244 CONGREGATIONALISM tional churches have adopted a form of prayer for their own use in public worship, and con- gregational singing is now generally practised in churches of this order. For the office of the ministry in the Congregational churches sev- eral things are requisite. A personal and ex- perimental knowledge of divine truth is indis- pensable. To this must be added usually a liberal education and a familiarity with theo- logical science. One having these qualifica- tions, and desirous of becoming a preacher, may, upon examination by an association, be recommended to the churches as a candidate. If any church then elects him as pastor, and he accepts the invitation, a council is called to ex- amine and ordain him. The services at ordina- tion are performed by the ministers invited to the council, and include not only devotional ex- ercises, but a special sermon ; the ordaining prayer, in which the candidate is solemnly set apart for his office with the laying on of the hands of other ministers ; the charge, in which he is reminded of the duties of his office ; and the right hand of fellowship, which is given him in the name of the ministers and churches, with their Christian salutations. Without ad- mitting any right of churches to exercise au- thority and control over each other, Congrega- tionalists seek to strengthen bonds of love and fellowship between all the churches of Christ, and especially between those of the same faith and order. Neighboring churches may be re- garded as so many Christian families, having common sympathies and aims, desirous of pro- moting each other's welfare, ready to assist and advise as occasion may require, at liberty to suspend intercourse as a last resort, but not authorized to dictate measures or prescribe laws for each other. This mutual fellowship finds expression in various ways. The pastors of neighboring churches frequently exchange pulpits for a Sabbath; membership in one church is recognized as a ground of invitation to communion with others; church members changing their residence are dismissed and commended by letter to other churches which they desire to join, and thus their connection is transferred from one organization to another. The censures pronounced by a church are also respected by those in fellowship with it. Any church may call a council by letters addressed to neighboring churches, to give advice. This step is customary at the settlement and dis- missal of pastors, and at the organization of a church; and a council thus convened, con- sisting of a pastor and a delegate from each church invited, is regarded as a representative of all the churches. A member thinking him- self aggrieved by church action has a right to demand a council, and to designate half the churches to be invited; if his request is re- fused, he may call an ex parte council. Such councils dissolve when their business is ended. Occasionally, councils are more permanent bodies, and are called consociations, and some- times conventions. Such bodies, however, should not be confounded with presbyteries, from which they differ both .in their structure and in their powers. A presbytery is com- posed of representatives from church sessions ; a consociation, of delegates from the churches directly. A church may at any time with- draw from a consociation without impairing its standing. The powers of a consociation are delegated and defined by the churches, and may at any time be curtailed or withdrawn, or the body itself may be dissolved without affect- ing the existence of the churches connected with it. In the Congregational system the particular church is the source of all ecclesias- tical power and privilege. Sometimes neigh- boring churches unite in conferences for re- ligious services and for reports of benevolent operations. Associations are in general com- posed of ministers, who meet for personal im- provement and intercourse, and also to exam- ine the credentials and attainments of candi- dates for the ministry, and recommend them to the churches. Sometimes associations in- clude also a delegation from the churches, but without having authority in ecclesiastical mat- ters. The general associations are organiza- tions, made up of representatives from the lo- cal associations, meeting annually, but not in- fringing upon the independence of the churches. They may recommend, but cannot speak au- thoritatively. Occasionally larger synods or conventions have been held, though purely for deliberative and declaratory purposes; as at Cambridge, Mass., in 1648; Saybrook, Conn., 1708 ; Albany, 1852 ; and Boston, 1865. The last included over 500 delegates from more than 24 states, and made important declara- tions of faith and polity. In 1871, at Oberlin, Ohio, a national council of 290 delegates, from 25 states, organized a permanent body, to meet triennially, under the name of " The National Council of the Congregational Churches of the United States." Thus Congregationalism in- sists on the fellowship of the several churches no less than on the independence of each church. The churches are independent as re- spects authority, not as respects communion. u Those devout and studious men in England, who reduced to practice the conclusion that churches in modern times, like those in the apostolic age, should be quite independent of lords or commons, or of king or Caesar, and equally independent of a supposed national church unknown in the New Testament and to the early ages of ecclesiastical history, were at first called Independents; and in England the paedobaptist churches, independent of the state, and independent of any existing or im- aginary, church of England, have always been distinguished by that name." In America dif- ferent circumstances have led to the general use of the term Congregationalists. The doc- trines taught in the Congregational churches profess to be in accordance with the Scriptures, and correspond in general with those taught in the articles of the Church of England, and
