CONGREGATIONALISM 107 CONGREGATIONALISM it may deem qualified to exercise minis- terial functions; (2) by the action of a voluntary association of Congregational ministers approving a candidate after due examination, and commending him for a limited time as such to the churches: (3) by an action of a Council of Churches called by some local church or acting in its name, ordaining a man as pastor or evangelist or missionary, or installing a minister as pastor of the church calling the council. The secular affairs of the church are administered by trustees appointed by the church or by an ecclesiastical society called the parish, made up of members of the congregation, not all necessarily members of the church. In some matters, like calling and installing a pastor, the church and the society act conjointly. The princi- ples of this polity are held also by the Baptists, Unitarians, Universalists, and other denominations. The first Congregational Church in Eng- land, of which there was any record, was formed in London about 1571. Robert Fitz was the minister, and his "True Marks of Christes Churche" is the first document relating to English Congrega- tionalism known to be in existence. The most prominent name in connection with Congregationalism at this time is that of the Rev. Robert Browne, who left the Established Church, and, in conjunction with the Rev. Robert Harrison, formed a Congregational Church at Norwich in 1580. Another famous clergyman was John Robinson. The members of his church fled from persecution to Holland, and 12 years later crossed the Atlan- tic "landing at Plymouth, the Pilgrim Fathers of the Mayflower." In the cabin of the "Mayflower" was signed the famous compact which might be called the magna charta of American Congregationalism. At this time the Congregationalists were sometimes called "Brownists" (after the Rev. Robert Browne), sometimes "Separatists" (be- cause they would keep the church separate from the world), and some- times "Independents." This last designa- tion Congregationalists themselves soon adopted, and have ever since retained. Congregatimialism in England. — In the Westminster Assembly (appointed by Parliament in 1643 to draw up some order of public worship for the nation), there were five representatives of the Congregationalists. Under Cromwell the Independents became supreme. Their church meetings were held in West- minster Abbey. At the time of the Pro- tector's death (Oct. 12, 1658), a general council of Congregationalists was meet- ing in the Savoy. The council issued a "Declaration of Faith and Order." The "Declaration" was not binding upon any particular church, but it is almost as important in the history of Congrega- tionalism as the Westminster Confes- sion is in the history of Presbyterian- ism. The denomination was greatly and permanently strengthened by the Act of Uniformity (Aug. 24, 1662), which drove 2,000 ministers and many thou- sands of laymen out of the Established Church. Under the later Stuarts Con- gregationalists had their share of per- secution. After passing the Act of Tol- eration (May 24, 1689), they took an active part in the extension of civil and religious liberty. They were chief among the founders of the London Missionary Society (1795), and the first tract for the Religious Tract Society was written by Dr. Bogue, in 1799. In 1831, the Congreg^ational Union of England and Wales was formed, and an International Council of Congregationalists met in London in July, 1891. Congregationalism in America. — In the United States the first Congrega- tional Church was founded at Plymouth, New England, in 1620, by the party of pilgrims sent from Holland by John Robinson. In 1837, the spread of the Antinomian doctrine caused much dis- cussion in the Church. By a synod con- vened in New England Antinomianism was unanimously condemned. In 1638 Harvard College was founded. In 1658 the Savoy Confession was adopted and still remains. Unitarian principles spread, about 1800, widely in the Congregational churches of America, and though a sepa- ration took place between the Unitarians and the Trinitarians, both still retain the Congregational form of church gov- ernment. In addition to the Conference, or Asso- ciation of Churches, by which they co- operate for common ends, a National Council meets triennially "for advisoi-y and not juridical ends." Beside such well-known colleges as Bowdoin, Am- herst, Williams, and Oberlin, the Ameri- can Congregationalists possess theologi- cal seminaries at Andover, Bangor, New Haven, Hartford, Oakland, Chicago, and elsewhere. There are six National So- cieties, through which the charities of Congregationalists mainly flow. There were in the United States in 1919 808,- 122 members of Congregational churches with 6,019 churches and 5,722 ministers. In the Sunday Schools were 709,859 pupils. The expenses of the church were $10,251,506. A five-year tercentenary campaign for a $5,000,000 fund for ministers' pensions was completed suc- cessfully in 1920.
