REFORMED CHURCH 476 REFORMED EPISCOPAL the Church. It is composed of three ministers and three elders from each classis. In 1867 the word "Dutch" was dropped from the corporate name of the body. "The Christian Intelligencer," a weekly journal devoted to the interests of the Church, was established in New York, 1828. There are two theological seminaries, one at New Brunswick, N. J., the other in connection with Hope Col- lege, at Holland, Mich. Statistics, 1919 : Churches, 708; ministers, 756; members, 144,166. REFORMED CHURCH IN THE UNITED STATES, formerly German Reformed Church in the United States of America, an off-shoot of the Reformed Church of Germany. The first minister was the Rev. George Michael Weiss, who emigrated with about 400 people of the Palatinate in 1727, and settled in Penn- sylvania, E. of the Susquehanna. In 1746 the Rev. Michael Schlatter was commissioned by the synods of north and south Holland to visit their German mis- sions in America, and regulate their rela- tions. He assembled in Philadelphia the first sjmod or coetus of the German Re- formed Church, 1747. The German Re- formed coetus continued under the juris- diction of the Church of Holland till 1793, when an independent synod was formed. It increased rapidly in mem- bership and congregations. The first triennial general synod, with jurisdiction over the whole Church, met in Pitts- burgh, 1863. The general synod of 1869 resolved to drop the word "German" from the title of the Church. The Heidel- berg catechism is the only standard of doctrine. The worship of the_ Church is liturgical; its government is presby- terian. Reception into the full com- munion of the Church takes place by the rite of confirmation. Christmas, Good Friday, Easter, and Whitsunday are ob- served with much solemnity. Eleven English and five German papers are published in the interest of the Church; and there are 16 theological and literary institutions under its control. Statistics, 1919: Churches, 1,731; ministers, 1,242; members, 340,671. REFORMED EPISCOPAL CHURCH, a denomination organized by members of the Protestant Episcopal Church, who give substantially the following state- ment of the events and circumstances which, as they believe, justify their course: (1) The Protestant Reforma- tion in England had outwardly a politi- cal origin (in the act of the king, Henry VIII., renouncing allegiance to the Pope, and proclaiming himself head of the English Church), by which the work was biased and cut short. During the brief life of the young king, Edward VI., the regent, or protector, being in favor of the Reformation, great progress in it was made. Under Mary the su- premacy of the Pope was again acknowl- edged. When Elizabeth became queen, wishing to harmonize her divided sub- jects, and hoping for reconciliation with Rome, she strove to have the liturgy framed so as to satisfy both parties. Consequently it contained contradictory elements. At a later period, when she had found her hope futile, the articles of faith adopted were decidedly Protestant. Thus it came to pass that in the Church of England two parties found support in her ritual; the one Protestant, the other having an affinity with Rcme. (2) After the American Revolution, when the Church of England in the colonies became the Protestant Episcopal Church of the United Gtates, the Book of Com- mon Prayer, having been adopted with- out material alterations, retained its conflicting elements. (3) The Trac- tarian movement, which began at Ox- ford, 1833, was a successful endeavor to revive the principles of antiquity and Catholicity contained in the prayer book, in opposition to its Protestant elements. It discarded Protestant principles and taught the doctrines of apostolic suc- cession, priestly absolution, baptismal re- generation, the real presence, and the authority of the Church. (4) These teachings produced a powerful effect in the United States also. A great increase in ritualism, and of the drift toward Rome, was soon manifested; the oppo- sition between the "High" and the "Lo^v Church" parties was intensified, and practical measures were adopted by each which widened the chasm. (5) Several subsequent public events fanned the flame of discontent, especially the cen- sure of one clergyman for preaching in a Methodist Church, and the suspension of another for omittu.g the word "re- generate" in the baptismal office. (6) Remonstrances and petitions for relief, which were numerously and urgently presented to the General Convention, produced no effect. (7) During the ses- sions of the Evangelical Alliance in New York in October, 1873, Bishop Cummins of the diocese of Kentucky, having, by invitation, officiated at a union celebra- tion of the Lord's Supper, in company with representatives of other denomina- tions, was for this act of Christian fel- lowship bitterly censui'ed through the press by members of the "High Church" party. After this, convinced that he could no longer rightfully continue in a church whose theory and practice (as interpreted by the majority of its mem-
