HISTORY.

The churches of this body represent the immigration into the United States, not merely from Serbia proper, but from Macedonia and the Slavic communities of the Balkan Peninsula antecedent to the

1916; that there was a large inorease-70.8 per cent-in the value of church property, and a moderate increase— 11.1 per cent in the debt on church property; but that the membership dropped from 15,742 in 1906 to 14,301 in 1916, a decrease of 9.2 per cent, ex

of Austria-Hungary. They use the Slavic liturgy in their services, and are under the general supervision of the archbishop of the Russian Orthodox Church in the United States. In doctrine and polity they are in harmony with the Russian Orthodox Church, and their history is included in that of the Eastern Orthodox Churches and the Russian Orthodox Church.

to their native country on the outbreak of the war. Changes of a substantial character are the increase in the number of churches reporting parsonages from 2 to 5, the increase in the value of parsonages from $2,100 to $15,300, and the increase in Sunday schools from 1 with 13 scholars to 9 with 653 scholars.

Certain items not included in the above summary are church expenditures and number of members under 13 years of age, reported for the first time in 1916, and the languages used in church services.

Church expenditures amounting to $29,353, reported by 12 organizations, cover running expenses, outlay for repairs and improvements, benevolences, and such other items as passed through the church treasury.

The number of members under 13 years of age reported in 1916, was 1,752, constituting 12.3 per cent of the 14,301 members reported for the denomination as a whole.1

Of the 12 organizations 1 used English only, and 11 with 11,191 members used Slavic only in the conduct of their church services. The report for 1906 showed 10 organizations, with 15,742 members, all reporting services in Slavic only or Serbian and Slavic.

The number of priests connected with the church was given as 29. Of these, 12 returned schedules and 11 reported annual salaries averaging $1,050. It seems probable that a portion at least of the amount reported as church expenditures covers the pastoral work of certain priests who do not receive church salaries.

1 See Introduction, p. 10.

first time a debt of $70,779, reported by 16 of the 25 organizations. The substantial character of the development of the church is indicated by the fact that for the first time, 6 churches reported parsonages, with a value of $14,500. The Sunday schools also have increased from 1, with a single teacher and 50 scholars, to 8, with 31 officers and teachers, and 515 scholars.

Certain items not included in the above summary are church expenditures and number of members under 13 years of age, reported for the first time in 1916, and the languages used in church services.

Church expenditures, amounting to $28,498 during the year, cover the running expenses, including salaries of the priests, outlay for repairs and improvements, benevolences, and any other items that passed through the church treasury.

The number of members under 13 years of age, as reported by 12 organizations in 1916, was 1,096, constituting 15.9 per cent of the 6,906 members reported by these organizations. Assuming that the same proportion would apply to the 4,685 members reported by the organizations from which no answer to this inquiry was received, the total number of members under 13 years of age for the entire denomination would be 1,840.1

Of the 25 organizations, 13, with 4,361 members, reported services conducted in English only; and 12, with 7,230 members, reported services conducted in foreign languages alone or with English. Of these, 4 organizations, with 1,230 members, reported the use of Arabic alone or with English; 5, with 2,900 members, Arabic, Greek, and English; and 3, with 3,100 members, Arabic, Greek, Russian, and English. In 1906 all the organizations then represented reported the Syro-Arabic language only.

The number of priests connected with the church was reported as 30, but no schedules were received.

1 See Introduction, p. 10.

HISTORY.

The great religious awakening which took place in the United States at the close of the eighteenth century was at first largely confined to the English-speaking communities. It was inevitable, however, that others should feel the effect of the new spirit; and a number of leaders arose, through whose influence varying types of religious life developed, eventuating in different church organizations. In eastern Pennsylvania there were a large number of German-speaking people, descendants of those who in the preceding century had fled from the Rhenish provinces of the Palatinate. Among them was Jacob Albright, who was born in Pottstown, Pa., in 1759, and died in 1808. Baptized in infancy, and confirmed in the Lutheran communion, he was later converted under the influence of a Reformed minister; but coming into connection with the Methodists, he declared his adherence to them, and was licensed to exhort. More and more his interests were directed toward his own people. The

leaders of the Methodist Church did not wish to engage in distinctively German work, as they believed that the German language in the United States would soon become extinct; and therefore Albright, who had begun to preach in 1796, felt called upon to devote himself particularly to work among these people in their own language. Under his direction 20 converts from among them united, in 1800, to pray with and for each other. It had not been his purpose to found a new church; but the language conditions and the opposition manifested by some Methodists to the modes of worship used by his converts made a separate ecclesiastical organization necessary. There was no schism; it was simply the development of a movement for the religious and spiritual awakening of the German community in Pennsylvania.

