FRANCE
647
FRANCE
Ident of the Ilij^lier Consistory) ; one lay member and one clerical inspector appointed Vij^ government; and two deputies named by the Hiicher Consistory. Its functions are purelj^ administrative, but that means a great deal in France. It nominates to the govern- ment all the pastors, and has full authority over the schools and the theological seminarv, not onlj' to name the p ofessors, but to direct tlie course of instruction. The Inspections are territorial districts, under the gov- ernment of Inspectors or Inspectoral Assemblies. Of those there are now eight in France, composed of one or more Consistories; the largest Inspection includes nine Consistories. The Inspectoral Assemlil}' includes all the pastors embraced in the district, and an equal number of la^'men chosen by the Consistories. They meet only at times tixed bj' the state. In each In- spection there is an ecclesiastical inspector appointed by the government, who convokes and presides over tlie Inspectoral Assemlilies. These inspectors, under the authority of the Director}', visit each parish at least once in four years ; ordain and install ministers; have supervision over the publication of boolcs for schools, etc. ; and, in fact, have general administrative supervision of the district. The Coiidstoiies of the Lu- theran Church of France are fort^'-four in number. The}- are composed of both lay and clerical members, the Liymen holding office for three years. All the pastors of the district, with the members of the Pres- bj'terial Council of tiie chief city, and an equal num- ber of laymen chosen by the more jiopular parishes, constitute tlie Consistory. The functions and jurisdic- tion of the Consistories are very much tlie same as those of the Consistories of the Reformed Church, which have already been described. One of the most im- portant points of difl'erence between them is, that in the Reformed Church the Consistories nominate the pastors, while in the Lutheran this function is dis- charged Ijy the Dh'ectory, as atiove stated. Tlie pow- ers and duties of the Preshijterkil Councils are similar to those of the Reformed Church. The theological seminaiy of the Lutheran Church is at Strasburg. The president of the Director}' is ex-officio director of the seminary. There are six professors, whose salaries are paid by the state. The faculty of theolog}' are also professors in the Seminary of Strasburg, which has, besides, five otiier professors in philosophy and phi- lology. Tlie school is well organized and conducted.
According to the Annuaire Protestant, the statis- tics of this Church in 18G8 were as follows : 44 Consis- tories, 233 parishes, 202 annexes, 386 temples (90 were subject to the siinulfaneum, or joint use by the Reform- ed Church), 713 schools, 271 official pastors, 40 vicars, auxiliary pastors, and aumoni?7-s. According to the re- ports furnished by 42 Consistories, and estimates for the two other Consistories, the Lutheran population amounted to 305,000.
In Algeria, the United Protestant Church (Reform- ed and Lutheran) has 3 Consistories, 10 parishes (1) Re- formed, 7 Lutheran), 60 annexes, 25 temples or orato- ries, 14 schools, IG official pastors (7 Reformed, 9 Lu- theran).
Ind pendent Churches. — The largest body of indepen- dent (i. e. not state) Protestants in France "is that which is organized under the name Union des Er/lises Evange- liques dc. France (Union of Evangelical Churches of Franco). Five cliurchcs in Paris, with nine stations, are connected with the Union. The number of pro- vincial churches is 40. Tliere are 18 additional stations connected with the provincial churches. The total membership is 2735, an average of 00 to each church. The largest church is that of the Taitbout, in Paris, with 210 members. There are seven independent churches not in connection with the Union, and nu- merous small congregations served by pastors of the societies. In Algeria the Union has six stations. As yet the Union has no theological seminary. Its can- didates for the ministry study at Geneva or Lausanne,
and aid is furnished by an education society to such students as need it. There is great vitality in this organization; it numbers Pressense, Bersier, and de Gasparin among its leaders.
The Evangelical Society of France is a powerful auxiliary to the Union of Evangelical Churches. It reported for 1868 the following statistics : Expendi- ture, £5240 ; agents aided by its funds, nearly 50, of whom 11 are pastors, 8 evangelists, and 27 teachers.
The Independent Evangelical Church of Lyons (not included in the Union) had in 1868 six places of wor- ship, witli five pastors and eight evangelists. Number of members, 700, mostly converts from Roman Cathol- icism ; children in Sunday-schools, 250 ; in day-schools, 300. Tile Church has eight libraries, an infirmary for the indigent, and a retreat for aged women.
The Baptists have had societies in France for more than twenty years. They are in relation with the American Baptist Missionary Union, from whose funds they derive a part of tiieiV support. Tlieir numlier of members in 1868 was reportad at about 300, mostly converts from Romanism ; nine churches, ten pastors, and perhaps forty preaching-places.
Though there were Methodists in France before the beginning of the 19th century, they were not organ- ized as a French denomination until 1852. Their Con- ference embraces also French Switzerland. The the- ological students attend the lectures of the theological faculty of the Free Church -of the Canton of Vaud. At the seventeenth Conference, held in Paris in June, 1SG8, the following statistics were reported : districts, 8; circuits, 16; chapels and preaching-rooms, 184; min- isters and probationers, 30 ; colporteurs and day-school- masters, 20 ; local preachers, 110; members, 1979 ; on trial, 140 ; day-schools, 11 ; Sunday-schools, 57 ; Sun- day-school teachers, 277 ; scholars, 2588.