congregation 
plete In itself, and neither dependent on another institute 
nur pOMMed of dependent varieties "I its own. 
KHCIIC. llrit., XVI. 716. 
(d) A committee of bishops appointed l>y tlie 
pope, OP with his approbation, to prepare rules 
of business, etc., for ii general council. In the 
(c'eneral Council of Constance the congregation u 
ferently constituted, the Council being divided into con- 
gregatloni according t<> the natlonallllM rc|.re.eiitcd 
(icrman. Krciic h, Kalian. Kimlinh, and subsc.iu. -nth >|>an 
ish. These voted separately, preliminary to the linal ar 
tion of the < 'oiincil a. a u hole. 
7. See Luntx of the Congregation, below. 8. 
In unin-rxilii-x, the body of the masters regent. 
The ;ifrnl .",/,-, ,//,,, H tin.. Inj<ly of all the miuterx, 
re-cut and not regent. The Aouw of i;,i,iirr,/ati,,a is the 
assembly of the congregation. The function of the- eon- 
gregation Is to grunt degrees, graces, and di 
But in sonic universities from the first, ami in ..thru at 
present, the OOBgromtlon luu been otherwise eonstltnted 
and has additional functions. |l.n 
9. In falconry, a flock or flight of plovers. 
A congregation of plovers. 
fill-nit, spurts and Pastimes, p. 97. 
Congregation Of loci, n collection of loci tooneoroth, r 
of which the point or other element is restricted. Thus, 
if A = is the equation of one locus, and B = that of 
another, then AB = is the equation to the congregation 
of them. Congregation of Our Lady of Calvary, u 
Krcneh or.ler of Benedictine nuns founded at I'oiticrs 
in the beginning of the seventeenth century, broken up 
by the revolution, but afterward veorgaiii/ed and rees- 
tablished. Congregation of the Mother of God, a 
monastic order instituted about 1574 at Lucca in Tuscanv 
by John Leonard!, and approved and continued by the pa- 
pal see. Free Congregations, also called l-'ri,-mi., ,./ 
Liijht or I'nitt-itaiit t- /-cVmiX a name adopted by oongrefffe 
lions, .f i lernian rationalistic religious thinkers, who broke 
away from the established church of Prussia about 1845. 
They denied the authority of the Bible and the truth of 
important Christian doctrines, and some of them also the 
existence of a personal Deity. As they became politically 
powerful, they were suppressed in Saxony and Bavaria, 
and continued to exist in Prussia only tinder great difficul- 
ties. There are some of these congregations in the United 
1193 
tlstn, Unitarians, I'nlversallsts, Home \Ietbo, lists, and some 
otlic-r denominations of Christians are tongregatlonalUls. 
2. [ca;.] One of a denomination of Christians 
who hold to the congregational principle of 
church government, (c, tlie system c,f doctrine's 
known IIH evangelical or orthodox, to the legiti- 
macy of the baptism of infants, and to baptism 
States. Lords of the Congregation, in Scut. eh. hist.. 
c given to the chief nobles and gentlemen who signed 
a title 
the Covenant of December 3d, 1557, for liberty of worship. 
Tlie whole body of adherents was called the Congregation, 
from the frequent recurrence of the word coivjregatwn in 
the document. = Syn. 4. See spectator. 
congregational (kong-gre-ga'shon-al), a. [< 
congregation + -al.'] 1. Of or pertaining to a 
congregation: as, congregational singing. 2. 
JSccles., pertaining to government by congrega- 
tions ; governed by its own congregation, as a 
church; specifically (with a capital), pertain- 
ing to Congregationalism as a denominational 
designation : as, the congregational polity of 
the Baptists ; the Congregational churches of 
the United States. 
The great Baptist denomination with some leaning 
toward Independency properly so called is yet purely 
Congregational in its principle of church order and govern- 
ment. H. M. Dexter, Congregationalism (2a ed.), I. 
Congregational council. See council. Congregation- 
al music, music in which the congregation take part, as 
opposed to music sung by the choir only. =Syn. Congrega- 
titnial, Itulejieiute.nt. See extract under confjreyationali#m. 
