A great revival in the Protestant churches com- menced about 1820. Those who, under the influence of this revival, sought to unite themselves by closer spiritual bonds than the state churches afforded them, were generally designated by the name Methodists, al- though they were not organized as a Methodist denom- ination. Many of tlie converts kept themselves aloof from the state churches, and began to l;,y the foun- dation of independent congregations. In the ttate Church a violent contest arose between the Evangeli- cal and the Rationalistic parties. The '■'■Evangelical Association."' founded in IH'dd, was supported as a home missionary society by evangelical Christians both in and out of the state churches. A l;;rge number of relig- ious societies sprung u|i, jiartly supported by only one of the great paities, but partly also b)- both. In 1848, Frederick Monod (q. v.), with several other clergymen of the Evangelical school, seceded fn m the Reformed State Church because the synod of the Church refused to demand from all ministers an adhesion to the funda- mental articles of the evangelical faith. With the as- sistance of count de Gasparin and others, he succeeded in having all the dissident churches united into a Union des /fjJises ivantjeHqves de France." which held its first General Sj'nod in 1849. The churches belonging to this union are entirely independent of the state, and j their General Sj-nods now meet biennially. In both the state churches some leading men and journals of the Rationalistic party have gone so far as to avow un- disguised deistical views, and all attempts to force ! thrm out of the Church have failed. On the other hand, when a pastor of the Evangelical school showed an inclination towards Baptist views, the choice was left to him either to recant or to secede.
II. Eccksiasticcd Statistics of France. — (1.) The Bo- man Cuthiilic Church. — The Romr.n Catholic Church had, at the beginning of the ye;.r li-G!', eighteen arch- bislioprics, viz. Aix, Alby, Algiers (es-tablished in 1807), Auch, AvignoU; Besancon, Bordeaux, Bourges, Cam- brai, Chaml eiy, Lyons, Paris, Rheims, Rcnncs (estab- lished in 1859), Rouen, Sens, Toulouse, and Tours. A niimlier of the archbishfps are generally cardinals (in 1868, five), who, as such, are senators of the empire, and receive a higher salary. Ihe number of bishopric* is 69 in France, 2 in Algeria, 3 in the colonics (^lar- tinique, Guadeloupe, and Reunion); total, 74. Since the overthrow of Louis Philippe, the bishcps have claimed the right to meet, without j)revious authori zation from the government, in Provincial Synods, and many such synods have since been held. The archbishops and bishops are assisted in the admini.-tia- tion of their dioceses by vicar-i;enerals, whose numl;er ranges from two to fifteen, and by two or three secre- taries. Ihe ecclesiastical courts have risen in impor- tance since the re-estal)lishment of the provincial and diocesan synods, and consist of a president, an official, a rice-ojficial, a promoteur, one or several assessors, and one fjrejficr. As the bishops are not elected, but nomi nated by the government, the chapters have less im jwrtance than in other countries. The canons of tlies^ cliapters, all of whom arc appointed by tlie Ijishops, form three classes, called chanoims d' honnevr, <ha- noines honoraires, and chanoii.es iitidaires. The third class contains the active resident n:embers. The first class contains bishops of other dioceses; the second class (the most numerous), many pastors, vicars, pro- fessors of theological faculties, j)residents of seinina- ries, colleges, and institutions, botii Frenchmen and foreigners. Rural deaneries, other chapters, and the office of archdeacon were swejit away by the Rev- olution, but a new chapter of St. Denys (Dionysius), jirominent not so much by influence as by high posi- tion, has been founded, near the tomb of the imperial family, by Louis Napoleon. It has two classes of memliers : first, the liishops who have retired ; and, secondly, ten canons, with ten honorary members, these latter including the imperial chaplains. The
FRANCE
645
FRANCE
lower clergy are divided into cui-es, desservants, and vi- 1 caircs. There are about yCOO of the first, about 32,000 of the second, and more th;in DOOO of the third class. Besides, there are a nuuilier of aumoniers (chaplains) appointed for tlie lyceunis, colleges, normal schools, hospitals, and jails ; also for the army and the navy, each of which has its aumonier en chef. Thus the total number of the lower (secular) clergy exceeds 40,000. In the administration of the seciilur affairs of the par- ishes, some members of the laity take part as marguil- Kers de parnisse. (treasurers), or members of the so- called Fubrique (church council).
In the Konian Church, the religious orders and com- munities of the clergy, and societies and confraterni- ties among the laity, are very numerous. Among the monastic orders the Jesuits (q. v.) occupy a prominent position, both In' the number of their establishments and by their influence. Some of tlieir members (e. g. Kavignan and Felix) have shone as the greatest pul- pit orators of modarn France. The Benedictines (q. V.) have re-established a convent at Solemnes, and have resumed the literarj' labors of their order, but have not been able as j'et to obtain many members. The Dominicans, though not very numerous, have gained prestige from the reputation of Lacordaire, who re-established the order in France. Nearly all the mo- nastic orders of the Boman Church liave now some es- tablishments in France, and a number of n3W ones (e. g. the Obliites, Murists, and society of Picpns) have been founded. Many of the religious orders and com- munities devote tliemselves with great zeal to the work of foreign missions. At the head of them are the Lazurigfs (q. v.), whose principal establishment is in Paris. Witli them vies especially the Seminary of Foreign Missions at Paris, which was founded in ] (iGo, abolished in 1792, and re-established in 1825. It is under the administration of a superior and six direct- ors, and sends out every year large numbers of mis- sionaries to Eastern Asia. The O'olates, the Marists, the Picpus Societj', the Jesuits, the Priests of Merc}% the Capuchins, and many other orders and congrega- tions, sustain missions in foreign lands. A new mis- sionary seminary for tha missions in Africa was estab- lished at Lyons in 1858. The communities of women, who nurse the side and the aged poor, or devote them- selves to teaching and to the reformation of prisoners and wretched females, are verj' numerous and pros- perous. Manj' of these congregations and societies- — as the Sisters of Charitij (q. v.), the congregation of the Good Shpherd (q. v.), the LiWe Sisters of the Poor, etc. — increase with a rapidity wliicli is almost witliout example in the entire history of the Roman Church. The religious societies among the laitji also increase in strength and numbers every year. The most impor- tant among them are the Society for the Propngation of the Faith, the central missionarj' society of the Ro- man Church, to which now nearly all countries of the world contribute. It was founded in France in 1822, has its centres at Paris and Lj'ons, and its contribu- tions amount to about 5,000,000 francs annually, more than one half of which is contributed by France. The society publishes a bimontld)'. Annals of the Propaga- tion of Faith, in various languages. The central chil- dren's missionary society of the Church, called the Socii't;/ of the Holi/ Childhood, has its central organiza- tion in France. Its annual income amounts to about 1,0U0,000 francs. The St. Vincent Society, for visiting and assisting the poor, has established l)ranch associa- tions in more than 3000 localities, and expends for the assistance of the poor more than 3,000,000 francs an- nually. Primarj' education in France is almost en- tirely under tiie control of the bishops. Most of the schools are conducted by religious congregations, such as the Brothers of the Christian Schools, the Brothers of the Christian Doctrine, the Brotliers of St. Joseph, Brothers of Jlary, Brothers of the Society of Mary, Daughters of the Holy Spirit, and ma.ny others. The