and a membership of 3,000. 6. Church of God, General Assembly. First or- ganized in Monroe County, Tenn., in 1886 under the name of “Christian Union.” The name was later changed to that of “Holiness Church,” and in 1907 was reorganized under its present form and name. The Church has bishops, deacons, and evangelists. This body, while largely Methodistic in origin, ob- serves the ceremony of foot-washing, and baptism is by immersion. It has 21,076 members. 7. Church of God, as Organized by Christ. Exist- ing in Indiana, with 216 members. 8. Church of Daniel’s Band. Found in Michigan, having 100 members. 9. Church Transcendent, a single congregation in Ohio, with 15 members. 10. Hepzibah Faith Association. A camp-meeting organization in Iowa, with about 400 members. _ 11. Holiness Church. Organized in Southern Cal- (74 HANDBOOK OF ALL DENOMINATIONS ifornia in 1896, being formed from certain “Holiness Bands” which had withdrawn from the Methodist Churches. The headquarters of the body are at Los Angeles, Cal., but many churches are found in Ken- tucky and Tennessee. It has 96 ministers, 43 churches, and 1,250 members. 12. Lumber River Mission. An organization com- posed of Holiness Methodist Churches in North Carolina. Membership, 434. 13. Metropolitan Church Association. Developed from the Metropolitan Methodist Church in Chica- go in 1894. Headquarters are at Waukesha, Wis. This branch is known as the “Burning Bush.” Membership, 704. 14. Missionary Church Association. Organized in Indiana in 1898. Membership, 1,554. 15. Penial Missions. Headquarters, Los Angeles, Cal., having 257 members. 16. Pentecost Bands of the World. Headquarters, Indianapolis, Ind. Membership, 400. 17. Pentecostal Holiness Church. A union of the Fire-Baptized Holiness Church and the Pentecostal Holiness Church, formed in North Carolina in I9I1I. The body has 471 ministers, 320 churches, and 7,940 members, found mainly in the South Atlantic States. 18. Pilgrim Holiness Church. Organized as the International Apostolic Holiness Union at Cincin- nati, Ohio, in 1897, by Martin W. Knapp, a Meth- odist minister. The Church is partly Methodistic and partly Congregational in government. Schools are maintained at Owosso, Mich., Kingswood, Ky., Shaklesford, Va., Greensboro, N. C., and Allentown, 75 HANDBOOK OF ALL DENOMINATIONS Pa. Membership, by U. S. Census reports, 1916, 5,270. 19. Pillar of Fire. Headquarters at Zarephath, N. J. There are two Annual Conferences—an Eastern, which meets at Zarephath, N. J., and a Western which meets at Denver, Colo. The body also has two bishops, one of them a woman, Alma White. The body reports 133 ministers, 23 churches, and 722 members. 20. Volunteer Missionary Society. A colored body, organied in Alabama in 1900. Membership, 855. JEWISH CONGREGATIONS AccorpInc to 1920 figures, a London estimate gives the Jewish population of the world at 15,430,- ooo. The American Jewish Yearbook estimates the population at 15,744,662. The largest Jewish popu- lations are found in Poland (3,300,000), the territo- ries of the former Russian Empire (3,600,000), Aus- tria and Hungary (2,250,000), and the United States (3,100,000). New York City has a Jewish popula- tion of 1,500,000; Chicago, 250,000; Philadelphia, 210,000; Cleveland, 100,000. Jews at an early date, as exiles from Spain and Portugal, settled in the American colonies. They were found in New Amsterdam as early as 1652. They were joined by others from Brazil; but the Jewish settlers were not welcomed, and they moved to Rhode Island, where the first synagogue was or- ganized about 1655. ns old synagogue is still HANDBOOK OF ALL DENOMINATIONS standing at Newport. Pennsylvania, Georgia, and the Carolinas were the next places of settlement. The Jews readily attached themselves to their new asylum and showed themselves patriots when the break came with England. A member of the New- port synagogue gave $10.000 to finish the Bunker Hill monument. Religiously, the Jews may be said, in a general way, to hold the ancient faith of their fathers, but they are not united in their views and customs. Modern Judaism has three divisions, not strictly applied nor everywhere applied alike. The Ortho- dox Jews hold strictly to the Old Testament as the Word of God, and with equal veneration and strict- ness they observe the traditional body of laws, statutes, and customs expounded by the rabbis of the Talmuds and handed down through the genera- tions by tradition. The codification of these laws and customs, made by Rabbi Joseph Caro in the middle of the sixteenth century, is authoritative in all the minutest details of Jewish life. The Conservative congregations, in common with the Orthodox, accept both the written and the oral law, but are less strict in their observance. The Reformed