Evening star., 1896-09-26

LII
churches, 27UEs ministers. 13O.OS3 ruling
elders, G,01S deacons and managers, T.
1926 communicate members, 32,2'l sab
bath schools. 31S,GG5 Sabbath school teach
ers and officers, 3, ,335, ,G54 Sabbath school |
scholars, the contributions to self-support |
and home missions being $3l. .'21 $50 for enc |
year, and to foreign missions $2,315.SlO. |
The total number of Presbyterians in the |
world, commandments and adherents, is es- |
timated at 25,OOO.0O0.
The place of the last meeting has been |
notable in the history OF the british
churches. Evangelists penetrated into Scot |
land during the second century, and early |
In the fifth century chapel was built by |
Ninian, the apostle Of southern Scotland, |
near the site of the present Glasgow Ca
thedral St. Patrick, the apostle of Ireland. |
born in the adjacent region, and frcm |
1t and other contiguous parts of Britain |
issued that missionary flood Of Scots which, |
from the seventh to the ninth centuries, in
undated Europe.
Again, in the Glasgow Cathedral met the |
general assembly of 1913. which accom-
plished the second Scotch reformation. |
Glasgow has also been long noteworthy as
center of education and during the nine
teenth century it has become the first COM
the united kingdom Further it is the
most Presbyterian and the best governed
city in the united kingdom.
The Opening Session.
When the fifth general council at To-
ronto adjourned it was the expectation
that the Rev. T. w. Chambers, D. D., LII
D., would preside at Glasgow. The second
president of the alliance was, however. in
the providence of God, removed from this
life In February of the present year, and
the executive commission of the alliance
chose the third president the writer of
this article, whose privilege it to pre-
side at the sixth council, and in the open
Ing address to bear witness to DIR. Cham
beIs' worth a man. a pastor a scholar
and q church leader.
The opening service was held in the Glas-
gov Cathedral an ancient and majestic
ecclesiastical edfice, dating back in some
of its parts to the twelfth century, and re-
calling by Its form the Roman usurpation,
durirg which it was erected The property
| CT the Scottish nation, it, with other build
| ings of the pre-reformation period, like
| St. Giles Cathedral Edinburgh, has been
| set apart for the worship of God according
| to the simple and pure forms of the Pres
| byterian Church. The opening sermon was
| delivered by the Rev. J. Marshall Lang,
| d. D., minister of the Barony parish, GIas-
| gov, VINO preached from the last clause of
| Ephesians iv:12, Unto the edifying of the
| body of Christ" The discourse was worthy
| of the occasion, and drew attention in 4
| marked way to the Gnifying forces which
are at work in the Christian Church, and
| one q. which was found in the alliance
| itself.
| The council was formally constituted in
| the afternoon a the city building by the
F.! president, who delivered the opening ad-
dress, and among other things dealt therein
| with the four scriptural principles which
| are fulGam entail to Pfote s.a nt!sm: The first,
the sovereignty of God in salvation, saliva
| ton being not of works, but of grace; the
| second, the sovereignty of the Word Of God
over creed and life; the third, the sover-
! eighty under God, in matters of religion, of
! the individual conscience for God alone is
| Lcrd of the conscience" and the fourth,
| the sovereignty of Christ in His church,
| and the consequent right OF all believers to
| recognition as members of His body. The
| NJ ,nnn Ixh ioh shx.a II 1I,.,c Lott
emphasis, in view of present conditions
III the church, were the second and the
fourth. the discussion of the latter deal
ing with the need Under which the Reform
ed churches lay of empha sizing the unity
of the Church of Christ as an existing con-
ditior and long-establ:shed fact.
Some Topics Considered.
The topics considered at the council were
concerned either with the doctrines of the
churches found in the confessions and
catechisms. with the developments of mod
ern thought in its relation to religion, OF
with the work of the churches. Eighteen
addresses and papers were assigned to the
eastern or American section; the remand.
er, ~ in number, to the British European
Australian and other colonial divisions
| A resume of these papers is out of the
question In this compendious article. Ger.
tain things, however, connected with the
| deliberations of the council are singled ou
for special mention.
| A noteworthy discussion took place upoI
| the papers dealing with the confessions
and the catechisms of the churches. The
discussion on the catechsms was partici
| pated In by considerable number of the
) delegates and brought out very interesting
facts 1t was shown that in the Unite et
States BON in the Reformed and the Pres
i byterian churches. the catechisms were ii
! large use. like testimony borne
for the Reformed Church of France, ant
; the WaldeBsian Church of Italy. 1t wa!
l announced in connection with the latte
church that 1t had with great hesitancN
prepared catechism. compelled thereto b!
the demands of the situation, and that t(
their delight the result had been mos
: gratifying and advantageous. For th
I Presbyterian Church of England 1t wa
stated that they had beer unable to find {
l catechism, and that it being taugh
with considerable success to the children
| of the present day.
The subject of biblical criticism was dis
3 cussed by Prof. Zenos Of Chica1o and DR.
James Kidd of Glasgow. The limtati
OF time which We're upon tne council for
bade any extended consideration OF TIN
| recently engrcSslng subject.
Missionary Centennial.
= The centennial of the organizat;o of tn,
Scottish Missionary Society was celebratee
in the council Tuesday, June 90 Th,
day was notable in many respects 1t com
- memorated the beginnings of m:ss!onar,
enterprise in British Christeadom, recalled
:, the marvellous prosperity with which Goo
has blessed the mission work of the Re
i formed churches il many lands, and in
spi-ed hopes for the future based upon ;
| glorious past and an aggressive present
i Missionaries from all parts of the world
and representing many different churche
and denominations participated in the ex
J. erc;ses. TIE mission work OF the churche
OF the reformation. in view of the report
made, Is clearly on the advance, and tn
widespread expectation was voiced IN tn
council that great spiritual upheaval va
y not far distant In heathendom. The for
l. eign mission work of the churches of tn
alliai ce constitutes at least -one-fourth o
the mission work of Christendom.
l. Among the present-day questions DIS
cussed in the counc.i was that of interna
l. t;onal arbitration. The people of Grea
n Britain, Judging by the temper and spiri