It was not, however, until 1803 that an ecclesiastical organization was effected at a general assembly held in eastern Pennsylvania, when Mr. Albright was set apart as a minister of the gospel and ordained as an elder. The act of consecration was performed by

the laying on of hands and solemn prayer by two of his associates. The claim that this act was an ordination was opposed by the ecclesiastics of other denominations, but the Association held to its position and asserted that Albright's credentials were from a higher authority than that of the ecclesiastical succession.

His training in the Methodist Episcopal Church influenced him in organizing the new movement, and many characteristic Methodist features, as the circuit system and the itinerancy, were adopted. The first field of operations included the counties of Bucks, Berks, and Northampton, and extended into portions of Northumberland and Center Counties. The first annual conference was held in Lebanon County, Pa., in November, 1807. Albright was elected bishop, and articles of faith and the book of discipline were adopted, but a full form of church government was not devised for some years. The first general conference convened in Buffalo Valley, Center County, Pa., in October, 1816, at which time the denomination took its present name.

Although, in the beginning, the activities of the church were carried on in the German language only, the scope was soon widened by taking up work in the English language also; and of late years English has become the dominant language, practically displacing the German. The denomination spread into the Central states, and throughout the Northern and Western states from New England to the Pacific coast, and north into Canada.

For some years the missionary idea, which has always been a dominant purpose of the denomination, found its expression in local work; but in 1839 a general missionary society was organized, and a woman's society followed in 1883. In 1854 the church first reached out to Europe, and commenced an important work both in Germany and Switzerland. In 1876 Japan was occupied, and since then missions have been established in China and Russia. As early as 1815, a church publishing house was founded, and what is said to be the oldest German religious paper in the United States, Der Christliche Botschafter, was founded in 1836.

A division, in 1891, resulting in the organization of the United Evangelical Church, took from the denomination a large number of ministers and members. This loss in membership has since been more than regained, and at present efforts are being made for a re

union.

DOCTRINE.

In doctrine the Evangelical Association is Arminian, and its articles of faith correspond very closely to those of the Methodist Episcopal Church. They emphasize the divinity as well as perfect humanity of the Son of God, and the true divinity of the Holy

Ghost; and hold that the canonical Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments reveal the will of God so far as is necessary for salvation. Christian perfection is defined as "a state of grace in which we are so firmly rooted in God that we have instant victory over every temptation the moment it presents itself, without yielding in any degree; in which our rest, peace, and joy in God are not interrupted by the vicissitudes of life; in which, in short, sin has lost its power over us, and we rule over the flesh, the world, and Satan, yet in watchfulness." Entire sanctification is the basis of this perfection, which, however, constantly admits of a fuller participation in divine power and a constant expansion in spiritual capacity.

POLITY.

The polity of the Evangelical Association is connectional in form. Bishops are elected by the General Conference for a term of four years, but are not ordained or consecrated as such. They are eligible for reelection, and are general overseers of the work of the church. They preside at annual conferences and, as a board, decide all questions of law in the interval between General Conference sessions. The General Conference, which meets quadrennially, has been, since 1839, a delegated body. Previous to that time all elders of the church were members. The annual and quarterly conferences correspond to the similar bodies in the Methodist Episcopal Church; the annual conferences consisting of the ministers within certain territorial bounds and a limited number of laymen; and the quarterly conferences consisting of the officers of the local congregations. Presiding elders are elected for four years by the annual conference. Pastors are appointed annually, on the itinerant system, the time limit being seven consecutive years in any field, except a missionary conference. The property of local congregations is controlled and managed by trustees for the use of the ministry and membership, and subject to the doctrine and polity of the denomination.

WORK.