Jews hold a different attituae to- ward both the acceptance and the observance of the written and oral law. Liberal ideas as to the in- spiration of the Bible and the development of reve- lation and tradition are the rule among them, and great concessions are made to the spirit of the times and the conditions of modern life. In Germany and the United States Sunday services are being intro- 77. HANDBOOK OF ALL DENOMINATIONS duced in addition to the regular Sabbath observ- ances, and in a few places, notably Chicago, the Sabbath service has been entirely discarded. The rites and ceremonies which are generally observed vary. The Sabbath is still strictly ob- served by the Orthodox. They also rigidly observe the two festivals of New Year and the Day of Atonement in September and October and the Pass- over festival in March or April. The Pentecost festival, at the end of May or the beginning of June, is observed by the Reformed Jews, among whom it is a day of confirmation. The Feast of Tabernacles is still generally observed. The dietary laws of Moses are universally observed by the Orthodox Jews. The Jews have no religious head. Each congre- gation is autonomous and a law unto itself. But congregations cooperate in many ways. There is a Union of American Hebrew Congregations, the Young Men’s Hebrew Association, the National Council of Jewish Women, and other general socie- ties. According to the latest official reports there are in the United States 3,000 Jewish congregations, and 810 rabbis. Only the heads of Jewish families are usually members of synagogues. 78 HANDBOOK OF ALL DENOMINATIONS LATTER-DAY SAINTS, OR MORMONS Tue Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, better known as the Mormon Church, was organized April 6, 1830, at Fayette, Seneca County, N. Y., with six members. Joseph Smith, its founder, was a native of Vermont, whence he moved in boyhood with his parents to Western New York. The elder Smith was known as a roving money digger and water witch, and the family is said to have lived a hand-to-mouth existence. Joseph while a boy took up his father’s calling and is reported by his neigh- bors to have miraculously discovered a “peep stone,” by which he claimed to be able to find hidden treas- ure. This earned him the nickname of “Peep-Stone Joe.” His operations carried him frequently into Pennsylvania, where in 1827, at the age of twenty- two, he eloped with and married the daughter of a respectable farmer. Smith’s visions and revelations began when he was only fourteen years of age. Revival meetings had turned his attention to religion, but denomina- tional disputes left him greatly unsettled as to which one of the many Churches he should join. Accord- ing to his own account, he determined to commit the matter to the Lord in prayer in response to the Scriptural invitation of James i. 5. While thus en- gaged in the woods near his father’s house “he be- held two glorious personages, wrapped in a brilliant light, standing above him in the air.” He was told in response to his inquiries that he should join none of the Churches, that all were wrong, and that the true gospel would soon be restored to men. Three 79 HANDBOOK OF ALL DENOMINATIONS years later, “after Joseph had retired for the night and was engaged in prayer, the room was filled with light, and the angel Moroni appeared, who, among other disclosures, revealed the hiding place of cer- tain golden plates, upon which was recorded the fullness of the everlasting gospel.” The prophet received these plates from the angel, the date being set down as September 22, 1827, and with the plates “two stones in silver bows, deposited with the rec- ord, constituting what is called the Urim and Thummin, which God had prepared for the purpose of translating the characters of the record.” With the aid of these supernatural spectacles Smith trans- lated the record, which was published in 1830 as the Book of Mormon. The plates were returned into the keeping of the angel. In close association with Smith in the publication of the Book of Mormon and in the organization of the Mormon Church were Sidney Rigdon, Martin Harris, and Oliver Cowdery. Prefixed to the pub- lication is the sworn statement of Harris, Cowdery, and Peter Whitmer that they had seen the plates from which the book had been transcribed. Harris had been in turn a Quaker, Universalist, Baptist, and Presbyterian, but “always a dreamer and fanatic,’ affirming that he had visited the moon. Harris mortgaged his farm in order to provide for the publication of Smith’s book; and as the sale was slow, he forfeited his property. Cowdery was a schoolmaster who served as Smith’s amanuensis. All three witnesses who certified to the authenticity of Smith’s manuscript later fell away from Mor- 80 HANDBOOK OF