(II.) In the public worship of the primitive churches it was customary for the assembly at large to say Amen at the close of the prayer; a custom derived from apostolic times (1 Cor. xiv, 16). Several of the fathers refer to it. Jerome says that in his time, at the conclusion of public prayer, the united voice of the people sounded like the fall of water or the noise of thunder. Great importance was attached to the use of this word at the celebration of the eucharist. At the delivery of the bread the bishop or presbyter, ac- cording to the Apostolical Constitutions, is directed to say, '• The body of Christ;" at the giving of the cup the deacon is instructed to say, "The blood of Christ, the cup of life ;" the communicant is directed on each occasion to say "Amen." This answer was univer- sally given in the early Church. See Response.
(III.) It is used as an emphatic affirmation, in the sense "so be it," at the end of all the prayers of the Church of England. It is sometimes said in token of nndonbting assent, as at the end of the creed, Amen, '• So I believe." The order of the Church of England directs that " the people shall, at the end of all prayers, answer Amen." — Bingham, bk. xv, ch. iii, § 25.
Special treatises on the subject are Kleinschmidt, ]i, particuh .\m<n (Hint. 1696); Weber, Be voce Amen (Fen. 1734); Werasdorf, De Amen lUurgico (Viteb. 1779 i ; Brunner De voce Amen (Hclmst. 1678) ; Fogel- mark. PotesUu verbi -,~X (Upsal. 1761); Meier, Horce philol. in A mm (Viteb. 1687); Treffcntlich, De "jaX (Lips. 1700); Vejel, De vocuh Amen (Argent. 1681); Bechler, HormphUol. in Amen (Wittemb. 1687).
Amenites, a subdivision of the Mennonites, so named from Jacob Amen, a Mennonite minister of Amentlial, Switzerland. He was not a man of note, nor was he considered the founder of a sect. The per- petuation of his name in this way is due to a contro-
versy in 1670 on minor points of doctrine between Jacob Amen and John Heisly, another Mennonite, which produced, finally, a schism in the Mennonite body. By a corruption of the name Amende, the mem- bers of the sact in Pennsylvania, where they abound, are called Amish, Awmish, or Omiskers. See Men- nonites.
America. I. Church History.— Of the religious creeds of the American aborigines we treat in the ar- ticle Indians (American). The introduction of Christianity coincides with the discovery of America by Europeans. About the year 1000 the Icelanders and Norwegians are said to have established in Green- land twelve churches, two convents, and one bishop- ric (of Gandar) on the eastern shore, and four churches on the western ; and in 1266 some priests are said to have made a voyage of discovery to regions which have recently become more known by Parry, John and James Ross, and others. All traces of Christian- ity, however, had disappeared when, in the sixteenth century, North America, and in particular Greenland, were discovered again. The discovery of America by Columbus was followed by the establishment of the Roman Church in South and Central America, in the West Indies, and on the southern coast of North America. Canada, the northern lakes, and the Mis- sissippi valley were for a century under the sway of the French, and thus likewise under the influence of the Roman Church. But the temperate zone, the heart of the continent, was reserved for the Protestants of England, Germany, Holland, and the persecuted Huguenots. The Church of England was established in Virginia, the Carolinas, and Georgia; in "Maryland after the decline of the Roman Catholic influence, and in New York after its cession by the Dutch. Its at- tempts at gaining ground in other colonies failed ; and at the time of the Revolution its growth had remain- ed far behind that of the persecuted and dissenting bodies of the Old World, which soon became the strength of the New. The Puritans and non-con- formists occupied New England, the Quakers planted Pennsylvania, the Presbyterians and Methodists be- came numerous in the Middle States, and a number of minor denominations found here religious toleration, and helped to foster the spirit of religious liberty. The Declaration of Independence, by which thirteen Brit- ish colonies freed themselves from the mother country in 1776, marks a new era not only in the church his- tory of America, but in the general history of Chris- tianity. The union between church and state was dis- solved ; the state renounced its claims over the con- sciences of men, and the church sought its support no longer from the state, but from the voluntary contri- butions of its members. See United States. This principle, which was originally established in the United States only, soon began to exert an influence over the churches of the whole country, and even to spread across the Atlantic, where it prepared, slowly but steadily, an entire transformation of the relation between church and state. Protestantism has since not only brought the whole of North America and a part of the West Indies under its influence, but it is steadily pressing forward toward the south, and nar- rowing the territory of the Roman Church. The states of Central and South America have nominally remained connected with the Roman Church, but re- ligious toleration has been established in most of them, and every where the Roman clergy has a hard stand against an advanced liberal party, which is determined to abolish all the privileges of the Roman Church, and to introduce unlimited religious liberty. For the de- tails of American Church History, see the articles on the various states, United States, Mexico, etc. A brief and comprehensive survey of the development of American ( Ihurch History is given in Smith's Tables of Church Bistort/.