PRESBYTERIANS. 



705 



10,661 communicants. The total amount of 

 collections, including $79,147 for pastors' sala- 

 ries, was $191,893. The income for foreign 

 missions was $12,835. 



The Synod of the Reformed Presbyterian 

 Church (O. S.) met at New Concord, Ohio, 

 May 24th. The law of tithes was declared bind- 

 ing on all Christians. Secret societies were de- 

 nounced as unnecessary, sinful, opposed to the 

 Master's example, and essentially hostile to the 

 best interests of society. The " Anti-Chinese 

 bill " was declared a breach of treaty obliga- 

 tions, opposed to the spirit of the age, a gross 

 violation of the law of God, and calculated to 

 arrest missionary effort among the Chinese. 

 The merits of the labors which had been spent 

 upon the revision of the New Testament were 

 recognized, but the synod declared itself com- 

 pelled to withhold its entire approbation from 

 the revised version, while it recommended it for 

 study. The views of the synod with reference 

 to the incorporation of a recognition of the prin- 

 ciples of the Christian religion into the Consti- 

 tution of the United States were reiterated, and 

 the sum of $10,000 was appropriated in aid of 

 the agitation of those views during the year. 

 The question was brought up whether members 

 of the Church in Iowa could, consistently with 

 the Church's position respecting the Constitu- 

 tion of the United States, vote in the election 

 then pending on the amendment to the Consti- 

 tution of the State prohibiting the manufac- 

 ture and sale of intoxicating liquors. The synod 

 decided that the matter should be left to the 

 presbyteries and sessions, who were to see that 

 the principles of the Church, allowing all civil 

 action not inconsistent with its dissent from 

 the Constitution of the United States, were 

 observed. 



V. REFORMED PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH (GEN- 

 ERAL SYNOD). The presbyterial reports of sta- 

 tistics of this body are incomplete, but the num- 

 ber of communicants is estimated at 6,700, of 

 whom 3,500 are in the three eastern presbyter- 

 ies, and 3,200 in the three western presbyteries. 

 The receipts of the year for the Church Exten- 

 sion Fund had been $653 ; for the Educational 

 Fund, $289 ; and for the Endowment Fund of 

 the Theological Seminary, $3,839. The ap- 

 propriations for home missions were $2,000. 



The General Synod met at Darlington, Pa., 

 in May. The Rev. W. J. Macdowell, of Brook- 

 lyn, N. Y., was chosen Moderator. The attempt 

 in the previous year to establish a mission in 

 Roorkee, India, had failed, through the refusal 

 of the appointed missionary to serve. 



VI. CUMBERLAND PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

 The following is a summary of the statistics of 

 this Church, as they were reported to the Gen- 

 eral Assembly of 1882 : 



Number of presbyteries, 117; of ministers, 

 1,422; of licentiates, 224; of candidates for 

 the ministry, 197; of congregations, 2,587; of 

 members, 115,749; of scholars in Sunday- 

 schools, 58,184. Contributions : For home mis- 

 sions, $11,218; for foreign missions, $4,447; 

 VOL. xxii. 45 A 



for education, $8,062; for publication, $1,705; 

 for church building and repairing, $105,876 ; 

 for pastors, $183,037. Value of church prop- 

 erty, $2,059,950. 



The General Assembly of the Cumberland 

 Presbyterian Church met at Huntsville, Ala., 

 May 18th. The Rev. S. H. Buchanan, D. D M 

 of Little Rock, Ark., was chosen Moderator. 

 The Board of Publication reported that its re- 

 ceipts had been $43,240, and estimated its total 

 resources at $61,250. The Board of Missions 

 reported that its cash receipts had been $14,- 

 870, besides which considerable amounts, bring- 

 ing the whole sum contributed for mission 

 work to $21,337, had been paid directly to 

 missionaries by local treasurers, or through 

 the Woman's Board. The mission in Japan, 

 now four years old, was making good progress. 

 The American Indian Mission had assumed 

 the support of its missionary. The contribu- 

 tions for ministerial relief had been $598. A 

 board to take charge of that cause had been 

 incorporated. A Board of Education also had 

 been incorporated. The most important busi- 

 ness before the Assembly was the considera- 

 tion of the revision of the Confession of Faith, 

 upon which a committee had been laboring for 

 a considerable period. The whole work was 

 discussed with considerable interest, but no es- 

 sential differences were revealed on any of the 

 points except the articles on Sanctification and 

 Divorce. On the former subject, the follow- 

 ing expression of faith was adopted: "The 

 doctrine of sanctifi cation is taught in the Word 

 of God, and it is the duty and privilege of 

 Christians to avail themselves of its inestimable 

 benefits. The doctrine of sinless perfection is 

 not authorized by the Scriptures, and is a dogma 

 of dangerous tendency." The article on Di- 

 vorce, as adopted, declares that "the marriage 

 relation should not be dissevered for any cause 

 not justified by the Word of God, and any im- 

 morality in relation to its dissolution is cogniz- 

 able by the State courts." The delegates ap- 

 pointed by this Church to attend the meetings 

 of the Presbyterian Alliance had not been 

 admitted by that body, on the ground that the 

 Church had not approved the constitution of 

 the Alliance, and that the Alliance was not sat- 

 isfied that its creed was in harmony with the 

 consciences of the Reformed churches. The 

 Assembly had since approved the constitution 

 of the Alliance, and had referred the question 

 of doctrinal position to a committee for con- 

 sideration. That committee now made a re- 

 port on the subject, which was adopted, in 

 substance as follows : 



The founders of the Cumberland Presbyterian 

 Church, in their licensure and ordination by the 

 Presbyterian Church, were permitted to " except the 

 idea of fatality," as they believed it to be embraced in 

 the doctrine of unconditional election and reprobation, 

 and an atonement limited to a definitely elected num- 

 ber, as taught in the Westminster Confession of Faith. 

 Subsequently, having for this been cut off from the 



Eirent Church, in fixing a standard of doctrine for the 

 umberland Presbyterian Church, which they or- 