ALL DENOMINATIONS monism and declared their previous testimony to be false. The Book of Mormon has fifteen divisions, or books, which purport to have been written by as many different hands. It sets forth the history of certain imaginary races of people who anciently in- habited America. One tribe, called the “Jaredites,” came directly from the Tower of Babel. The sec- ond race came directly from the city of Jerusalem. The Jaredites were destroyed. The remnant of the Israelitish settlers are the American Indians. The book teaches that Jesus Christ made his appear- ance on this continent after his resurrection and planted the true gospel and instituted the sacra- ments and the order of priesthood and Church powers. But the American people were cut off in consequence of their transgressions, and the last of their prophets, Mormon, was charged with the task of collecting and revising the sacred records. These were then engraved on golden plates, in “Reformed Egyptian,” and buried at Cumorah, “about 420 A.D.” Non-Mormon theories as to the origin of the Book of Mormon usually agree in connecting it with a certain manuscript entitled “Manuscript Found,” by Solomon Spaulding, containing an imaginary ac- count of the origin of the American Indians. Cred- ible evidence goes to show that this manuscript was accessible to Rev. Sidney Rigdon for more than two years before the publication of the Book of Mor- mon and that Rigdon and Smith were associated during this time. Rigdon had been a printer in Pittsburg, where the manuscript had been sent for publication and later became in turn a Baptist and 6 81 HANDBOOK OF ALL DENOMINATIONS a “Campbellite” preacher. Internal evidence of the book strongly reflects the preaching of Rigdon and the religious disputes of the times. In the language of one investigator, “It is not specially important to know who edited the Spaulding story and de- veloped it into the present Book of Mormon. But all the evidence points to Sidney Rigdon, and it points to no one else. His ‘speech bewrayeth’ him in the employment of phraseology to which he had become accustomed while associated with the breth- ren of that denomination,” referring to his affiliation with the movement just beginning under Campbell. (R. G. McNiece, D.D., “Mormonism: Its Origin, Characteristics, and Doctrines,” article in the Fundamentals.) In 1831 Joseph Smith and a small company of “converts” moved to Kirtland, Ohio, where they found a more inviting field for their doctrines. Missionaries were sent out, and as a result of their labors the new Church numbered within a few months more than twelve hundred members. Com- munal business enterprises were established, among them a bank, with Smith at its head. The bank failed. Judicial proceedings were begun against the prophet, but in obedience to a revelation he fled to Missouri, whither many of the saints had pre- ceded him. Smith found his people in sore straits in Mis- souri, due to the hostility among the “Gentiles,” or non-Mormons. The State government assigned the Mormons a place of residence in the thinly settled western portion of the State, and here the town of Far West was founded. The enmity of the Gen- 82 HANDBOOK OF ALL DENOMINATIONS tiles led to the formation among the Mormons of the “Danite Band,” a secret order sworn to obey any behest of the Church against property or life. It was here also that the tithing system was intro- duced. But peace for the saints was short-lived in the new Zion. The Church leaders came under suspicion of misappropriation of trust funds, and many prominent members forsook the organization. Conflicts again broke out between Mormons and Gentiles and between the Mormons and the State authorities. A general exodus of the saints fol- lowed, about fifteen thousand crossing into Illinois. The troubles of the new sect had attracted wide at- tention ; and as missionaries continued to go far and wide, even to England, bringing in hundreds of re- cruits and sympathizers, Smith immediately began to plan a new Zion on a larger scale. The tithing system kept the coffers of the Church full. In obedience to a “revelation,” he laid out the city of Nauvoo, on the banks of the Mississippi, in Han- cock County, Ill. It was the prophet’s purpose to found a theocracy, with himself at its head as God’s vicegerent. At Nauvoo Smith attained his greatest eminence and power in the Church. His headship was undisputed in both temporal and spiritual af- fairs of the community. He took the title of “Prophet, Seer, and Revelator, Apostle of Jesus Christ and Elder of the Church.” It is recorded that in 1842 eight ships were chartered to transport the converts from England to America. The ambi- tions of the prophet knew no bounds, and in 1844 he announced for the Presidency