"l. To declare their constant and inviolable attachment to their already approved and recognised standards; name- ly, the W esimmsterC mfession of Faith, Larger aud Short- er Catechisms, ! >: i <■• torj foi Worship, and Form of Pres- byterian Church government, with the Original Secession Testimony.
"•.'. That, as they unite under the banner ofn testimony, they are determined, in nil time- coming, as their fore- fathers have set them the example, to assert the truth when it is injured or opposed, and to condemn and testify against error and immorality whenever they may seem to prevail.
'•:i. To cancel the name of Burgher and Antihurgher forever, and to unite the two synods into one, to he known by the name 'The Presbyterian Synod of Ireland, distin- guished by the mime Seceders.'
"4. To declare their insubordination to any other eccle- siastical court, while, at the same time, they do hereby signify their hearty inclination to hold a correspondence wiili their sister < lunch in Scotland or elsew here, for their mutual edification ; but think it expedient not to lay them- selves under any restrictions as to the manner of said cor-
'■;.. To allow all the presbyteries and congregations in their connection to bear the same name. and. in the mean- time, stand as they were before the conl< -
"6. Carefully to preserve all the public records of the
two synods from their formation in this kingdom till the present day."
This union was the means of imparting considerable strength and vigor to the Secession Church in Ireland. A home mission was now commenced, and i he cause of Presbj terianisra began to flourish in various tow ns and villages where it had been hitherto unknown. The whole proceedings of this Church were characterized by a high regard to purity of doctrine aud the ad\ amc- menl Of vital religion. The Irish Presbyterian Church, on the contrary, had long been hindered in its progress by the prevalence of Arian and Sociniau doctrine-, both among its ministers ami people. By the divine bless- ing, however, they were ai length enabled to rid them- selves of the New-Light party: and. to -cure uniformity of teaching in the Church, they passed an overture re- quiring absolute subscription to tin' < lonfession of faith.
lie general synod w a- now. in almost all respects, :■ — similalcd to the Irish Secession ('hurch. and the pro-
po-.d of a union between the two was seriously enter- tained. An arrangement in regard to the regium donum made in 1838 paved the way for il- completion, govern- ment having in that year agreed to equalize the bounty, and on certain conditions to grant £75, laic Irish cur- rency, per annum, to every minister connected with the two s\ noil-. Being thus placed mi an equal footing by the go\ eminent, and agreed both in doctrine and t Shurcfa
polity, the great obstacles to a i iplete incorporation of
the two churchi - w< re thus removed.
The first movement toward- union had taken place among tin- theological Btudents of both churches at- tending the Belfast Academical Institution, who bad
PRESBYTERIAN CHURCHES 533 PRESBYTERIAN CHURCHES
established among themselves a united prayer-meeting. The desire for union, and a strong feeling of its propri- ety, rapidly spread both among ministers and people. Memorials on the subject, accordingly, were presented to the Synod of Ulster, and the Secession Synod, at their respective meetings in 1839. Committees were appoint- ed by the two synods, and, the matter having been fully considered and preliminaries adjusted, the final act of incorporation took place at Belfast on July 10, 1840, the united body taking to itself the name of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland. See Ireland.
9. Welsh Calvinistic Methodists. — This body of believers is sometimes ranked among Presbyterians, because its form of Church government is a modified Presbyterianism. Each Church manages its own af- fairs, admits or expels members by the vote of the ma- jority of those who belong to it, but this is rather Con- gregational than Presbyterian. It, however, allows an appeal from the decision of the individual Church to the monthly meeting of the county or presbytery to which it belongs, and then there is an appeal from the month- ly meeting to the quarterly association of the province. Matters are finally disposed of as follows: those relat- ing to South Wales by the South Wales Association, and so of the North ; but a few years ago a General As- sembly of the whole connection was established, and the two associations may agree to refer matters to that body, which meets once a year, for final decision. Its Confession of Faith is, of course, strictly Calvinistic. See Methodism (vol. vi, p. 156, col. G).
10. Presbyterian Church in the United States. — The denomination commonly known by this name, both on account of its numerical superiority and its pri- ority of organization, derived its origin from the Presby- terians of Scotland and Ireland, and particularly the latter, with a considerable infusion of French Hugue- nots, Dutch and German Reformed emigrants. Many fugitives from persecution in the mother country took refuge in the more liberal colonies of Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Jersey, Virginia, and the Carolinas. Francis Makemie, who may be called the founder of American Presbyterianism, was an Irishman, who sev- eral years before the close of the 17th century had gath- ered churches in Maryland. For several years before the organization of the first presbytery, his most intimate ministerial friend was Jedediah Andrews. The earliest traces of Church organizations of a trustworthy charac- ter indicate a congregation gathered in Upper Marlbor- ough, Md., in 1690, and others collected by Mr. Makemie in the same colony about the same date, if not as early as 1684— one in Freehold, N. J., called the Scotch Meet- ing-house, in 1692; and one in Philadelphia, under the care of Mr. Andrews, in 1698. The Presbytery of Phila- delphia is supposed to have been formed about the year 1705, if not before, this uncertainty arising from the first page of the manuscript minutes being lost. It was composed of seven ministers — Samuel Davis, John Hampton, Francis Makemie, and George M'Nish, from Ireland; Nathaniel Taylor and John Wilson, from Scot- land ; and Jedediah Andrews, from New England. The growth of the body was so rapid as to justify, in 1716, the formation of the Synod of Philadelphia, consist- ing of three presbyteries. The presbytery of Philadel- phia had six ministers and six churches; that of New- castle six ministers and churches; that of Snowhill three ministers and churches; and that, of Long Island two ministers and several churches — in all twenty-throe ministers and more than that number of congregations.