The general missionary work, both home and foreign is under the care of a missionary society, whose members become such by the payment of dues. It carries on its work through a board, whose membership consists of the officers of the society (who are also the officers of the board), one ministerial delegate from the Woman's Missionary Society, the missionary secretary of the Young People's Alliance, and six laymen who are elected by the General Conference. The annual conferences are practically organized as branch societies for missionary work. All transactions of the society are reviewed at the General Conference. The Woman's Missionary Society has 557 local societies, with a total membership of 14,852, and works under

the general direction of the Board of Missions. This general board makes the annual appropriations for mission conferences in the United States and foreign lands, and these conferences in turn divide their respective appropriations among the various mission stations.

Appropriations for home mission work are directed to the support of the missionaries and the provision of homes for them. A considerable amount of work is done in the West and Northwest, including the western provinces of Canada-Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta-and in the large cities of the United States. Of late, work has developed among the foreign nationalities in the United States, there being now 4 missions among Italians. The total number of missionaries. reported in the home department in 1916 was 603, the number of churches aided was 619, and the contributions for the work were reported as $193,922.

In close sympathy with the Board of Home Missions is the work of the Board of Church Extension in assisting needy mission congregations to erect church buildings by means of temporary loans at a minimum rate of interest. For this work, in 1916, there was contributed $7,000, which is included in the total amount given above. There is a general fund amounting to $80,602, a special fund for New England churches of $8,000, and another for churches in Germany of $74,000, making a total of $162,602.

Foreign missions are carried on through both the Board of Missions and the Woman's Missionary Society.

The fields occupied are Japan, China, Germany, Switzerland, Russia, and Canada. The most distinctively foreign mission work is that in China and Japan, in each of which countries there is a principal station, with various substations and churches connected with it. In 1916, in connection with the missions in these 2 countries, there were reported 19 organized congregations, with 1,426 members; 4 training schools, with 164 students; and 13 primary and day schools, with 481 pupils. In addition, there were in Europe, connected with the Association, generally under the care of native preachers, 350 churches, with 23,000 members; and in Canada, 124 churches, with 9,932 members. The total number of American missionaries employed was 24, chiefly in Asia, and there were 640 native workers, including deaconesses, most of them in Europe. In the foreign field there were also 15 hospitals and dispensaries, with 10,200 patients, and 1 orphanage, with 25 inmates. The total amount contributed for foreign missions by the churches in 1916 was $60,000, of which $22,000 went to assist the work in Europe, $28,000 that in Japan, and $10,000 that in China. The contributions for the work in

Canada are special and are not included in the regular contributions. The property in Europe is valued at $1,300,000, that in Japan at $25,000, and that in China at $16,000, making a total of $1,341,000, and there are endowments amounting to $106,103. The general receipts of the missionary society for both the home and foreign fields have shown a steady increase since 1910, and in 1916 amounted to $400,352. The average contribution in the whole denomination in 1916 for home and foreign missionary purposes was $2.58 per member.

The educational work of the denomination in the United States, in 1916, included 3 institutions of higher grade, with 655 students. The current contributions for educational work at home were $3,943; great emphasis was placed upon raising a fund for endowments, which were materially increased. The value of property is estimated at $282,179, and there is an endowment of $385,612.

The institutional or philanthropic enterprises of the church include an orphanage, 2 homes for the aged, and 4 hospitals, with a deaconess home. The total number of inmates during 1916 is given as 4,238, and the contributions by the churches for this department. of work were $36,348. The property is valued at $562,803, and the endowment is $106,103. The deaconess home, although recently established, is the center of a great work in the church. There are 40 deaconesses, all educated as trained nurses and missionary workers among the poor.

Aside from these institutions there is a charitable society, whose funds, amounting to $31,000, are in the form of a permanent endowment, the proceeds from which are applied to the support of aged ministers, or such as are in broken health, and to the support of families of deceased ministers.

The young people of the church are enrolled in what is known as the Young People's Alliance, which in 1916 had in the United States 1,179 societies, with 38,670 members. These societies contributed $62,500, of which $18,000 was appropriated for missionary work, $12,000 for church building purposes, $1,000 for education, and the remainder for various other purposes. There were also 365 similar societies with 12,522 members, in foreign lands, making the total enrollment of the alliance 1,544 societies, with 51,192 members.

STATISTICS.

The general statistics of the Evangelical Association for 1916 are given, by states and conferences, on pages 269 and 270, and the relation of these statistics to those of other bodies is shown in the general tables