of the United States. It was at Nauvoo that the doctrine of polygamy 83 HANDBOOK OF ALL DENOMINATIONS | was first announced. There are evidences that it had been practiced long before in Ohio and Mis- souri; but owing to the antagonism which it was feared the practice would arouse, it was kept within close bounds until the saints should grow stronger in numbers. At Nauvoo the doctrine seems to have been announced in obedience to a convenient reve- lation to quiet the indignation of Smith’s wife at his profligacy. But the prophet’s career was nearing its close. Internal dissensions arose over the plural wife doc- trine and on account of Smith’s autocratic govern- ment. Riots broke out, and many of the citizens fled. Public indignation ran high among the Gen- tiles, and a movement was set on foot to drive the Mormons out of the State. Both sides took up arms. Smith and his brother Hyrum were arrested on a charge of treason and lodged in the jail at Carthage. Here, notwithstanding the presence of twelve hundred State militia, on the night of June 27, 1844, a mob assaulted the jail and shot to death Joseph and Hyrum Smith. After the death of their leader the Mormons split up into different followings, according as rival claimants for the prophetic office were acknowl- edged. One J. J. Strang loudly proclaimed his right to succeed the prophet and led off a company to Wisconsin, where he established a “kingdom” on an island in Lake Michigan. In 1856 he was shot and killed in a row, and his followers dispersed. The ever-prominent Sidney Rigdon secured a following, but his movement soon came to naught. A still larger company took the name of “Young Joseph- 84 HANDBOOK OF ALL DENOMINATIONS ites,” after Joseph Smith, Jr., and formed the Reor- ganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. (See below.) But the main body of the Mormens acknowledged the claims of Brigham Young, “the lion of the Lord.” Young was a man of great native force and ability, but with limited education and wholly with- out culture. He had embraced Mormonism in New York in 1832 and soon joined the prophet at Kirt- land. He had rendered notable service to the Church as missionary, as one of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles (instituted in 1835), and it was he who had directed the movement from Missouri into Illinois during the troublous times of 1838. The crisis in Mormon affairs following Smith’s death led to the plan of a migration to a locality beyond the borders of civilization where the saints might be free from molestation. Young organized and conducted the expedition which, beginning in 1846, succeeded by the close of 1848 in transferring the larger body of Mormons to the valley of Great Salt Lake, in Utah. Brigham Young’s administration of the affairs of the Church, beginning in 1844, continued until his death, in 1871, during which time he exercised abso- lute sway. He not only completed and perfected the Mormon hierarchy and largely refashioned and gave effect to the body of Mormon doctrines, but founded an important State. He extended the mis- sionary forces of the Church and brought into the valley a constant stream of new adherents to the faith, Under the presidency of Brigham Young polygamy became the rule among the Mormons. 85 HANDBOOK OF ALL DENOMINATIONS Young himself was, first and last, the husband of twenty-five wives and the father of fifty-six chil- dren. Since the death of Young the Mormon hierarchy has had at its head successively John Taylor, Wil- ford Woodruff, Lorenzo Snow, Joseph F. Smith, a son of Hyrum Smith, and the present incumbent, Heber J. Grant. The system of government in the Church has at its head the President, who succeeds also to the office of “prophet, seer, and revelator” instituted by Joseph Smith. The President, with his two counselors, is called the First Presidency. The Quorum of Twelve Apostles constitutes a sort of traveling episcopacy, or overseers, under the di- rection of the First Presidency. Next in order are the Seventies, or seventy elders, who are under seven presidents. The seventy elders, with their presidents, constitute the Melchizedek, or Higher Priesthood. The Aaronic, or Lower Priesthood, consists of priests, teachers, and deacons. The ter- ritory of the Church is divided into “Stakes of Zion,” in distinction from Zion proper, which is in Jackson County, Mo., where the saints expect to gather at last to receive the returning Christ. The stakes are divided into wards. Each stake has a complete hierarchy, a miniature copy of that over the entire Church, and each ward has a bishop, who is assisted by under officers. According to a Mormon statement, their system “consists of doctrines, commandments, ordinances, and rites revealed from God to the present age.” The