692 



REFORMED CHURCHES. 



REFORMED EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 



the General Synod, and the consideration of the 

 matter did not belong to this body. With re- 

 spect to a request in the same memorial that 

 the General Synod make a deliverance on the 

 subject of the inspiration of the Scriptures, 

 answer was returned that the declarations in 

 the standards were sufficiently explicit upon this 

 point, and the conservative character of the de- 

 nomination was too well known to make such 

 an extra affirmation necessary. A resolution 

 was afterward adopted declaring that " in view 

 of the agitation of the hour and the confusions 

 in many quarters of theological thought, the 

 Synod deem it wise and expedient, at this time, 

 to reaffirm the constant testimony of our stand- 

 ards to the direct and plenary inspiration of the 

 Holy Scripture as the word of God." A new 

 paragraph was proposed to the classes to be 

 added to the constitution of the General Synod, 

 specifying that the action of that body on all 

 matters that have been submitted by it to the 

 classes that the mind of the Church may be 

 fully ascertained shall be declarative only. In 

 view of the prevalence of lynch law in many 

 parts of the country, which the Synod depre- 

 cated and deplored, the several classes and 

 churches were requested to unite with the moral 

 and religious press of the country to create a 

 controlling public opinion against it, and to im- 

 plore legislatures and the courts of justice so to 

 reform the laws and modes of criminal procedure 

 that justice shall not miscarry, and that the 

 common pretext for these summary and lawless 

 proceedings may be removed. Resolutions were 

 passed recognizing the growing interest of the 

 Church in the matter of systematic and organ- 

 ized beneficence and commending it anew : re- 

 affirming the loyalty of the Church " to the 

 sacred Sabbath as divinely appointed to be uni- 

 versally and perpetually observed," and advising 

 practical methods to protect it ; and reaffirming 

 past utterances against the evil of the drinking 

 saloon. 



II. Reformed Church in South Africa. 

 The Dutch Reformed Church occupies a unique 

 position in South Africa. It exceeds every other 

 religious institution of the country in wealth, 

 numbers, and scope. It is the most venerable 

 institution in the country, its foundation there 

 having been contemporaneous with the occupa- 

 tion of Table valley by the Dutch East India 

 Company. It has now 208,692 enrolled mem- 

 bers, 100,000 of whom are registered as " con- 

 firmed" members. Its property is valued at 

 more than 3,000,000 sterling; it has in Cape 

 Town alone property valued at 50,000, be- 

 sides the Normal College and 3 other insti- 

 tutions affiliated, but not directly, belonging 

 to it. The church buildings throughout the 

 country are very fine structures as compared 

 with their surroundings, and the parsonages 

 correspond in character. Some of the congrega- 

 tions enjoy enormous revenues ; in some districts 

 the revenues are derived from perpetual quit- 

 rents from erven. The Church has a fixed de- 

 posit in bank exceeding 109,000, and a floating 

 balance of 3,G07. The pension funds for minis- 

 ters and widows of deceased ministers amount 

 t> l'(>2,764, while the Church has several other 

 funds of lesser bulk. The annual revenue of the 

 Church in Cape Colony amounts to about 80,000. 



The educational institutions comprise the Nor- 

 mal College, through which 200 students have 

 passed since its foundation, in 1878 ; the Theo- 

 logical Seminary at Stettenbosch, the Missionary 

 College at Wellington, and public elementary 

 schools in all parts of the country. A number 

 of seminaries, have also been established on the 

 pattern of the famous academy at Mount Hoi- 

 yoke. Missionary work is actively prosecuted 

 among the heathen. The piety of the people of 

 the Church is described as being marked by a 

 supreme regard for the Bible and a high spiritu- 

 ality. The synod was organized in 1824. Its 

 last meeting was held in November, 1894. The 

 Rev. Andrew Murray was chosen president for 

 the sixth time. An overture was presented in 

 favor of giving members of congregations a 

 voice in the election of ministers and elders, who 

 are now chosen by the consistory ; but the synod 

 refused to appoint a committee to consider the 

 subject. Petitions were offered asking that mar- 

 riage with a deceased wife's sister, permitted by 

 recent colonial legislation, be declared illegal ; 

 but the action sought was not taken. 



REFORMED EPISCOPAL CHURCH. The 

 reports made from the several synods of this 

 Church to the General Council included the fol- 

 lowing statistical items : In the Canadian Synod 

 14 parishes, 956 communicants, and unincum- 

 bered property valued at $62,000; in the New 

 York and Philadelphia Synod, 24 parishes, 4,401 

 communicants, value of unincumbered property 

 $990,100, amount of offerings $117,543; in the 

 Chicago Synod, 17 parishes, 2,809 communicants, 

 value of unincumbered property $324,520, amount 

 of offerings $27,630 ; in the Synod of the South, 

 7 parishes, 434 communicants, value of unincum- 

 bered property $43,800; in the missionary juris- 

 diction of the Northwest, 3 parishes, 477 com- 

 municants, value of unincumbered property 

 $79,600; in the jurisdiction of the Pacific, 4 

 parishes, 254 communicants, value of unincum- 

 bered property $15,100 ; in the special missionary 

 jurisdiction of the South, 41 parishes, 1,900 com- 

 municants, value of property $15,127: total, 121 

 parishes, 10,534 communicants, value of unin- 

 cumbered property $1,640,597 ; increase since the 

 previous General Council, 11 parishes, more than 

 500 communicants, and $143,885 of property. 



The mission in India returned 3 European 

 workers, 1 native preacher, 10 Bible readers and 

 teachers, 7 teachers, 17 schools, and 1 orphanage 

 with 30 children. 



The fourteenth General Council met in Chi- 

 cago, 111., June 6. Bishop Campbell was chosen 

 presiding bishop. The bishops reported concern- 

 ing the growth and condition of the churches in 

 their several jurisdictions. Bishop Fellows an- 

 nounced that the property and good will of the 

 Reformed Episcopal Publication Society (Limit- 

 ed) had been presented to the General Council 

 through him as presiding bishop at the previous 

 meeting. The property was valued at more than 

 $8,000, and it was stipulated as one of the condi- 

 tions of the transfer that the East and the West 

 should be equally represented in the board of 

 trustees of the society. A new canon, passed by 

 the previous General Council for ratification, ac- 

 cording to the provisions of the Constitution of the 

 Church, was approved and made effective, direct- 

 ing that " no presbyter coming from any other 