Congregationalism (kong-gre-ga'shon-al-izm), 
. [< congregational + -ism.] 1. A' system of 
church government based upon the autonomy 
of the individual congregation. It embodies three 
fundamental principles (1J that it is the right and duty 
of believers in Jesus Christ in every community to organ- 
ize for Christian work and worship, and that such an or- 
ganization is a Christian church ; (2) that each such church 
is by right independent of all external ecclesiastical con- 
trol, and in any such church all members possess equal 
ecclesiastical authority ; (3) that such churches owe a duty 
of Christian fellowship and cooperation to one another. 
This fellowship and cooperation is exercised among those 
who bear the name of Congregationalists by means of coun- 
cils, conferences, consociations, and associations. The 
Christians, and by many evangelical churches in France, 
Switzerland, etc. 
Congregationalism is the democratic form of church or- 
der and government ; it derives its name from the promi- 
nence which it gives to the congregation of Christian be- 
lievers. It vests all ecclesiastical power (under Christ) in 
the associated brotherhood of each local church, as an in- 
dependent body. At the same time it recognizes a fra- 
ternal and equal fellowship between these independent 
churches, which invests each with the right ami duty of 
advice and reproof, and even of the public withdrawal of 
that fellowship in case the course pursued by another of 
the sisterhood should demand such action for the preser- 
vation of its own purity and consistency. Herein Conrrre- 
gationalimn as a system differs from Independency, which 
affirms the seat of ecclesiastical power to reside in the 
brotherhood so zealously as to ignore any check, even of 
advice, upon its action. 
H. M. Dexter, Congregationalism (2cl ed.), i. 
2. [cap.'} The system of ecclesiastical polity 
and religious doctrine maintained by the Con- 
gregational Church. See congregationalist, 2. 
congregationalist (kong-gre-ga shon-al-ist), n. 
[<.oongrtffatio*al+-4st.] 1.' One who holds to 
the congregational principles of church govern- 
ment. See Congregationalism,!. In this sense, Bap- 
ih. Independent! (now also called ''"ii'trniniintmiixtg) 
of (ireat liritain. They were the predominant religious 
body in the tlrst settlement of New Kngland, and have 
thence spread over tin- I idled .-tales, especially in the 
Northern and Middle Stales. Their churches a'p 
pen, lent of i>ne another: their \ar - ecclesiastical as- 
semblies -councils, conference*, eoti.oc iations, auoeia- 
t i.ms possess no ecclesiastical authority, but only a moral 
pott, r; and they are generally moderate Calvinistsin tbco. 
logical doctrines. Their missionary operations are . 
on by means of voluntary societies supported by Un- 
churches, but only indirectly amenable to them. 
congregationally (kong-gre-ga'shon-al-i), mlr. 
In a congregational manner; by congregations ; 
as a congregation. 
congress (kongVres), n. [= F. congres = Sp. 
1-oni/n .> = Pg. It. rongresso = D. Dan. ki>n f /,-i . 
= G. congress = Sw. kongress, < L. congressus, a 
meeting together, an interview, a close union, 
encounter, < congredi, pp. congressus, meet to- 
gether, < com-, together, -I- gradi, step, walk, go : 
see grade. Cf . aggress, egress, ingress, progress, 
i-ri/i'/'Hs, etc., and congredient."} If. A meeting 
together of individuals; an encounter; an in- 
terview. 
That ceremony is used as much in our adieus as In tlie 
first congress. 
Sir K. Digby, On Browne's Religio Medici, p. 76. 
If her devotion be high and pregnant, and prepared to 
fervency and importunity of congress with Goa. 
Jer. Taylor, Works (ed. 1835), II. 258. 
Here Pallas urges on, and Lansus there ; . . . 
Their congress In the field great Jove withstands. 
Dryden, .Km-i.l, x. 
