THE NEW SCHAFF-HERZOG
furnished a temporary habitation. More permanent quarters were secured by the erection of a suitable building in 1880, and in 1890 the present site at San Anselmo was presented by Mr. A. W. Foster, of San Rafael. Here, through the munificence of .Mr. Alexander Montgomery, of San Francisco, and others, there were erected, in 1892, two spacious stone buildings, one the library and recitation hall, the other the dormitory. To these was later added the beautiful Montgomery Memorial Chapel, and there are also commodious residences on the grounds for all the professors. The location is sufficiently near the city to enable the students to avail themselves of its advantages and to engage actively in missionary and other church work. The aim of the seminary is to prepare men for a practical and efficient ministry and for missionary work in other lands. For nearly twenty years of its history the endowment was small, and the professors were pastors, giving to the seminary such time as they could spare from their pastoral duties. The number of students during this period was small. For the past twenty years, owing to the increase in endowment, which now amounts altogether to about $500,000, the faculty have devoted their entire time to seminary work, and the number of students has increased. Its graduates constitute twenty-five per cent of the active Presbyterian ministry of California, and they are also ministering in considerable numbers in other coast and eastern states, and in nearly every large missionary field of the world. Among the eminent men who have served as instructors have been Rev. William A. Scott (q.v.), Rev. James Eells, and Rev. Henry C. Minton (q.v.), each of whom was moderator of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church.
The seminary is at present in excellent condition. There are six full professors and one instructor, and its library contains 18,000 volumes. The board of management consists of twenty-six directors, an equal number of ministers and laymen, eighteen of whom are elected by the Synod of California, six by the Synod of Oregon, and two by the Synod of Washington. The directors elect five of their number as a board of trustees, in compliance with the laws of California, who direct the financial affairs of the institution. While it is under the immediate control of the Synod of California, it bears the same relation to the General Assembly as all the other seminaries of its denomination. The average number of students is twenty-five. They are all connected with the Presbyterian Church, and about sixty per cent of them come from Pacific Coast churches.
Warren Hall Landon.
Bibliography: J. Curry, History of the San Francisco Theological Seminary of the Presbyterian Church, Newark, Cal., 1907.
10. Union (New York) : Union Theological Seminary, in the City of New York, was founded by a group of Christian ministers and laymen of the Presbyterian Church, who believed that it was wise to plant a training-school for ministers in a great city. They first met Oct. 10, 1835, and, after three intermediate meetings, constituted a board of directors by the election of ten ministers and fourteen laymen, Nov. 9-16, 1835. This board of directors held its
first meeting Jan. 18, 1836, when it chose its officers, appointed its committees, adopted the preamble, and proceeded to further business. Jan. 18, 1830 is, therefore, regarded as the official date of the founding of the seminary. The seminary was opened for instruction on Monday, Dec. 5, 1836. The Legislature of the State of New York passed the act of incorporation Mar. 27, 1839, and this was accepted by the board of directors Dec. 20, l,s:;d. The founders of the seminary were Presbyterians of the broader type represented in the New-School branch of the church, and had many affiliations with New England Congregationalism. They had in view a service of wider boundaries than those of the Presbyterian Church alone. They not only believed in freedom of thought, but in the widest possible cooperation with other Christians in the practical work of the church. The Old-School men, on the other hand, were advocates of strict control both in matters of thought and practise. These differences were reflected in the training given in the seminaries of the church, all of which were at this time under ecclesiastical control. Union Seminary owes its origin to the dissatisfaction of the New-School men with this state of affairs, and to the desire to create a new institution which should more perfectly reflect their own ideals. The seminary has been from the outset independent of any ecclesiastical control, except for a period of twenty-two years. On May 16, 1870, a few months after the reunion of the Old- and New-School wings of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America, it conceded to the General Assembly of that church the right of veto on the election of its professors. This action was taken in the interests of harmony within the church and in order to secure similarity of standing for all its theological seminaries. This concession was withdrawn on Oct. 13, 1892, as a result of the difference of opinion which arose between the seminary and the General Assembly in connection with the transfer of Dr. Briggs (q.v.) to the newly established Edward Robinson chair of Biblical theology. The General Assembly interpreted this transfer as a new appointment, and, under the influence of the excitement caused by Dr. Briggs s inaugural address, by an overwhelming majority disapproved the action of the board. The directors on their part maintained that the appointment of Dr. Briggs was a simple transfer involving no change of duties, and hence was not subject to review by the Assembly. This led to an examination by the seminary authorities of the legal aspects of the matter, and they were advised that the concession had been ultra vires. On all grounds, therefore, they felt that they must reconsider their action. Since 1892 Union Seminary has been ecclesiastically independent, according to the plan of its founders and the provisions of its charter. For many years the directors and professors gave their assent to the Westminster Standards, the exact formula varying from time to time. Since 1905 this requirement has ceased, and a new form of declaration has been provided, which secures the Christian character of the institution in more comprehensive terms At the present time the board of directors and the faculty include representatives of the Presbyterian, Con-
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