THE NEW SCHAFF-HERZOG
Philadelphia, 1902; B. Aycrigg, Memories of the Reformed Episcopal Church, New York, 1875, new ed., 1S82; Mrs. G. D. Cummins, Memoir of G. D. Cummins, ib., 1878; C. C. Tiffany, in American Church History Series, vii. 534- 536, New York, 1895; H. K. Carroll, in the same, i. 325, ib. 1896.
REFORMED (GERMAN) CHURCH IN THE UNITED STATES.
I. History.
Period of the Coetus (§ 1). Period of the Synod (§2). Statistics and Agencies (§ 3). II. Doctrine, Worship, and Government.
I. History: The Reformed Church (German) in the United States traces its origin back to Zwingli (q.v.) in northeastern Switzerland, who began
preaching the Evangelical Gospel at
i. Period Einsiedeln in 1516. These doctrines,
of the as further developed by Bullinger and
Coetus. Calvin, passed over into Germany.
Elector Frederick III. of the Palatinate caused the Heidelberg Catechism to be written by Ursinus and Olevianus and published it at Heidelberg Jan. 19, 1563. The founders of the church in this country were colonists from the Palatinate and other parts of western Germany and also from Switzerland. The first minister, Samuel Guldi (q.v.), came from Bern to America in 1710. The first purely German congregation was founded at Germania Ford, on the Rapidan, Va., 1714. But the first complete congregational organization took place 1725, when John Philip Boehm, a schoolmaster, organized the congregations at Falkner Swamp, Skippach, and White Marsh, Pa., according to the principles of Calvin, and adopted as standards the Heidelberg Catechism and the Canons of Dort. George Michael Weiss came in 1727 and organized the Philadelphia congregation. Boehm was ordained 1729 at New York by the Dutch Reformed ministers under the authority of the classis of Amsterdam in Holland. In 1742 Count Zinzendorf tried to unite all the German churches and sects in Pennsylvania into one organization with the Moravians as the leading body. This was opposed by Boehm and Guldi (q.v.). In 1746 Michael Schlatter (q.v.) came from St. Gall, Switzerland, commissioned by the Reformed Church of the Netherlands to organize the Germans of Pennsylvania. After traveling much among the congregations, he completed their organization, begun by Boehm, by forming the coetus at Philadelphia Sept. 29, 1747, at which there were present four ministers and representatives from twelve charges. The second coetus (1748) completed the organization by adopting as its standards the Heidelberg Catechism and the Canons of Dort. It also adopted a constitution, which was Boehm's* constitution of 1725 somewhat enlarged. In 1751 Schlatter returned to Europe, traveling through Holland, Germany, and Switzerland seeking aid for the Pennsylvania churches, and returned with six young ministers appointed by the Reformed Church of the Netherlands. Some effort was made, 1741-51, toward union with the Dutch Reformed and Presbyterians, but the attempt failed. The coetus continued under the control of the Reformed Church of the Netherlands, which sent thirty-eight ministers to America and spent about $20,000 on
the American churches. The actions of the coetus were reviewed by the deputies of the Synods of North and South Holland and by the classis of Amsterdam. This relation to Holland continued until
1792, when the coetus virtually declared itself independent (see Reformed [Dutch] Church, II., 3-6).
The first synod was held at Lancaster Apr. 27,
1793. The church then consisted of 22 ministers, 178 congregations, and about 15,000 members. Its
first problems were the education of 2. Period of ministers and the change of language the Synod, from German to English. After a
number of conflicts as at Philadelphia and Baltimore, the latter was solved by the gradual introduction of English into the services. The former was solved by the education of young men privately by different ministers. Of these, three were especially prominent, Christian Lewis Becker of Baltimore, Samuel Helffenstein of Philadelphia, and L. F. Herman of Falkner Swamp. In 1820 the synod divided itself into classes and decided to found a theological seminary, which, however, was not opened until 1825. The Ohio classis broke off in 1824 and organized itself into an independent synod. In 1822 the free synod of Pennsylvania also broke away but returned in 1837. Similarly an independent synod was organized in- Ohio in 1846, but returned about 1853. From 1829 to 1844 a revival wave spread over the church. From 1845 to 1878 was the period of controversy. In 1844 Philip Schaff (q.v.) delivered his inaugural address on " The Principle of Protestantism," which led to the formation of the Mercersburg theology. This was formulated (1847) by the publication of The Mystical Presence by John Williamson Nevin (q.v.) and by What is History f by Philip Schaff (q.v.) . Soon after the Mercersburg theology appeared, a liturgical movement began at the synod of 1847. In 1857 the provisional liturgy was published. In 1863 the tercentenary of the Heidelberg Catechism was celebrated by a convention at Philadelphia, and in that year the Ohio synod united with the old synod in forming the general synod. In 1867 the order of worship was published. In 1867 the Myerstown convention was held to protest against the tendency toward ritualism in the church. This convention resulted in the founding of Ursinus College. In 1869 the western (or low-church) liturgy was published. Both the order of worship and the western liturgy were permitted by the general synod to be used, but neither was adopted constitutionally by being voted upon by the classes. The liturgical controversy continued until 1878, when the general synod appointed a peace commission, which formulated a basis of union. This commission was appointed by the next general synod (1881) to prepare a new liturgy — The Directory of Worship. This was finally adopted constitutionally by the general synod (1887) after the classes had [voted upon it.
Home-mission work was carried on by the church almost from the beginning (A. C. Whitmer, One Hundred and Fifty Years of Home Missionary Activity, Lancaster, 1897). Foreign missionary work was begun 1842 by the appointment of Benjamin