The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1876-05-27
SABBATH SCHOOL WORK.

In view OF the great and growing i'm
portance attached to Sabbath schools as
auxiliary agencies of church progress
and development, by the various national
religious conventions now in session, u
brief resume Of the history of this insti.
tuition may not be undressing. The
earliest Sunday schools were the schools
of Catechumens, established in the prIm-
tive church. These were to all intent
and purposes the same as our Sunday
Schools. As the church grew by
the accession of converts rs well
as by the natural increase Of
families, it became necessary TO instruct
those who wished to become members, in
the doctrines and precepts OF Christianity.
This WAS at first the duty of the pastor
or bishop of the congregation; but as the
members increased it was found impossi-
Bile for him to attend to this important
work alone, and intelligent members Of
the church were appointed to assist him
These were called Catechists, from a
Greek word signifying TO sound out aloud,
because they gave oral Instructions
The systems of instructions were
called Catechisms, and the pupils Cate
chumens. The women of the church
were taught by female catechists or dea-
concsses. All proselytes had first to be-
come Catechumens before being baptised.
The Emperor CONSTANTINE, before he
WAS admitted to the church, had to join
the Catechumens class. Such instruc.
ton was generally given on Sunday.
ORIGES was only eighteen years old
when appointed catechist. The schools
of the Catechumens hourished until the
sixth century, when less care began to be
exercised in regard - the instruction OF
converts, and the church entered upon
the career in which it was arrested by
the Reformation. AS part of his work,
LUTHER established Sunday Schools in
Whtenberg, in 1867, for the instruction
OF children. In 1860 JOHN KNoY inaug-
rated them in Scotland, About the same
time schools were established in France
and Holland. Modern Sunday schools
are due to the zeal of ROBERT BAIKEs,
editor of the Gloucester (England)
Journal. Mr.. BAlKEs made his
first experiment in 1871, and in
1886 it WAS estimated that 250,0O0 chill
dren were receiving instruction in Sun.
day schools. In 1908 the first Sunday
school union was established in England,
under the care OF the Established Church
with 554 400 scholars. In the first
sch ,ols OF Mr.. BAIKEs the children were
taught to read. The history of Sunday
schools in tins. country has never yet
been written. There were schools among
the Puritans two hundred years ago
Bishop AsBURY, of the Methodist
Church, established one in Virginia in
1886; Bishop WHITE one in Philadel.
phia, in l79l. The Methodist Con.
ference in Charleston, South Carolina,
in 1890, established Sunday schools
for white aud black children. KATE
FsRGUsoS, a poor black woman, estsb-
lished one in New York in 1893. The
mother of the late DR.. BETHUEE open
ed one in private house in New York
city in 1901. In 1924 the American
Sunday School Union was formed. In
1874 there wore IN France 800 schools
and $1,000 scholars; in Germony l.2ls
schools, 4743 teachers and 81, 1855
scholars; in Great Britain $4,000
teschsrs and S050,0O0 scholars;
in tthe United States 50
scbooh, ,753, 900 teachers and $4,000
scholars! The United States have larger
number of schools, teachers and sch )lsrs \
than sif Europe and Canada combined.
What has the whole world TO offer that
would be 1 fair price for this bright
level ID our country's diademf America,
like the Roman pstron, when asked for
- --..h hor eiY nnilliops of