2. The meeting of persons in sexual commerce. 
3. A formal meeting or association of per- 
sons having a representative character ; an or- 
ganization or authorized assemblage of persons 
Congrogadina 
The milwtltntlc.il of "Cangrm I, r the legislature of 
the I'nited Mates, requites no explanation. It is a mere 
change of phraseology. Ca/li'iiin. \V,nV- i 
Tile upper I >,;#* j. there tot, a l.-.l. lal \\ hile 
the lower i. a national body, and thegOVer 
Into direct contact uith tie ].. .>pic \Mthut . 
the equal rights of t:, 
I. t'' i Id.-us, p. 87. 
Cortes, and of the national legislatures ,d the 
South American republics. Church Congress, a 
name applied t" two volui ,ali,.n.-, on,- in Un- 
church of England, the other in tin I'lol. .taut episcopal 
Chur.b in the I idled states ..l Am, M 
ciualon of topics of church niter... i. M, ml,, -i. hip is . -on- 
lined to thoie who are in communion with the- church. 
Neither Issly p<MKiie*aiiy ecclesiastical nuthorit) "i i- 
uponslhility, or attempt. ;,n\ l,.:i-l:,tm function!. Tin- 
same name, with ino,lii> i '. *iVm- 
. ' "iiiiri-MK, lnti-r-,lr,,. . , . ha 
I'l'lle, I to cclbc'l IPO ,lns of a . .mill;,! . hala.tcr cm- 
t vanou. i'i,,t, -t.mt ooomanJ 
Congress boots, s, ,- /,/-. Congress water. 
1 "if- Peace Congress, In U. 
.s'. In*!., a c-onfc-rc-n, . l -. l ,,t .1.1. gales from 
free and border slave- .states, which n . ssful 
etTorU to avert c-ivil war l'.\ m. an. ot pt"j 
'ion, cl.-aliii'_' , In- th with .-la\-ery. 
"' Provincial 
congresses, popular conventions which, at the- l Binning 
c.f the struggle between the American c., Ionics and Kng. 
land, assumed conti-olof ' Stamp-Act Con- 
gress, a Iwidy of delegates from ni ..Ionic- which met at 
New York, in 17iA to protest against the stamp Act and 
other oppressive measures of the' liriiish Parliament. 
Congress (kon-gres'), [< congress, n.] To 
come together; assemble; congregate. [Rare.] 
The valetudinarians who congress every winter at Nice. 
Mrs. Gore. 
congressiont (kon-gresh'on), n. [= F. con- 
gressiim = Sp. congresion, <. L. congressio(n-), < 
congredi, pp. congressus, meet together: see 
congress, .] 1. A coming together; an as- 
sembly; a company. Cotgrare. 2. Sexual in- 
tercourse. Jer. Taylor. 3. A bringing toge- 
ther for the purpose of comparison. 
Many men excellently learned have . . . approved by a~~ 
direct and close cimgresxiun |of Christianity | with other reli- 
gions, that all the reason of the world ap]>ears to stand on 
the Christian side. Jer. Taylor, Du, 
particulrly, in politics, an assemblage of enl 
voys, commissioners, or plenipotentiaries rep- 
resenting sovereign powers, or of sovereigns 
themselfes, for the purpose of arranging inter- 
.. , . *^T> 
national affairs: as, the Congress of Vienna 
(1814-15); the Congress of Paris (1856). For 
the distinction between conference and congress, 
see extract under conference, 2 (a). 
As soon as the employers attempted to give work to sub- 
lated by statutes, and framed bye-laws. All workmen of 
the trade belonged to it. 
English OildsfE. E. T. S.), Int, p. ctaviii. 
The congress of Aix la Chapelle, at which the five great 
powers were represented, . . . was intended to exercise a 
supervisory power over European affairs, interfering to 
prevent all dangerous revolutions, especially when they 
should proceed from popular movements. 
Woolsey, Introd. to Inter. Law, J 46. 
Farmers' congress, an association of agriculturists of the 
United States, which has met annually since 1881. 
Appletoris Ann. Cyc., 1886, p. 330. 
