REFORM
711
REFORM
then became an annual and representative body. A
period of increased prosperity opened for the denom-
ination in 1846, when numerous Hollanders settled
in the Middle West and connected themselves with
the church. In 1910 the Dutch Reformed Church
numbered 728 ministers, 684 churches, and 116,815
communicants (statistics of Dr. Carroll in the
"Christian Advocate", New York, 26 Jan., 1911;
this statistical authority is cited throughout for the
United States). Through the emigration just re-
ferred to, the Christian Reformed Church was also
transplanted to America. This denomination was
organized in Holland (1835) as a protest against the
rationalistic tendencies of the State Church. To it
were joined in the United States in 1890 the diminish-
ing members of the True Reformed Church, a body
organized in 1822 by several clergymen. Itnumbers to-
day 138 ministers, 189 churches, 29,006 communicants.
(3) Educational Institutions and Missionary Ac- tivity. — Some of the educational institutions con- trolled by the Church were established at a very early date. Rutgers College was founded in 1770 under the name of Queen's College at New Brunswick, New Jersey, where a theological seminary was also established in 1784. At Holland, Michigan, Hope College was founded in 1866, and the Western Theo- logical Seminary in 1867. A board of education or- ganized by private persons in 1828 was taken over by the General Synod in 1831; it extends financial assistance to needy students for the ministry. A "Disabled Ministers' Fund" grants similar aid to clergymen, and a "Widows' Fund" to their wives. A Board of Publication has been in operation since 1855. The proselytizing activity of the Church is not confined to America; a Board of Foreign Mis- sions established in 1832 was supplemented in 1875 by a Woman's Auxiliary Board. The Church main- tains stations at Amoy, China, in the districts of Arcot and Madura, India, in Japan, and Arabia.
II. The Reformed (German) Church in the United States. — This church was founded by im- migrants from the Palatinate and other German districts of the Reformed faith. Its history begins with the German immigration of the last quarter of the seventeenth century. Among its early ministers were Philip Boehm and George M. Weiss, whose fame is eclipsed, however, by that of the real organ- izer of the Church, Michael Schlatter. The latter visited most of the German Reformed settlements, instituted pastors, established schools, and, in 1747, formed the first coetus. On a subsequent journey through Europe he obtained financial aid for the destitute churches by pledging the submission of the coetus to the Classis of Amsterdam. Six young ministers accompanied him to America in 1752; the supply of clergymen, however, was insufficient for many years and resulted in some defections. In 1793 the synod replaced the coetus and assumed supreme authority in the church, which now comprised approximately 180 congregations and 15,000 com- municants. The process of organization was com- pleted in 1819 by the division of the synod into districts or classes. About 1835 the "Mercersburg controversy", concerning certain theological ques- tions, agitated the Church; in 1863 the tercentenary of the adoption of the Heidelberg Cathechism was celebrated. From this time dates the foundation of orphans' homes in the denomination. Foreign mis- sion work was inaugurated in 1879 by the sending of missionaries to Japan. The first theological seminary was organized in 1825 at Carlisle, Pennsyl- vania; it was removed in 1836 to Mercersburg, and in 1871 to Lancaster, Pennsylvania. The Church also controls Heidelberg University and Western Theologi- cal Seminarj- (both at Tiffin, Ohio), Ursinus College (Collegevillc, Pa.), Catawba College (North Carolina), and several other educational institutions of advanced
grade. Its present membership is 297,116 com-
municants with 1226 ministers and 1730 churches.
The Hungarian Reformed Church, which numbers
at present 5253 communicants, was organized in 1904
in New York City for the convenience of Hungarian-
speaking immigrants.
III. The Reformed Churches in the Union OF South Africa. — Dutch settlers transplanted the Reformed faith to South Africa as early as 1652. Churches of some importance at present exist in the country and are organized as the Reformed Churches of Cape Colony, of the Orange Free State, of the Transvaal, and of Natal. The progress in political union favourably influenced church affairs: in 1906 the.se separate bodies placed themselves under a federal council, and in 1909 under a general synod. Their collective membership amounts to about 220,000 communicants. The movement towards union had been preceded by secessions caused by liberal and conservative theological tendencies. As a representative of conservatism the "Reformed Church in South Africa" was organized in 1859 by the Rev. D. Postma. It has to-day an aggregate mem- bership of about 16,000 communicants distributed through Cape Colony, the Orange Free State, and Transvaal. An offshoot of the liberal spirit is the separatist "Reformed Church of the Transvaal", which was organized by the Rev. Van der Hoff and has at present about 10,000 communicants.
ScHAFF, Creeds of Christendom, I (New York, 1877), 354-816; III, 191-597; CoRlON, History of the Reformed Church {Dutch) in Amer. Church Hist. Ser.. viii; Dubbs, History of the Reformed Church, German, ibid, (both studies are preceded by extensive bibliographiea) ; CoRwm, Manual of the Reformed Protestant Dutch Church in America (-Ith ed.. New York, 1902); Good, History of the Reformed Church in the U. S.. 1725-93 (Reading, Pa., 1899); Zwierlein, Religion in New Nethertand, 162S-te2A (Rochester, 1910).
N. A. Weber.
Reform of a Religious Order, in the true sense of the word, is a return or bringing back of the order from a mitigated or relaxed observance to the rigour of its primitive rule. It must be premised that miti- gations of the primitive rule may be made quite law- fully (a) by the authority of the Holy See; (b) by decree of the superiors of the order itself, so far as they have power to modify its rule and observance; (c) by prescription or custom lawfully established, so long as such relaxations do not affect the vows of the reli- gious. On the other hand, the obligations arising directly from the vows made by the religious cannot be modified by custom or prescription, and the aboli- tion of abuses in such matters is not "reform" in the proper sense of the word. In cases where the miti- gation or modification of the rule has been brought about by legitimate authority reform may be institu- ted either by the Holy See or by the general chapter (or other legislative body) of the order itself. All those who shall make their profession after the reform has been decreed are bound to submit to it. Those previously professed are held not to be bound to the reformed observance if the pre\'ious mitigations were introduced legitimately. If, however, the mitiga- tions reformed have been caused by neglect on the part of the superiors of the order, or have been intro- duced with their connivance, then those professed be- fore the reform are bound to observe it. In practice, the Holy See is wont to use great discretion in this matter and prefers to invite or recommend the older religious to adopt the stricter rule. The principle underlying this is that no religious can be held bound beyond the limits to which he may be presumed to have intended to bind himself when he made his vows.
Tamduhini. De jure abbatum (Lyons, 1640); Donati, Rerum regutarium praxis resolutoria (Cologne, 1675) ; PellizzaRIO, Manuale Regut. (Venice, 1648); Schmalzoruber, Jus ecctcs. unitersum (Rome, 1843); Bouix, Tract, de jure regut. (Paris, 1857); Bachofen. Compend. juris regut. (New York, 1903); AlCHNER, Compend. juris eccles. (Brixen, 1900).
G. Roger Hudlb-stgn.
