694 



REFORMED CHURCHES. 



to be held in Edinburgh, July 4, 1877. A com- 

 mittee was appointed to prepare a critical 

 edition of the " Heidelberg Catechism " in its 

 English version, to be reported to the next 

 synod. It was resolved to make, during the 

 year, special efforts for the Board of Domestic 

 Missions and the Church-Building Fund, and 

 to raise the sum of $50,000 as an offering of 

 thanksgiving. The Synod resolved that the 

 experience of the Board of Foreign Missions 

 in the conduct of the Indian agency placed 

 under its control had proved the wisdom of 

 the present civil management, and earnestly 

 deprecated any change in it. The library com- 

 mittee of the Gardner A. Sage Library called 

 attention to a manuscript copy of the corre- 

 spondence with the Classis of Amsterdam, ex- 

 tending from 1639 to 1771, and several printed 

 pamphlets respecting the so-called Coetus con- 

 troversy, and were authorized to have them 

 translated into English. 



A case involving important questions re- 

 garding the title to church property was de- 

 cided in the Court of Common Pleas of Phila- 

 delphia, October 28th, in the suit of Jones, et 

 al., representing the interests of the Reformed 

 Church in America, against Wadsworth, et 

 al., representing the Immanuel Presbyterian 

 Church in Philadelphia. A majority of the 

 congregation of the Third Reformed Church 

 in Philadelphia had withdrawn from connec- 

 tion with the Classis of the Reformed Church 

 to which they belonged, and with their pastor, 

 the Rev. Charles Wadsworth, D. D., had united 

 with the Presbyterian Church, as the Imman- 

 uel Presbyterian Church, and had attempted 

 to take their church property with them. 

 Suit was brought by a minority of the church 

 to recover the property for the Reformed 

 Church. The case was referred to Mr. Victor 

 Guillen as referee, who in April gave a decis- 

 ion to the effect that the plaintiffs, and such of 

 the congregation as were associated with them, 

 were members of the Reformed Church in 

 America, and were entitled, as such, to hold the 

 property ; that the property was to be held in 

 trust by the corporation, and for members of 

 that Church who shall adhere to and maintain 

 the mode of faith and Church discipline of the 

 Reformed Church in America ; and that the Rev. 

 Dr. Wadsworth, on joining the Presbyterian 

 Church, ceased to be pastor of the Reformed 

 Church, and was enjoined from exercising his 

 pastoral office in that Church ; that the connec- 

 tion subsisting between the Third Reformed 

 Church and the Reformed Church in America 

 had never been lawfully dissolved, and that the 

 alleged union of said church with the Presby- 

 terian Church was null and void. This decision 

 was confirmed in its terms by Judge Allison, 

 of the Common Pleas Court, in October; the 

 defendants were declared to have ceased to be 

 members and officers of the Third Reformed 

 Church, and were required to surrender and 

 deliver to Daniel S. Jones, the only remaining 

 trustee of the Third Reformed Church, the 



property of that corporation, to be held by it 

 "in trust for such members of the congrega- 

 tion as shall adhere to and maintain the mode 

 of faith and discipline of the Reformed Church 

 in North America." This decision was based 

 on the following rule of equity : 



"Whenever a church or religious society has been 

 duly constituted as in connection with, or in subor- 

 dination to, some ecclesiastical organization or form of 

 church government, and, as a church so connected or 

 subordinated, lias acquired property by subscrip- 

 tions, donations, or otherwise, it cannot break off 

 this connection and unite with some other religious 

 organization, or beconie independent, save at the ex- 

 pense of impairing its title to the property so ac- 

 quired. 



II. REFORMED CHURCH IN THE UNITED 

 STATES. The following is a summary of the 

 statistics of the Reformed Church in the United 

 States, as they are given in the Almanac for 

 the Reformed Church in the United States for 

 1877, published by the Reformed Church Pub- 

 lication Board, Philadelphia : 



Total number of members unconfirmed, 88,- 

 980 ; of baptisms, 13,258 ; of confirmations, 

 9,136 ; of individuals taking the communion 

 during the year, 116,599; of Sunday-schools, 

 1,178 ; of scholars in the same, 76,010 ; of stu- 

 dents for the ministry, 144; amount of benevo- 

 lent contributions, $77,094. 



The Almanac published at Cincinnati gives 

 totals which differ but little from the above, as 

 follows : Number of ministers, 650 ; of congre- 

 gations, 1,347; of members, 143,609 ; of mem- 

 bers unconfirmed, 88,256 ; of baptisms, 13,492 ; 

 of confirmations, 8,845 ; of individuals receiv- 

 ing the communion during the year, 116,488; 

 of Sunday-schools, 1,206; of scholars in the 

 same, 76,570 ; of students for the ministry, 

 153 ; amount of contributions for benevolent 

 purposes, $65,335 ; of contributions for con- 

 gregational purposes, $364,544. 



The theological institutions of this Church 

 are : Theological Seminary at Tiffin, Ohio, char- 

 tered in 1831, J. H. Good, D. D., president; 

 Mission House, Howard's Grove, Wis., J. Bos- 

 sard, D. D. ; Theological Department of Ursinus 

 College, Freeland, Montgomery County, Pa., 

 J. H. A. Bomberger, D. D., Collegeville, Pa. ; 

 Eastern Theological Seminary, Lancaster, Pa., 

 E. V. Gerhart, D. D. ; Theological Department 

 of Mercersburg College, E. E. Higbee, D. D., 

 Mercersburg, Pa. The colleges are : Heidel- 

 berg College, Tiffin, Ohio, George W. Willard, 

 D. D., president ; Ursinus College, Freeland, 

 Montgomery County, Pa., J. H. A. Bomberger, 

 D. D., Collegeville, Pa. ; Franklin and Marshall 