4. [cop.] The national legislature of the United 
States. In U. S. hist, there have been three differently 
constituted bodies so named : (a) The Continental Congress, 
representing the thirteen colonies. What is known as tlie 
first Continental Congress, with delegates from all the 
colonies but Georgia, met in Philadelphia September 5th, 
1774, and lasted until October 26th, 1774 ; the second, In 
which all were represented, met in Philadelphia May 10th, 
1775, and adjourned December 12th, 1776 ; the third met 
In Baltimore December 20th, 1776, and lasted until the 
Articles of Confederation went Into operation, March 1st, 
1781. (A) The Congrew of the Confederation, representing 
the States under the Articles of Confederation, -March 1st, 
1781, to March 4th, 1789. (c) The Congress of the United 
States, which represents both the States and the people 
under the Constitution, and which met for the first time 
March 4th, 1789. It consists of two houses, the Senate 
and House of Representatives (sometimes called the upper 
and lower bouses), and meets at least once every year. 
The Senate Is composed of two members from each State, 
years, one 
The num- 
n proportion 
to the population. (See apportionment, 2.) They Bit for 
two years only. The united body, for the two years dur- 
ing which the representatives hold their seats, receives a 
numerical designation as a single Congress, counting from 
the first. Thus, the senators and representatives sitting 
during the period March 4th, 1887, to March 4th, 1889, con- 
stituted the 50th Congress. The most important powers of 
Congress, as enumerated in the Constitution, are : to im- 
pose and collect taxes, borrow and coin money, regulate 
commerce, establish uniform naturalization and bank- 
ruptcy laws, declare war, raise armies, maintain a navy, 
suspend the writ of habeas corpus, admit new States, and 
make all laws necessary to carry these powers into execu- 
tion. In addition, the Senate confirms or rejects treaties, 
and nominations to office made by the President. 
'(for 
or pertaining to a congress, or, specifically 
i, commonly with a capital), to the Congress of 
the United States: as, congressional debates; 
the " Congressional Record." 
The revisal of the Congressional intelligence contained 
in your letters makes me regret the loss of it on your de- 
parture. Jefferson, Correspondence, II. 68. 
congressivet (kon-gres'iv), a. [< L. as if *con- 
gressirus, < congressus, pp. of congredi, meet to- 
gether: see congress, n.J 1. Encountering. 
2. Meeting in sexual commerce. 
Congresrire generation. Sir T. ISmene, Vulg. Err., 11. 6. 
congressman (kong'gres-man), n.; pi. con- 
gressmen (-men), [cap. or 1. c'.'] [< congress, 4, 
+ wian.] A member of the United States Con- 
gress, especially of the House of Representa- 
tives. Strictly, the term Includes the members of the 
Senate as well as members of the House of Representa- 
tives, but in popular usage it is limited to the latter. 
congreve (kong'grev), n. [So called from the 
inventor, Sir William Congrere (1772-1828).] A 
kind of lucifer match. See lucifer, 3. 
Congreve rocket. See rocket. 
congrid (kong'grid), n. A fish of the family 
Congridw. 
Congridse (kong'gri-de), n. pi [NL., < Conger 
+ -id<e.~\ A family of apodal fishes, typified 
by the genus Conger, to which different limits 
have been ascribed. See cut under conger-eel. 
(a) By some authors it is extended to include the Ophich- 
tliiii<ltr and some others, as well as the true Congridof. 
(b) By others it is restricted to the genus Conger and those 
closely agreeing with it. As thus limited, it is closely al- 
lied to the family Angvillidte, but differs in the more de- 
veloped palatopterygoid arches and opercular apparatus, 
and the advanced dorsal fin. The species are exclusively 
marine. 
congrogadid (kong-gro-ga'did), n. A fish of the 
family Conqrogadida;. 
CongrogadidaB(kong-gro-gad'i-de), n.pl. [NL., 
< Congrogadus + -ida:7} ' A family of teleoceph- 
alous fishes, including those Ophidioidea which 
are without ventrals, have the anus in the 
anterior half of the length, and the branchial 
membranes united beneath but free from the 
throat. The species are few in number and rare. 
Congrogadina (kong'gro-ga-dl'na), n. pi. 
[NL., < Congroaadus + -ina$.] In GUnther's 
classification of fishes, the fifth group of Ophi- 
dii(l<V. The technical characters are : ventral fins ab- 
sent; vent remote from the head : gill-openings of mod- 
erate width, the gill-membranes being united below the 
throat and not attached to the Isthmus. Same as the fam- 
ily Congrogadidct. 
