The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1873-04-27
rhe Approaching Conference or the
Evangelical Alliance.

1t is now, we believe, decided that the Sixth
General Conference of the Evangelical ALI
ance is to be held in this city in the month of
the present arrangement, will be opened on
the I'd of October and will not adjourn before
the 18th. Preparations are being made on
scale of great magnitude; and it is confidently
| expected that, whether regard be had to the
number and great reputation of the delegates,
to the lofty themes which will engage their
attention, or to the widespread interest which
their deliberations will be certain to excite,
this Sixth General Conference of the Evan
gelical Alliance will prove to be not only not
second to any of its predecessors, but one OF
the greatest and most important ecclesiastical
assemblages in modern times. 1t will be
sort of Ecumenical Council, although not in
vested with legislative authority; and it is
not unreasonable to take it for granted that it
will represent, with certain amount of fair
ness the ability, the learning and the piety OF
the Protestant world
| The principles of the Evangelical Alliance
are not new They are, in fact, as old as
Christianity itself. Unhappily, however, like
many of the other principles of the Christian
religion, it was long before they were properly
understood, and the day as yet seems far
distant when they will be fully reduced to
| practice 1t is now three hundred years since
the Church, one and indivisible, ceased to be
q fact The religious revolution of the six.
tenth century divided the Christian world
into two great hostile sections but while the
old Roman Church has remained during all
these years substantially unit the Protestant
section of Christianity has been undergoing
the process of continual and apparently
amending subdivision. The divided con-
diton of the Protestant world has long been
felt to be source of weakness Sympathy
among the various sections there was none,
and unity of action was found to be
impossible. 1t is one Of the principal objects
of the Evangelical Alliance to give
something like unity to the Prot
estant world. 1t was not until
1S43 or 1874 that the Alliance took anything
like shape. Preliminary meetings were held
in Edinburgh and Liverpool; and in August
1886 the first General Conference was held in
L
was presided over by the late Sir Gull
ling Eardley, and in the proceedings such
men as DR.. Baird, of New York; Monod
Of Paris; Baptist Noel, of London; Guthrie
of Edinburgh, and some prominent repre-
sentatives of the Protestant churches
of Germany, Switzerland and Holland took
part. The statistics of that meeting show
-
represented, and that of the nine hundred and
twenty-one delegates there was large pro-
portion from the United States and the Can
adas. The principles of the Alliance were
explained and embodied in series of articles.
It was stated that the Alliance had for it's OBJ
iect the promotion of Christian feeling, loving,
friendly intercourse between the different
denominations and an effective cooperation
in the efforts to repulse the common enemy
and danger. Branches were Organized,
Great Britain and Ireland g the United
States of North America; 3, France, Belgium
and the French portion of Switzerland; 4,
North Germany and the German portion of
| West Indies.
The Alliance was quite success in Great
Britain; it commanded attention and SYM
pathy in France, Switzerland and Belgium,
but in Germany it met with some opposition
on the part of the Lutherans, who followed
| the lead Of Schleierwacher The second Gen
eral Conference was held in Paris in 1855,
during the time Of the Exposition. Meetings
have successfully been held in Berlin, 1857;
| in Geneva, 1860, and in Amsterdam in the
month of August, 1867 and the Alliance
must now be regarded as an established insti-
tuition The Evangelical Alliance for the
| United States was organized in New York on
the 3Oth of January, 1867. OF this association
Mr. W. E. Dodge has been President from the
outset The United States Evangelical Ali
nee is substantially the same in principle with
that which was established in London in 1916.
1t is well known that arrangements were
made for the holding of this Conference in
this city some two years ago. The unhappy
war; however, which deluged the plains of
France with blood and made it impossible for
the representatives of the two contending
nations to meet in friendly religious converse,
necessarily led to its postponement. As soon,
however, as the war was over the American
Commissioner revisited Europe and repeated
the invitations The invitations have been
cordially accepted, and New York has now the
near prospect of seeing and hearing some Of
the brightest theological teachers and profess
sors of the Old World. In another place in
the HERALD of this morning will be found the
names of some of those men, as well as a more
detailed account of the prospective Confer
ence. We have already in these columns
bespoken kindly welcome to the illustrious
strangers, and we have no reason to fear that