CONGREGATIONAL UNION LECTURES: A
lectureship under the auspices of the Congregational Union of Great Britain. It was established in 1831, and the first series was delivered in 1833 by Ralph Wardlaw on Christian ethics (published in London, 1833). The aim is " to illustrate the evidence of the great doctrines of Revelation, to exhibit the principles of philology in their application to such doctrines, to prove the accordance of genuine philosophy with Scripture, to trace to their sources the corruptions which have existed in the Christian Church, and to point out the methods of refutation and counteraction." The lectureship is not endowed, the funds coming from the sales of volumes of lectures already delivered; consequently the lectures are given at irregular intervals. The last series was delivered in 1897 by John Brown on Apostolical Succession in the Light of History and of Fact (London, 1898). A full list of lectures and their subjects is given in L. H. Jordan, Comparative Religion, pp. 564-565, New York, 1905.
RELIGIOUS ENCYCLOPEDIA
Congregration Congregationalists
I. History.
1. The English CongregationaUsts. Robert Browne (§1). His Views (§ 2). Barrowe and Greenwood (§ 3). Johnson and Ainsworth (§ 4). The Scrooby Congregation (§ 5). The Pilgrim Church in Holland
(§6).
The Emigration to America (§ 7). CongregationaUsts in England to
1660 (§ 8). Since 1660 (§ 9). At the Present Time (§ 10). Missionary Work (§11).
2. CongregationaUsts in the British
Congregationalism is a form of ecclesiastical polity rather than of doctrinal belief. Its distinctive features are two: (1) the absolute independence of each local church; (2) the privilege and duty of cooperative fellowship among the churches. It is believed that the apostolic churches were Congregational and remained such until after the middle of the second century.
I. History. — 1. The Eng'lish Congregrationalists: Modern Congregationalism can be traced back to the third quarter of the sixteenth century. Some assert that a small church in London, in 1570, of which Richard Fytz was pastor^ was Congregational, but this claim is doubtful. The earliest demonstrable Congregational church of that era was formed by Robert Browne (q.v.) at Norwich, apparently in 1580. The Anglican
CONGREGATIONALISTS.
Colonies.
3. CongregationaUsts on the Continent of Europe.
4. CongregationaUsts in America. The Pilgrim Church at Plymouth
(§ 1).
Massachusetts and Other Colonies (§ 2).
The Half-way Covenant (§ 3). Growth and Development after 1700 (§ 4).
Theological Controversy (§ 5). Attempted Change of Polity (§ 6). Growth in the West and South (§ 7). The Unitarian Controversy (§ 8). The Andover Controversy (§ 9).
Home Mission Work. Other Societies (§ 10). The American Board (§ 11). II. Educational Work. America (§1).
Great Britain and Colonies (§ 2). III. Theology.
Creeds and Platforms (§ 1).
Late Tendencies (§ 2). IV Polity and Practise.
The Two Underlying Principles (§ 1).
Councils (§ 2).
Conferences and Associations (§ 3). Worship and Practise (§ 4). V. Statistics.
1. Robert Browne.
Church was characterized by worldliness and even corruption, and it retained many Roman CathoHc practises. These defects its more enlightened and devout adherents deplored but failed to correct. Consequently, many of its members — especially those who had fled to the Continent in the time of Mary, and had become acquainted there with the principles and leaders of the Reformation — had learned to favor Presbyterianism and sought to introduce it at home after their return. They were Puritans. But the proposed reform seemed to some insufficient. It waited for the civil rulers to inaugurate and direct it. It indorsed the old theory of a State Church, including every citizen of whatever character. To Browne it did not appear radical enough. He sought for immediate reform and the purity of the Church. About 1578 he was called to a parish in Cambridge. But in his view the church, not the bishop, should have invited him, and, although he served six months, he refused to be regularly inducted into office. Then he went to Norwich, and, conferring with Robert Harrison (q.v.), gathered an independent church.
He declared that all true Christians should withdraw from the AngUcan Church, as it then was, and form new churches including only sincerely religious persons; that any company 2. His of such believers, united by a public Views, covenant with each other and with God, is a true and, so far as concerns organization, a perfect church; that ecclesiastical authority rests only in Christ's supremacy over
such local churches, whose members are to interpret the teachings of the Bible and the suggestions of divine providence under the promised guidance of the Holy Spirit; that each such church should have for officers — choosing them itself, each member having equal rights with every other — a pastor, a teacher, one or more elders, one or more deacons, and one or more deaconesses; that all members of such a church should exercise constant mutual watchfulness and correct each other's faults; and that all such churches should claim the privilege and fulfil the duty of mutual fellowship and cooperation. This system — called Brownism by its opponents and by many since, although its early adherents generally did not accept the title — was substantial Congregationalism and offered immediate and adequate remedy for existing evils.
Persecution soon drove Browne's church from Norwich, at least in part. Some members either maintained it there or revived it after a few years, for its existence is mentioned as late as 1598 (G. Johnson, Discourse, etc., Amsterdam, 1603, p. 205). Yet, practically as a body, it emigrated in 1581 to Middelburg in Zealand. But after about two years it was dissolved, largely because of ill-judged applications of its rule as to mutual criticism, and Browne, returning to England, abandoned the work of reform and reentered the State Church. Six books by him survived, five continuing, so far as they were accessible, the work which he gave up, and their conceded importance is proved by a royal proclamation against them. But the sixth defended the State Church. (See Browne, Robert.)
It was not long before another, although less self-consistent, type of CongregationaUsm appeared, since, known as Barrowism. Henry Barrowe (q.v.) a lawyer of Gray's Inn, London, was arrested in 1586, and he and his friend John Greenwood (q.v.)
were imprisoned together during most 3. Barrowe ^^^^ ^^^^^ ^.j^^j^ martyrdom in
Green- ^^^^ ^^'^ ^^^^ managed
wood." to become voluminous authors. They promulgated a new theory of ecclesiastical government, for which Barrowe seems to have been chiefly responsible. They accepted Browne's fundamental principle of the independence of each local church. But they distrusted his teaching of the equality of all church-members in managing church affairs, and advocated the
Oongreg-ationalists