THE NEW SCHAFF-HERZOG
articles, with the following explanatory and qualifying preamble :
Resolved, That in forming an Evangelical Alliance for the United States in cooperative union with other branches of the Alliance, we have no intention to give rise to a new denomination; or to effect an amalgamation of Churches, except in the way of facilitating personal Christian intercourse and a mutual good understanding; or to interfere in any way whatever with the internal affairs of the various denomination.?; but simply to bring individual Christians into closer fellowship and cooperation, on the basis of the spiritual union which already exists in the vital relation of Christ to the members of his body in all ages and countries.
Resolved, That in the same spirit we propose no new creed, but taking broad, historical, and Evangelical catholic ground, we solemnly reaffirm and profess our faith in all the doctrines of the inspired word of God, and in the consensus of doctrines as held by all true Christians from the beginning. And we do more especially affirm our belief in the divine-human person and atoning work of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ as the only and sufficient source of salvation, as the heart and soul of Christianity, and as the center of all true Christian union and fellowship.
Resolved, That, with this explanation, and in the spirit of a just Christian liberality in regard to the minor differences of theological schools and religious denominations, we also adopt, as a summary of the consensus of the various Evangelical Confessions of Faith, the Articles and Explanatory Statement set forth and agreed on by the Evangelical Alliance at its formation in London, 1846, and approved by the1 separate European organizations.
Branch Alliances have been formed in Great Britain, Germany, France, Holland, Switzerland,
Sweden, Denmark, Italy, Greece, and 2. Branch among the missionaries in Turkey, Alliances. Egypt, and India; also in the United
States, Canada, Australia, Brazil, Mexico, and among the Protestant missionaries in Japan and China. There is no central organization with controlling authority; and the General Alliance appears in active operation only as it has met in its general conferences (see below, § 4). The various national branches are related to each other as members of a confederation with equal rights. The British organization, being the oldest and largest, and having a house and salaried officers who devote their whole time to 'the work, has been the most influential; the Continental branches are more elastic, and confine themselves to occasional work. The " Evangelical Alliance for the United States " or the American branch, was organized at the Bible House, New York, Jan. 30, 1867 (a previous attempt having failed on account of the antislavery agitation before the Civil War), with William E. Dodge as president. Its first official communication was made to the Fifth General Conference of the Alliance, meeting at Amsterdam, Aug., 1867, and was a report on the " State of Religion in the United States of America " prepared by Prof. Henry B. Smith, of Union Theological Seminary, New York, chairman of the executive committee of the American branch. Mr. Dodge remained president till his death (1883) when he was succeeded by his son William E. Dodge, Jr. Drs. S. Ireneeus Prime and Philip Schaff were the first corresponding secretaries. The American branch at once became a vigorous organization and presented an invitation to the Alliance in session in Amsterdam to hold its next meeting (1873) in New York, which was accepted.
The Alliance has sought to accomplish its work
in three ways, — by means of the annual Week of Prayer, by conferences and by appeals for those oppressed by religious persecution. At a conference at Manchester, 1S46, a resolution was adopted urging the "members and 3. The friends of the Alliance throughout the Week of world to observe the week beginning Prayer, with the first Lord's day of January in each year as a season for concert in prayer on behalf of the objects contemplated by the Alliance." Later the scope was widened in answer to an appeal from the English and American missionaries in India. It has become a fruitful means for promoting Christian union and the spread of the Gospel at home and abroad. A program is issued several months in advance of the date by the British organization, and sent to the branch Alliances for their revision and adoption. Each branch adapts it to the conditions and wants of the country which it represents, and gives it publicity. Fifty-nine programs have thus far been issued. In more recent years the American branch has acted independently in preparing a program of its own. The subjects chosen for prayer have included union with Christ, home and foreign missions, the nations and their rulers, the home, and Christian institutions such as the Young Men's Christian Association, schools and Sunday Schools.
The British organization from the beginning has held an annual conference in October in some city of England. The American branch 4. Confer- has held conferences in Pittsburg ences, Na- 1875, Detroit 1877, St. Louis 1879, tional and Washington 1887, Boston 1889, and General, at Chicago in connection with the Columbian Exposition 1893. The German branch has held national conferences at Berlin 1894, Cassel 1896, Essen 1898, Heidelberg 1900, and Hamburg 1905. It is managed by a committee of twelve, one of whom represents the Methodists in Germany. The Continental and other branches meet less regularly. Far more important, however, are the General Conferences convened at intervals according to circumstances. They have an international as well as interdenominational character, and may be called Protestant ecumenical councils, with the important difference that they do not settle dogmas or canons of discipline, and claim no legislative authority. They have been held in the great capitals, and arranged by the branch in whose bounds they meet, with the cooperation of all the sister branches. They last from seven to ten days, and are spent in prayer and praise, brotherly communion, and free discussions of the leading religious and social questions of the age. Eleven International Conferences have been held in the following cities: London in 1851, the year of the first great International Exhibition; Paris, 1855; Berlin, 1857; Geneva, 1861; Amsterdam, 1867; New York, 1873; Basel, 1879; Copenhagen, 1884; Florence, 1891; London, 1896 — the diamond jubilee — and 1907
The Conference held in New York Oct. 2-12, 1873, drew together in friendly conference and communion representative Christians from many parts of Europe and from Asia and Africa, as well as from all parts of the United