THE NEW SCHAFF-HERZOG
fessor was Rev. J. H. A. Bomberger (q.v.; president of Ursinus College), with whom were associated Rev. H. Super, J. Van Haagen, M. Peters, G. Stibitz, J. I. Good, J. H. Sechler, and W. Hinke. In 1898 it was removed to Philadelphia, Pa., where it remained until 1907, during which time Revs. Ph. Vollmer and E. II. Bromer joined its faculty, the number of active professors being usually four. At Collegeville it used the buildings of the college as dormitories and for recitations, and never had any endowment separate from that of the college, but while in Philadelphia it purchased a building of its own. The number of its students ranged from ten to thirty-five, and from its beginning to 1907 it had about 300 graduates.
In 1906 negotiations were begun between the Ohio Synod and the board of directors of Ursinus College, looking toward a union of these seminaries, and the plan was consummated in 1907. The united seminary was located at Tiffin for one year (1907-08), but in 1908 Dayton, O., was made its permanent location. Its faculty is composed of the united faculties of both seminaries, and numbers seven. It has an endowment of about 1100,000, and property worth S35,000, on which a theological building is soon to be built, costing about $50,000. Its course is that which is usually presented in the theological seminaries of the United States, and its aim is to be both scholarly and Biblical, and to combine the fixed theological course with the elective by granting a number of electives each year. It now has a large constituency, and its students, who come from all over the church, usually number from thirty to thirty-five. A post-graduate course has also been arranged which usually has a dozen students. Since 1908 the seminary has graduated twenty-eight. The theological position of the seminary is that of the Heidelberg Catechism — mildly Calvinistic, but over against the modern higher critical movement it stands for the old Evangelical orthodoxy.
James I. Good.
2. Lancaster: This seminary, which is located at Lancaster, Pa., was established by the Synod of the Reformed (German) Church convened at Bedford, Pa., in 1S24, and at the same time Rev. Lewis Mayer, then pastor at York, Pa., was elected as the first professor of theology. The synod accepted the generous offer of accommodations from the authorities of Dickinson College, Carlisle, Pa., and the first session of the seminary opened in a room in that institution on Mar. 11, 1825, with a class of five students and one professor. It was the first institution of higher learning founded by the Reformed Church in the United States, and has been ever since under the supervision of one or more of its synods and conducted in its interests. Since its foundation the seminary has been located successively in Carlisle, Pa. (1825-29), York, Pa. (1829-37), Mercersburg, Pa. (1837-71), and Lancaster, Pa. (1871 to date). The following have occupied the several professorships up to the present time: Systematic theology, Lewis Mayer (1S25-391, John W. Nevin (q.v.; 1840- 1851), Bernard C. Wolf (1854-64), Henry Harbaugh (q.v.; 1863-67), Emmanuel V Gerhart (q.v.; 1868- 1904), and Christopher Noss (1904-09); church history and exegesis, Daniel Young (1830-31), Fred-
erick A. Rauch (q.v.; 1832-41), Philip Schaff (q.v., 1844-62), Elisha E. Higbee (1865-71), and Thomas G. Apple (1871-98). In 1857 a theological tutorship was founded, and during the twelve years of its actual existence (1861-73) there were three tutors — William M. Reily, Jacob B. Kerschner, and Frederick A. Gast (q.v.). In 1873 the tutorship was abolished, and in its stead the chair of Hebrew and Old-Testament theology was established, to which Professor Gast was chosen in May, 1874. In 1891 the Synod of the Potomac endowed a fourth professorship, New-Testament exegesis, of which John C. Bowman was the first incumbent (1891- 1904). A fifth professorship, practical theology, was added by the Pittsburg Synod in 1893, and was first occupied by William Rupp (1893-1904). By the concurrent action of the three synods John I. Swander was appointed Associate Professor ot Systematic Theology. In 1893 the original charter was amended so as to vest the control of the seminary in the three eastern (English) synods of the Reformed Church — the Eastern Synod, the Pittsburg Synod, and the Synod of the Potomac, each synod being represented on the two boards, the board of visitors and the board of trustees, in proportion to its numerical strength. The board of visitors consists of twelve ministers and supervises the instruction and the internal affairs ol the institution, while the board of trustees, composed of eighteen laymen, holds and controls the property and funds.
The faculty for 1910-11 is constituted as follows John C. Bowman (president, and professor of practical theology), William C. Schaeff er t(New-Testament science), George W. Richards (church history), Theodore F. Herman (systematic theology), John I. Swander (associate professor of systematic theology), Frederick A. Gast (emeritus professor of Hebrew and Old-Testament science), Irwin Hoci DeLong (Hebrew and Old-Testament science), and John M. Chambers (instructor of sacred oratory). The number of students enrolled for the year 191C is 46 — seniors 13, middlers 16, and juniors 13, with 4 graduate students; 43 are members of the Reformed Church, and 3 of the United Evangelical Church. The students come from the following states: Pennsylvania, 42; Maryland, 1; West Virginia, 1; Iowa, 1; and North Carolina, 1. The estimated value of buildings and grounds is $200,000; the endowment fund is $200,000; and the library contains 12,500 books, besides pamphlets and periodicals.
By the first professors of the seminary the distinctive genius and doctrines of the Reformed Church in the United States, formerly the German Reformed Church, whose confessional standard is the Heidelberg Catechism, were interpreted and promulgated in American Protestantism; and the system of philosophy and theology originated and expounded under the leadership of Drs. Rauch, Xevin, and Schaff came to be known as the " Mercersburg Theology " (q.v.). George W Richards.
Bibliography: T. Appel Beginnings of the Theological Seminary, Philadelphia, 1886; J. H. Dubbs, Reformed Church in Pennsylvania, Lancaster, Pa., 1902; Mercersburg Review, Jan., 1876.