Bible is accepted “in so far as it is correctly translated. We also accept the Book of Mormon 86 HANDBOOK OF ALL DENOMINATIONS as the Word of God.” But such liberties have been taken with the Bible as to leave it without any meaning to a Mormon, and the Book of Mormon itself is but a historical relic as an authority in comparison with the body of divinity which has grown up through the revelations of the prophets of Mormonism. “The first principle of Mormonism is belief in a present and progressive revelation.” The outline of Mormon beliefs, so called, which is given to non-Mormons by the Mormon missionaries, does not contain the peculiar doctrines of this sect. The Mormons have developed a sort of philosophy which justifies polygamy, and makes that doctrine, whatever their practice, a nec- essary article in the faith of a good Mormon. The Mormon theory of God is that he is Adam exalted. Adam “is our father and our God, and the only God with whom we have to do,” according to Brigham Young. Mormonism teaches that those who build up large polygamous establishments on earth will be advanced to the dignity of gods in the after life and will rule over kingdoms. “God himself was once as we are now,” says Joseph Smith, “and is an exalted man. . . . And you have got to learn how to be gods yourselves, the same as other gods have done before you.” The Mormon Catechism scouts the idea of one God. “Are there more gods than one? Yes, many.” These gods continue to multiply their progeny in the heavenly world by their “celestial wives,” the women who were “sealed” to them in this world. The “sealing,” or “celestial marriage,” ceremony is performed only in the temple at Salt Lake City and is attended by secret rites to which only the faithful are admitted. 87 HANDBOOK OF ALL DENOMINATIONS Obedience to the priesthood is a cardinal law of the Mormon. Baptism is by immersion and “is un- conditionally necessary to salvation.” Infant bap- tism is rejected. The Lord’s Supper is observed every Sunday, in which water in later times has dis- placed the wine. Public worship consists of sing- ing, prayers, and a sermon, which may be on a re- ligious subject or may be a political harangue. Statistics: The Federal Council Yearbook of the Churches (1923) reports for the Utah branch of Latter-Day Saints 4,718 ministers, 1,050 churches, and 508,717 members. The Christian Herald Almanac for 1914 credits the Utah branch, “ac- cording to the last authoritative figures,’ with 3,300 preachers, 1,420 churches, and 352,500 mem- bers. The United States census of 1906 reported 215,796 members of the Utah branch. The largest number of members is in Utah; but they are numer- ous in the States of Idaho, Arizona, and Wyoming, in the order named. There are about fifteen thou- sand Mormons in Europe (mostly in Great Britain and the countries of Northern Europe), a consid- erable number in Canada, and several colonies in Mexico. The Church keeps about two thousand missionaries in the field—in the United States and abroad. This branch reports a gain in member- ship of 16,000. for the past year. Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter- Day Saints.—The Reorganized Church was formed by a small body of Mormons who disowned the leadership of Brigham Young and separated from 88 HANDBOOK OF ALL DENOMINATIONS the main body in 1844. The doctrine of polygamy was repudiated and has never been practiced among them. The Book of Mormon is accepted as of di- vine origin, and Joseph Smith is held as the prophet of the faith. The system of polity is similar to that of the Utah Mormons. The headquarters of the Church are at Lamoni, Ia., where a publishing house, a college, and homes for the aged are main- tained. The Church was presided over by Joseph Smith, a son of the first President, until his death at Independence, Mo., in 1914. Missionary work is carried on in nearly all the States and in many foreign countries. In 1922 the Church had 95,365 members in the United States and Canada. LUTHERANS Tue Lutheran communion dates from the time of the Reformation and owes its origin and name to the great reformer, Martin Luther. The name was first applied by Rome to all Protestants in derision; but it was not accepted without protest from Luther, whose aim was not to originate a sect or a Church, but to bring about a reform of the entire Roman communion. The work and doctrines of Luther are in a large measure the common in- heritance of Protestantism; but the movement be- gun by him early divided into two branches, the Lutheran and the Reformed, or the conservative and the more radical wing. The more advanced 89 HANDBOOK OF ALL DENOMINATIONS reformers, Zwingli, Calvin, Knox, and others, held that the Lutheran reforms did not go far enough; that they stopped short