The Portland daily press., 1868-04-04
Religious Intelligence.


The new Free Baptist church of Lewiston
a colony from the Main street church, have ten
dered unanimous call to the Rev. j. 5. Bur-
CESS of Harrisburg, Penn to become their pas
tor.
Sermons commemorative of the life and
character of the Rev. DR.. Shepard were
prea ehed in the Central and Hammond street
churches in Bangor last Sunday morning.
The Mirror of this week publishes commu-
nicatlon sent to that paper by Prot Shepard
the Saturday previous to his death on Mon
day morning. 1t is entitled "a Plea for the
Education Society,"" and is the first of Sc
ries which Prot. Shepard proposed to furnish
to the Mirror.
The list of revivals in churches of various
denominations, all over the country, has be-
come so large, and is receiving such constant
additions, that we have not space to particu-
larize in regard to them. The Independent
OF last week reports 16,94O conversions, since
its last report II 900 of them among the Meth
odist; and for this week the same paper re-
ports 200. Ofthese, about 100 are in Con-
gregational churches, over LOO among the
Presbyterians, as many among the Baptists,
and 1, 500 among the United Brethren.
The next General Conference OF the Meth
odist Episcopal Church, which will be, we be-
lieve, the eleventh quadrennial meeting of the
body, is TO begin its sessions on the first Of
May in Chicago. 1t will be continued for
some three weeks, and will be of unusual in
terest to the denomination. The question of
Misrepresentation will be one of the topics of
discussion, and the subject of the reconstruc-
ton of this church in the South, will be an
other. 1t will probably be thought necessary
to elect several new Bishops, the nine now
existing being inadequate to fulfill the ar
duous duties of their Office in the rapidly ex-
tending boundaries of the church.
The twentieth anniversary of the advent
of modern Spiritualism was commemorated
in many places throughout the country on the
31st ult. In Boston there was an exhibition of
the children's Progressive Lyceums, pro-
cession with banners, meeting in the Music
Hall in the evening, aid much pleasant fes-
tvty. In st. Louis the ceremonies consisted
of an address by Miss Elvira Wbeelock, one
of their most popular lecturers, in which she
gave a history of the Rochester knockings,
and similar phenomena, briefly sketching the
growth and progress of stheir religion, and
claiming that they had gained in this country
over four million believers.
AN English paper remarks upon the sim
gular fact that the four great and most ancient
spiritual authorities seem about to expire, or
be swept away by events. The present Grand
Lama of Thibet, the religious head of many
millions of people, is the last in that order of
priesthood by ancient prescription aud proph-
ecy, the last incarnation of the Deity as
Thibetan theologan would say. The Mikado
of Japan, the spiritual head of the great jap
anese en- pire, is also near the end of his reign,
political disturbance seeming to have struck a
fatal blow TO the Mikadoship. The Sultan of
Turkey, the Head of Islam, cannot, it seems.
probable, much longer maintain himself in
Constantinople; and will scarcely be regarded
as the spiritual chief of his people when he
ceases to reign in the Bosphorus. Finally
the Pope, Italians think, will not much longer
be Pope of Rome; when Plus TX. dies new
state of things will begin.
The Medical Missionary Society of Edin-
burgh is engaged in training and sending out
physicians as foreign missionaries. They find
that healing the bodies of the heather is the
best means of getting hearing for those
truths by which they hope to heal souls.
in accordance with the announcement
made some time ago, the Dover Morning Star
has been enlarged, and comes to us this week,
a quarto of the same size as the Congregations
alist, neatly printed, with new heading and,
presenting an altogether attractive appear
ance. With the additional space we perceive
an added variety in its contents, and the pa
per, which is among the best of our religious
exchanges, seems to be entering on a new
lease of life and new career of prosperity.
-Rey. B. f. Abbott, who has been for some
time pastor of the Unitarian Church at Dover,
N. H., has concluded his ministry with that
parish and, as it appears, with that denomina-
ton. Ia his farewell discourse, as reported,
he classed Christianity as one among many
religions, each of which is partly true and
parity false, while pure Theism being the uni
versal essence of all religions, is greater and
truer than all of them. He distinctly re-
nounce1 all claim to the title of Unitarian or
Christian, asking to be henceforth known on
ly as Theist. Jesus he believed to have been
a Theist, and Christianity perverson of The
ism. The Morning Star, (Baptist,) says Mr..
Abbott is a young man possessing superior
mental endowments. His position has at
least the merit of boldness and honesty.