The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1877-06-27
FoR THE CENTRAL PRESBYTERIAN.
General Synod of the Reformed Church.
New YORK, June u, 1877.

NEW YORK, June La 1OI -
Mr.. Editor; This body is very conserva
tive and orderly. Compared with our AS
8embly, it moves more slowly, but it moves
safely. All the business is done with great
elaboration, and good deal Of formality.
Yet I find it easy to forget that am in the
supreme judieatory of another Church, and
not in our own Assembly, because their
methods of proceeding are nearly identical
with our own. They have President In
stead of a Moderator, and they have one
who IS called Assessor and sits near the
President and occasionally occupies the chair
in bis stead. Both these are capital presid-
ing officers. Then they have Stated Clerk
and a Permanent Clerk just as we have; and
find the same difficulty which encountered
at New Orleans in getting anybody to point
out clearly the genealogical difference be-
tween these titles.
The Synod begins its daily sessions with a
half an hour of worship. 1 am impressed
with the earnestness displayed in the prayers
and exhortations. 1t seems that in Albany
and at other places they have had remarka-
bic revivals of religion and think can
see the evidences of it in the spirit manifest
ed here. Yet one thing strikes me unpleas
antly-they praise God less than they pray
and exhort; and another thing l cannot like,
they all sit in common prayer.
There was a whole day and more given to
an appeal from Dr. Augustus Blauvelt. he
had published in ScriJner'8 Magazine some
articles directly and fundamentally contra
vening the doctrines of this Church. The
Chassis (Presbytery) of Kingston suspended
him from the ministry. He appealed to the
Synod Of New York and they sustained the
Chassis. Then be appealed to the General
Synod, not against the sentence, but the
ground on which it was put And he did not
object to all parts of the ground, but only to
one part of it. He told the Chassis and
Synod that he knew they could do nothing
less than suspend him, for he frankly &C
knowledged that he did not hold to the creeds
of the Reformed Church. And he did not
object to the Chassis saying that he had ''as-
saulted the foundations of evangelical reli-
gion" or words to that effect. This he not
only acknowledged doing, but he gloried in
it. But what hurt him was the Chassis say
ing that his "opinions tended to betray
Christ to his enemies" lie denies the inspi-
ration of the SCriptures-especally Of the
Old Testament, but thinks he holds Christ in
great honor. And his appeal to this Gene
raj Synod was against so much of the deliv-
erance of the Chassis as charged him with
betraying Christ. He had many warm per-
sonal friends in the General Synod who all
approved his suspension, but wished him to
be relieved if possible from the pain inflicted
by this expression. But the Synod voted
very overwhelmingly against any softening
of what had been said. On the contrary, it
was said that because the expression in ques-
ton was giving pain to the heart of DR.. Blau-
Welt, it should by all means be approved by
the Synod, and prayer be made to God to
press the point of this arrow still more deeply
koto his conscience in the hope that it might
blessed to MS recovery from error. The
Case was conducted throughout with the
greatest kindness and with marked ability.
have been treated with the greatest cor
diaGty. On Friday evening last the dele
gates were received. Besides myself there
were two delegates from the Reformed Epis-
copal Church, and one from the South Afri-
can Dutch Reformed Synod. We were all
heard, and then the President replied to US
together. In my address, after expressing
my feelings towards the body, 1 took oCca-
sion to tell them that our Assembly had re-
solved to give up the plan of correspondence
by populations, substituting correspondence
by letters, always excepting their Church,
with whom we stand in peculiar cooperative
relations, and between which and our AS
8embly there might always be expected to be
affairs of actual and practical Importance
I explained to them that We cannot afford
the expense of Populations to all the church
es, and that in fact we regard an official let
ter prepared for the body sending it, and
amended and then adopted by that body as
having value which does not belong to the
utterances of an individual. But said that
we desired to exchange with their Church in
particular both the official letter and the Iv-
ing representative, who should explain its ne