The Book of Religions Part 39

In 1837, a division arose in the Presbyterian church, into Old and New Schools, in consequence of variant views of doctrine and discipline. The friends of the New School were exscinded, or cut off, from the old church, but still claim to be the General a.s.sembly of the Presbyterian church.

Unfortunately, the difficulty is not settled; we cannot, therefore, give the strength of the parties.

Other Presbyterian Communities.

The a.s.sociate Presbyterians have about one hundred ministers, one hundred and ninety congregations, and twenty thousand communicants. They are princ.i.p.ally found south and west of the Hudson River.

The Reformed Presbyterians, or Covenanters, are located princ.i.p.ally in Ohio. They have about thirty ministers, fifty congregations, and four thousand communicants.

The a.s.sociate Reformed have about one hundred and twenty-five ministers, more than two hundred congregations, and about fifteen thousand communicants. They are located princ.i.p.ally in Pennsylvania.

Reformed Dutch Church.

This church comprises one general synod, and two particular synods; one at New York, and another at Albany. The two synods comprise eighteen cla.s.ses, about two hundred ministers, two hundred churches, twenty-seven thousand communicants, and a population of about one hundred and thirty thousand.

This denomination of Christians is found almost entirely in the first settlements in the states of New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.

The _Christian Intelligencer_, published at New York, advocates the principles of this church.

Roman Catholics.

This denomination is spread over every section of the United States and the British Provinces. They form, it is stated, more than three fourths of the population of the Canadas. They are also found in large numbers in the Provinces of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. In this Union, they are most numerous in the Middle States; but in consequence of the great influx of this people into North America, and their frequent change of location, it is utterly impossible to state their numbers, in each state, with any degree of accuracy. Their number in the United States is variously stated from five hundred thousand to one million five hundred thousand. Their number, probably, is not less than eight hundred thousand, nor more than one million two hundred thousand. The population of Canada, in 1840, was at least one million.

The first Roman Catholics that came to this country were from England, under Lord Baltimore, a Catholic n.o.bleman, in 1634. They settled the state of Maryland; and, much to their honor, while some of the Protestant provinces were persecuting all those who differed from them on religious subjects, the Catholic Marylanders protected all sects that were moral and civil in their deportment.

We copy from the "Metropolitan Catholic Almanac and Laity's Directory for 1841" the following statistical table:-

STATISTICS OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH IN THE UNITED STATES

Diocese. Churches Clergymen Clergymen Eccl. Clerical and in the otherwise Inst. Students.

Chapels. Ministry. employed.

Baltimore 68 38 31 4 52 Richmond 7 6 1 0 0 Philadelphia 91 57 2 1 22 New York 64 65 1 1 14 Boston 30 31 0 0 0 Detroit 25 17 1 0 0 Cincinnati 38 34 2 1 Vincennes 27 25 5 1 9 Du Buque 5 8 0 0 0 St Louis 56 50 23 2 30 Bardstown 40 26 25 1 Nashville 1 6 0 1 2 New Orleans 38 39 11 1 9 Natchez 1 2 Mobile 7 12 7 Charleston 14 20 0 4 6 Total 512 436 109 17 144

Diocese. Literary Young Men Female Female Pupils in Inst. for in Religious Academ. Female young Men. College. Inst. Academ.

Baltimore 5 633 5 9 530 Richmond 0 0 0 3 100 Philadelphia 2 60 0 1 30 New York 1 0 2 120 Boston 1 60 1 1 Detroit 1 1 1 Cincinnati 1 2 2 70 Vincennes 1 50 1 1 50 Du Buque 1 0 1 St Louis 3 320 10 10 640 Bardstown 3 300 3 10 528 Nashville 1 0 0 0 New Orleans 1 100 4 4 526 Natchez 0 0 Mobile 2 70 2 2 60 Charleston 1 2 2 128 Total 24 1593 31 49 2782

The sacred college of cardinals has fifty-seven members. The total number is seventy.

There are twelve patriarchs in the Christian world. The archbishops and bishops amount to six hundred and seventy-one. The vicars apostolic in different countries are fifty-seven in number, besides whom there are thirty-eight coadjutor-bishops, making the grand total of the Catholic episcopacy amount to seven hundred and sixty-six bishops.

CATHOLIC PERIODICALS.-The _United States Catholic Miscellany_, published weekly in Charleston, S. C.; the _Catholic Telegraph_, published weekly in Cincinnati, Ohio; the _Catholic Herald_, published weekly in Philadelphia; the _Catholic Advocate_, published weekly in Bardstown, Ky.; _Der Wahrheit's Freund_, (German paper,) published weekly in Cincinnati, Ohio; the _New York Catholic Register_, published weekly in the city of New York; _Ordo divini Officii recitandi_, _Missaeque celebrandae, juxta Rubricas Breviarii ac Missalis Romani_, published annually in Baltimore; the _Young Catholic's Magazine_, enlarged series, published on the first of each month, in New York.

At the time of the reformation, 1517, papal power, or the power of the pope of Rome, had acquired so great a spiritual dominion over the minds and consciences of men, that all Europe submitted to it with implicit obedience. At the present day, the Roman Catholic religion prevails, more or less, in every country in Christendom. Its population is stated to exceed eighty millions. It is the established religion of Austria, France, Portugal, and Spain, and of thirteen other states in Europe.

Popes of Rome.(16) A. D.

33. St. Peter, martyred.

66. St. Linus, martyred.

67. St. Clement, abdicated.

77. St. Cletus, martyred.

83. St. Anac.l.i.tus.

96. St. Evaristus, coadjutor to the former, martyred.

108. St. Alexander I., martyred.

117. St. Sixtus I., martyred.

127. Telesphorus, martyred.

138. Hygenus, martyred. The first called _pope_.

142. Pius I., martyred.

150. Anicetus, martyred.

162. Soter.

171. Eleutherius, martyred.

185. Victor I., martyred.

197. Zephyrinus, martyred.

217. Calixtus I., martyred.

222. Urban I., martyred.

230. Pontia.n.u.s, martyred.

235. Anterus, martyred.

236. Fabian, martyred.

236. Novatia.n.u.s, antipope.

250. Cornelius, beheaded.

252. Lucius I., martyred.

254. Stephen I., martyred.

257. Sixtus II., coadjutor to the former, martyred.

259. Dionysius.

269. Felix I.

274. Eutychia.n.u.s.

283. Caius.

295. Marcellinus, martyred.

304. Marcellus I., martyred.

310. Eusebius, martyred.

310. Melchiades, coadjutor to the former.

314. Sylvester.

336. Marcus.

337. Julius I.

352. Liberius, banished.

356. Felix II., antipope.