PRESBYTERIANISM 



393 



of the Free Church of Scotland ( q. v. ) the greater 

 number of the English Presbyterian churches con- 

 nected with the Church of (Scotland sympathised 

 with the cause of the Free Church, and took the 

 name of the Presbyterian Church in England. In 

 1876 a union, which had been long desired, was 

 consummated between the synod more intimately 

 related to the Free Church of Scotland and the 

 congregations belonging to the United Presby- 

 terian Church. The name assumed by the united 

 church is the Presbyterian Churcli of England. At 

 the time of the union the Presbyterian Church in 

 England had about 150 churches, and the United 

 Presbyterian Church more than 100. At the same 

 date the Church of Scotland in England had about 

 twenty congregations. 



Scotland. The Presbyterian Churches of Scot- 

 land are separately treated in the articles SCOT- 

 LAND (CHURCH HISTORY), FREE CHURCH OF 

 SCOTLAND, UNITED PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, and 

 CAMERONIANS. 



Ireland. The Irish Presbyterian Church origin- 

 ated in the settlement of Ulster by Scottish colon- 

 ists during the reign of James I. After various 

 struggles a Presbyterian church was founded by 

 the formation of a presbytery at Carrickfergus in 

 1642. The Presbyterian population of Ulster was 

 greatly increased in nuni!>er by immigration from 

 Scotland al>out the middle of the 17th century ; 

 and, notwithstanding many difficulties, from the 

 opposition of prelates and of the civil power, the 

 church continued to increase. It is a curious fact 

 that the Presbyterian ministers received a pension 

 from government, under Charles II., in 1672, which 

 A'"/M///I Ijunuiii (q.v.), however, was not regularly 

 paiil until the reign of William, when it was aug- 

 mented, although only to the paltry amount in all 

 of 1200 a year. It was afterwards repeatedly 

 augmented, till it reached the amount of 70 for 

 each minister. A seminary for the education of 

 ministers was erected at Killalea^h : and in 1710 

 the synod of the Presbyterian Church resolved to 

 institute the preaching of the gospel to the Irish 

 in their own language. During this period of its 

 history the Irish Presbyterian Church experienced 

 the utmost opjiosition from the High Church party. 

 Afterwards dissensions sprang up within it, ami 

 these with reference to the most important doc- 

 trines. A body opposed to the doctrine of the 

 Westminster Confession of Faith was organised as 

 the Presbytery of Antrim. But the doctrine of 

 the Westminster Confession was more and more 

 departed from in the Irish Presbyterian Church 

 itself, which became to a large extent Arian or 

 Unitarian. In 1830 a separation took place from 

 the Arians, who then formed the Remonstrant 

 Presbytery of Ulster. In 1840 a union took place 

 of the Irish Presbyterian Church forming the Synod 

 of Ulster and the Secession Church in Ireland, an 

 offshoot of the Scottish Secession Church, which 

 then reckoned 141 congregations in the north of 

 Ireland. The Irish Presbyterian Church, adhering 

 to the Westminster Confession, in 1889 had 620 

 ministers, with 102,057 communicants (Presby- 

 terian pop. at 1891 census, 446,687), and it has 

 not only displayed much zeal for the advance- 

 ment of Protestantism in Ireland, but also of 

 Christianity in other parts of the world, and 

 supports a very successful mission in Gujarat 

 and Manchuria. The act disestablishing the 

 Irish Church in 1869 provided also for the dis- 

 continuance of the Reqium Donum to the Presby- 

 terians, with reservation of annuities for life to 

 ministers already entitled to it ; and further gave 

 power for commutation of annuities for a capital 

 sum, of which advantage has been taken to a very 

 large extent, so that a fund has been formed for 

 paying annuities and leaving a large surplus as the 



nucleus of a Sustentation Fund for the ministers 

 in time to come. There are two colleges one 

 purely theological, at Belfast, with seven profes 

 sors ; the other, at Londonderry, has eight profes- 

 sors and a complete curriculum. The colleges 

 were empowered in 1881 jointly to grant degrees 

 in theology. 



United States. The first Presbyteriansin America 

 were emigrants from Scotland and Ireland. The 

 first Presbyterian congregations in America were 

 organised in Maryland before the close of the 17th 

 century the oldest that of Kehoboth, dating about 

 1690 and the first presbyter} 1 in Philadelphia in 

 1705. A synod, consisting of four presbyteries, 

 was constituted in 1716. Dissensions ensued ; but 

 in 1758 the American Presbyterian churches were 

 united in one; and in 1788 a General Assembly 

 was instituted, the whole number of congregations 

 being then 419, and of ministers 188. The increase 

 of the church was rapid, and in 1834 it contained 

 22 synods, 111 presbyteries, and about 1900 ministers. 

 In 1801 a scheme of union was adopted between 

 Presbyterians and Congregationalists, under 

 which hundreds of congregations were formed 

 in the state of New York and elsewhere. About 

 the beginning of the 19th century the Cumber- 

 land Presbyterians (q.v.) separated from the main 

 body ; and in 1838 the American Presbyterian 

 Church was divided into two great sections, 

 commonly known as Old School and New School 

 Presbyterians, the former holding high Calvinistic 

 doctrines, the latter a somewhat modified Calvin- 

 ism. Both of these clmrches are extended over the 

 whole of the United States, and both of them have 

 missions in different parts of the heathen world, 

 their collections for missions forming a large part 

 of the contributions for that object from the 

 United States of America. For some years they 

 showed symptoms of a sincere desire to reunite ; 

 and this object they accomplished in 1869, notwith- 

 standing the dissensions and new divisions caused 

 by the struggles lietween the Northern and Southern 

 States on the question of slavery. At the time of 

 this union the Old School Presbyterians counted 

 2381 ministers, 2740 churches, and 258,903 com- 

 municants ; while the New School numbered 1848 

 ministers, 1631 churches, and 170,562 communicants. 

 Each possessed at the same time five theological 

 seminaries. A revision of the Confession has been 

 carried out since 1890. There are several sections 

 of the Presbyterian Church in the United States, 

 each having its own theological seminaries and col- 

 leges, such as the Presbyterian Churches Northern 

 and Southern, the Cumberland, the Reformed, the 

 United Presbyterian, the Reformed Dutch and 

 German, &c. In 1890 the number of ministers 

 was over 11,000, and of communicants, 1,587,790. 



British Colonies. By the middle of the 18th 

 century Presbyterian ministers were labouring in 

 Nova Scotia and Quebec, the various divisions of 

 the home churches being represented at an early 

 stage ; but most of the early ministers came from 

 the Secession Church. A union between the sec- 

 tions representing the Free and United Presby- 

 terian Churches took place in 1861. The Presby- 

 terian Church in Canada is strong and prosperous, 

 with six theological colleges. In 1890 there were 

 above 800 ministers, and about 140,000 communi- 

 cants. In the Australasia colonies Presbyterianism 

 is also vigorous ; see articles on the several colonies. 

 In the Cape Colony and minor colonies Presby- 

 terianism is also represented. 



On Presbyterianism, as against Episcopacy and Inde- 

 pendency, see, in the 17th century, works by Gillespie, 

 Rutherford, Baillie, ' Smectymnuus,' Byfield, Baxter, 

 Clarkson ; in the 18th, Welles, Hall, John Brown, Why- 

 tock ; later, Barnes, Scriptural Argument for Episcopacy 

 Examined (1835), and The Apostolic Church (1843); 