of a complete break with the corrupt usages and ceremonies of Rome. Doc- trinally, the point of greatest divergence between Lutheranism and the Reformed creed is on the sacraments. The Lutherans held to the necessity of baptism to salvation. “Baptism is not simply water,” according to a Lutheran authority, “but water comprehended in God’s command and con- nected with God’s Word”; and it has a saving ef- fect “produced by the Word of God, which accom- panies and is connected with the water, and by our faith, which relies on the Word of God connected with the water.” The Lutheran doctrine of the Lord’s Supper is thus expressed: They believe “in the real presence of Christ’s body and blood in, with, and under the bread and wine during the sacramental fruition,” a doctrine usually called by English writers consubstantiation, in distinction from the Roman Catholic doctrine of transubstan- tiation; but the term is rejected by the Lutherans. “Body and blood are not mixed with nor locally in- cluded in, but sacramentally and mysteriously united with, the elements.” The Lutheran view of the Scriptures is that they are not only inspired, “but inspiring, possessing not only a normative, but a dynamic character. In other Protestant systems the sole office of the Word is to point the way of life. In Lutheranism it communicates that whereof it treats.” In Lutheran churches “art in the sanc- tuary is not discarded. The symbolic arrangement and decoration of God’s house is encouraged so far go HANDBOOK OF ALL DENOMINATIONS as art is expressive of the gospel and impressive as an aid in exciting and deepening faith in it.” (Quotations from article “Lutherans,” in New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia.) Lutheranism is the established Church in Den- mark, Norway, and Sweden. Lutherans constitute nearly the whole of the Protestant population of the German States, where its government is in the hands of an ecclesiastical cabinet appointed by the State, The people of Finland and about one-fourth of the population of Switzerland are Lutherans, and this Church is represented in practically every coun- try of Europe, the total number of Lutheran com- municants in Europe being about 60,000,000. Dutch Lutherans were among the first settlers of Manhattan Island, but they were not granted the privileges of worship until the English occupation in 1664. Early Swedish and German immigrants planted Churches in Pennsylvania and Delaware. The first synod was organized in Pennsylvania in 1748. A general synod was formed in 1820, which aimed at a union of all Lutheran bodies in the United States. But the Lutherans in this country remain split up into a great number of separate bodies, or synods, formed in some instances accord- ing to locality and in others on the basis of the lan- guage used. The following order shows the com- parative strength of various Lutheran bodies ac- cording to language used: German, German-Eng- lish, English, Norwegian, Swedish, Danish, Ice- landic, Finnish. During recent years the Lutheran bodies have shown a larger percentage of growth than any of gl HANDBOOK OF ALL DENOMINATIONS the other large Protestant bodies in the United States. This is due in part to immigration; but the Lutherans are very aggressive, and their Church activities are manifold and constantly expanding. The Lutheran bodies maintain parochial schools, more than one hundred colleges and theological iseminaries, one of the largest foreign mission forces, large home evangelistic forces, immigrant stations, orphanages, and hospitals. The numerous bodies reporting do not differ materially in doctrine. In polity the sovereignty of the local congregation is recognized, but the synods have a measure of ju- dicial and executive authority. Following are the various Lutheran bodies in the United States, with the membership of each (Federal Council Yearbook of the Churches, 1923) : United Lutheran Church in America..... 801,250 Joint Synod ‘of Gnigs., 21.5) seed ee ae 151,948 LOWa DYNOGNEL sere oe terete cay Ne eee 132,269 Baffalo Sytiod es Vey. (eee 6,640 Emmannel Synod os 00% £:512.8.). 0s eee 1,249 Jehovah Conference... . 5.600. cede cain 864 Augustana Synod. oso. ne §$3-513sa Floridatia tics safc = 49,721 ESPON ATC nt oa gtela sins 2.869, » Holston. -2.). 22. 22. 90,893 TSB IPTINOCE 2857. 0!a si 5s 83.194 5. Wlinoigs cece. eos 6,743 Central Texas...... 87,396 Indian Mission..... 4,802 Oy ee 2,943. “Kentucky... 2.5 06..: 33,891 East Oklahoma.... 37,524 Little Rock........ 56,841 HANDBOOK OF ALL DENOMINATIONS Louisiana... ....... 52,185 South Georgia..... 111,606 Louisville......... 62,545 Southwest Missouri. 39,666 Memphis.......... 87,054; ot. Louis tes soeunek 43,249 Mississippi........ 66,482 Tennessee......... 85,163 MissOurg.'.', <6: