RELIGIOUS ENCYCLOPEDIA
Protestant Episcopalians
in the other house. The matter was brought before the General Convention in 1910, and discussion was deferred till 1913. While the English table of affinity has not been formally adopted, there are many clergymen who will not marry persons within its prohibitory lines.
In early colonial days, this Church felt the need
of educational institutions that should be under its
auspices and direction. As early as
^"4. Organ- 1691 a charter was obtained for Will-
izations, iam and Mary College in Virginia, in Educational, which provision was made for the ed- Benevolent, ucation of suitable men for the minisand Others, try, and also for the due propagation of Christianity. The first buildings were designed by Sir Christopher Wren. A number of parish-schools were also established. King's College (now Columbia University) was subsequently founded, the president of which must always be a member of this church, and the prayers used in public worship must always be taken from the Book of Common Prayer. Among the other colleges more or less directly related to the church are Trinity College, Hartford (which succeeded to Washington College, chartered in 1823), Kenyon College, Hobart College, the University of the South, St. Stephen's College, Annandale, and Lehigh University. In connection with a number of the leading denominational colleges, church-halls have been erected, and other means are in use to keep in touch with undergraduates belonging to the church. The number of parochial schools always has been small. As to boarding-schools, there are not a few scattered in as many as thirty different dioceses, the oldest for girls, St. Mary's Hall, Burlington, N. J., founded in the year 1837 The pioneer successful school for boys is St. Paul's School, near Concord, N. H., founded in 1856 by George Cheyne Shattuck, M.D., of which the Rev. Henry Augustus Coit was the famous head-master for nearly forty years. Of theological seminaries there are no less than sixteen, in various parts of the country. Of them, the oldest (1817) and by far the largest and most important is the General Theological Seminary, in New York, with superb buildings and a liberal endowment. Each has its own excellencies, and all are supplied with able faculties, and number among their graduates many of the most eminent of the clergy. In all but one, the tuition is free; and in most of them the charge for the use of rooms is either nothing or merely nominal. There are also several training-schools for deaconesses, as in New York and Philadelphia, where thorough instruction, both theoretical and practical, is given to those who may wish to devote themselves to church work at home or abroad. Among the many other organizations of this church are the Brotherhood of St. Andrew (1883) and the Daughters of the King (1885). These are identical in their plans and operations, one for men, and the other for women; the common object being to interest more directly the younger people in the affairs and life of the church. The members are bound alike by the two rules of prayer and service. Junior departments have in view the training of girls and boys for more active membership when they shall have become
adults. The Girls' Friendly Society has a large membership, and is intended to afford, under the guidance and fellowship of lady-associates, opportunities for healthy recreation and safe social enjoyment to girls and young women who are engaged in business or in domestic service. The number of hospitals, day-nurseries, orphan asylums, homes for cripples, consumptives, and aged and infirm people, nouses of mercy for the fallen and incorrigible, and for other needy and afflicted persons, is constantly increasing and their capacity for usefulness constantly enlarging, as liberal donations and endowments are being made from time to time. In this practical application of Christianity, almost every diocese and missionary jurisdiction shares. Many of these institutions are either exclusively or partly under the care of sisterhoods, of which there are now working under the auspices of this church something hke twenty — some of them being branches of English communities, others founded in America. Beside these, there are several communities of deaconesses. Among the clergy, there are also several religious orders, the chief of which are the Society of St. John the Evangelist, with its American headquarters at Boston, and the Order of the Holy Cross with its new and spacious monastic buildings at West Park, N. Y. Their chief work is that of preaching, holding missions, retreats, etc., although the first-named order is also engaged in parochial work. For social purposes chiefly, but not exclusively, there have been organized of late years what are known as church-clubs, with large numbers of members, confined mainly to the laity. These exist now in over thirty dioceses. There is annually a congress of delegates from these various associations. In addition to all these organizations, there are many others throughout the country, whose main object is the more direct and local dealing with and forwarding the church's work in different directions, such as missions, Sunday-schools, temperance reform, social reform, Christian unity, etc., so that ample opportunity is afforded all the members of the church to engage in some branch of religious and philanthropic industry. The support of the parochial, diocesan, missionary, educational, and benevolent work of the church is mainly derived from the voluntary offerings of its members. For some purposes there are assessments, laid mostly by diocesan authorities. Pew rents still obtain in some of the older and larger parishes, but over eighty per cent of the total number are now conducted upon what is known as the free church system, no seats being rented or formally appropriated. This system has grown marvelously in the past sixty years.
At the end of the year 1910, there were in the United States and dependencies 67 dioceses and 26 missionary districts; in foreign lands there were 11
missionary districts or dioceses. Of
5. Statis- clergymen, there were in 1909 103
tics. bishops and 5,516 priests and deacons,
in all 5,619. There were 8,017 parishes and mission-stations; 50,153 Sunday-school teachers and 455,495 pupils. The total number of communicants, including the missionary districts, was 929,117, which would give a total membership
Protestant Episcopalians