490 



MACLEOD, NORMAN. 



effort; but, learning from experience, are thereby 

 rather stimulated to devise more efficient methods, 

 and to put forth increasing and more concerted en- 

 deavors to consummate these worthy aims. And we 

 feel constrained to thank God for the prospects of 

 success. We have never felt more encouraged, and 

 with God's blessing we shall succeed. 



The Rev. V. F. Bolton was present as a vis- 

 iting delegate from the General Synod North. 

 A motion to receive him as such, was laid on 

 the table. Ife was then received as an advisory 

 member, simply in his personal capacity as a 

 Lutheran minister. 



The conclusion of the Franco-German War 

 left the Lutheran Church in France in a pre- 

 carious condition. The cession of Alsace-Lor- 

 raine to Germany not only deprived it of 

 three-fourths of its members, but also took 

 away its central administration, and its facul- 

 ty of theology, both of which were located 

 at Strasbourg. A number of the members 

 doubted the practicability of their continu- 

 ance as an independent denomination, and the 

 desire was expressed, at Montbeliard, to merge 

 the Lutheran in the Reformed Church. In 

 order to avert the danger of such a fate, and 

 to promote the interests of the Church gener- 

 ally, a synod was called, with the consent of 

 the Government, and met in Paris, on the 

 13th of July. The Inspection of Paris was 

 represented by fifteen delegates, that of Mont- 

 beliard by eighteen. The meetings continued 

 during eight days. A thorough revision of. 

 the plan of organization of the Church was 

 effected, with provision for the administrative 

 independence of the two inspections (hereafter 

 to be designated as synods), and for a general 

 synod, to be composed of delegates from the 

 two district synods. The principal provisions 

 of the new organic law are as follows: 



As the basis of the organization is the church 

 council, which in each congregation must be com- 

 posed of at least eight lay members. Above the 

 church council is the consistory, which extends its 

 jurisdiction over several congregations, and is com- 



posed of all the pastors of the circumscription, and 

 of twice as many lay delegates, elected by the church 

 councils. Where a minister is to be appointed, the 

 consistory, in connection with the whole church 

 council of the vacant congregation, proceeds to the 

 appointment. The congregation, in case it is not 

 satisfied with the choice, has the right to appeal to 

 the synod. 



There will be henceforth two particular or district 

 synods (formerly inspections), each onc > composed 

 of all the members of the consistories of their dis- 

 trict. These bodies will assemble every year, delil 

 erate on the welfare of the Church, and each one wil 

 appoint a synodical committee of five members tv 

 ministers and three laymen. These bodies form t 1 

 executive agencies between the synods and the go 

 ernment, and are charged with the temporalities 

 The ecclesiastical inspector, who is elected to his 

 office for a period of nine years, and may be reflected, 

 is, by virtue of his office, a member of this commit- 

 tee, and has to take care of the spiritualities. 



At the head of the whole organization is the Gen- 

 eral Synod, composed of representatives, delegated 

 by the district synods, in proportion to their popula- 

 tion. This body meets, at least, every three years, 

 and appoints a committee, whose duty it is to, attend 

 to the execution of its decisions. This committee is, 

 however, not a permanent one, and ceases to exist 

 as soon as its labors are brought to an end. 



Modifications in the constitution of the 

 Church can be made only by a special assem- 

 bly, called a "constituent synod," which can 

 be called only upon a vote of two-thirds of the 

 delegates to the General Synod. 



The following declaration of doctrine was 

 adopted by a unanimous vote it is to be in- 

 scribed as a preamble at the head of the law : 

 "Before proceeding to the reorganization of 

 the Church, the synod, true to the principles 

 of faith and liberty with which the reformers 

 were inspired, proclaims the authority of the 

 Scriptures paramount in matters of faith, and 

 maintains, as the basis of the legal constitu- 

 tion of the Church, the Augsburg Confession." 



Resolutions were unanimously adopted ex- 

 pressing brotherly sympathy with the churches 

 of Alsace-Lorraine, and a regret at their sepa- 

 ration. 



M 



MACLEOD, Rev. NORMAN, D. D., an emi- 

 nent Scotch, clergyman, editor, and author, 

 born at Campbelton, June 3, 1812 ; died at Glas- 

 gow, June 16, 1872. He was the son of the 

 Rev. Dr. Norman Macleod, an honored min- 

 ister of the Kirk of Scotland, and was educated 

 at Edinburgh, Glasgow, and in Germany. 

 While in the University of Edinburgh he was 

 the favorite pupil of Dr. Chalmers, then Pro- 

 fessor of Divinity, and whom he afterward 

 succeeded as Moderator of kirk. Having taken 

 orders, he became minister of Loudon, in Ayr- 

 shire, in 1838, and five years later was removed 

 to the more important parish of Dalkeith, near 

 Edinburgh. In 1851, upon the death of the 

 Rev. Dr. Black, he was advanced to the min- 

 istry of St. Columba's Kirk, better known as 



the barony parish of Glasgow. Here he brought 

 to his labors all the force of his zealous nature, 

 steadily directing his efforts to the erection of 

 new kirks, and to the opening of supplemen- 

 tary schools, to meet the ever-increasing re- 

 quirements of his enormous parish. He in- 

 augurated .a series of meetings to which none 

 but the working-class was admitted, and it 

 became indispensable to wear a fustian jacket 

 in order to gain admittance to these remarkable 

 services. It was his belief that this class had 

 greater need of the instruction of the ablest 

 men in the church than the wealthy. On the 

 death of Dr. Robert Lee, Professor of Biblical 

 Criticism in the University of Edinburgh, he 

 was made Dean of the Royal Chapel. With a 

 view of furthering more energetically the 



