REFORMED CHURCHES. 



REFORMED EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 71 1 



Synod. Provision was made for the revision 

 of all existing formulas, and the preparation of 

 other formulas necessary for the use of pastors, 

 congregations, judicatories, and institutions. 

 A General Sunday-School Board was instituted, 

 to have charge of the Sunday-school interests 

 of the Church. Co-operation with the several 

 State and the International Sunday-School 

 Associations was recommended. Synods, 

 classes, and churches were invited to unite in 

 efforts for the extermination of intemperance. 

 The proceedings and documents of the Synod 

 are published in both the English and the 

 German languages. 



Meeting of Committee* on Union. A meeting of 

 the union committees of the Reformed Church 

 in America and the Reformed Church in the 

 United States was held in the city of New 

 York in December, to consider the question of 

 a closer union of the two churches. Without 

 reaching any conclusions on the subject of 

 their deliberations, the committees adjourned, 

 to meet again in March, 1888. 



III. Reformed Chnrrbes in Germany. The Re- 

 formed Churches of Germany, while they hold 

 to the Heidelberg Catechism as a common 

 standard of faith, are seperated into several 

 bodies by their various relations to the differ- 

 ent states. Differences also exist among them 

 in respect to the doctrine of predestination. 

 A movement for a closer union among them 

 was begun in 1884, after the meeting of the 

 Presbyterian Alliance at Belfast, which was 

 expressed in a preliminary consultation held at 

 Marburg in that year. This was followed by 

 the first conference of the Alliance of the Re- 

 formed Churches in Germany, which was held 

 at Elberfeld in 1885. The plan of the confer- 

 ences includes discussions of questions bearing 

 upon the welfare of the churches, but without 

 vote, except upon those points on which full 

 agreement is evident. The second meeting of 

 the Alliance was held at Detmold in August, 

 1887. More than one hundred and fifty dele- 

 gates were present, who came principally from 

 northern and eastern Germany. Prof. John 

 Cairns, of Edinburgh, attended as a representa- 

 tive of the Presbyterian Alliance. Among the 

 subjects considered were u The Condition of the 

 Reformed Church in Germany and the Alliance 

 Organization " ; " The Means by which Theo- 

 logical Representation for the Reformed 

 Church in the Universities and Seminaries " 

 where, it was complained, Lutheran influence 

 has become predominant " can be better se- 

 cured " ; " The Support of Reformed Churches 

 in other Lands " (the churches in America be- 

 ing had chiefly in view) ; " The Presbyterian 

 Church Polity, particularly in the French Re- 

 formed Church" (with especial reference to 

 the French Reformed churches in Berlin) ; 

 " The Mission to the Hebrew People," and 

 the situation of the Church in the capital city 

 of the empire (where the increase of church 

 buildings was regarded as not at all commen- 

 surate with the growth of the population). 



The conference provided for having an expres- 

 sion of its views on theological representation 

 of the Church in the universities and seminaries 

 carried up through the proper synods to the 

 Supreme State Consistory. 



IV. Reformed Chnreh in Hungary. The Re- 

 formed Church in Hungary has 1,980 regularly 

 organized congregations, with 1,909 pastors, 

 2,278 teachers, 202,398 pupils in schools, and 

 300 students in theological colleges. In ad- 

 dition, services in behalf of scattered Protes- 

 tants are occasionally held in some 3,261 places. 



REFORMED EPISCOPAL CHURCH. The fol- 

 lowing is a summary of the statistics of this 

 Church as they were reported to the General 

 Council in May, 1887. The statistics of 1885, 

 when the last previous General Council was 

 held, are appended for comparison : 



The treasurer of the Council reported the 

 following as the amounts at which the funds 

 under his charge were balanced : General and 

 Missionary fund, $13,026 ; Martin College fund, 

 $971 ; Theological Seminary Endowment fund, 

 including pledges uncollected, $17,562. 



The trustees of the Sustentation fund re- 

 ported that their receipts for two years had 

 been $10,254. The chief part of this amount 

 had, however, been received from the proceeds 

 of an annuity, but one congregational contri- 

 bution having been offered. As the annuity is 

 of limited duration, the trustees recommended 

 that a part of the proceeds from it be regularly 

 retained for investment, and that means be 

 taken to encourage the churches to contribute 

 to the fund. The amount of the "Widows' and 

 Orphans' fund was returned at $6,181. Its 

 receipts during the past two years had been 

 $2,636, and the actual increase of the fund had 

 been $1,624. Return was made of the Special 

 Missionary fund, $5,000 ; the income of which, 

 $276, had been applied to the work among the 

 freedmen ; the Eleanor H. Stroud fund of 

 $5,000, devoted to the support of the rector of 

 a particular church ; and of legacies in which 

 the Church is interested, to the total amount 

 of $28,325, with two unvalued legacies, and an 

 annuity fund of $4,000 for twenty years. 



The Co-operative Committee on Work among 

 the Freedmen had received and applied $199. 

 Bishop Stevens, of the special jurisdiction of 

 the South, who is in charge of the work among 

 the freedmen of South Carolina, returned as 

 connected with his diocese, 36 churches, with 

 18 pastors, 1,584 members, and 851 Sunday- 

 school pupils. The contributions of these 

 churches had amounted in all to $4,815. He 

 had received for the purposes of the work 



