Online Encyclopedia

Search over 40,000 articles from the original, classic Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th Edition.

UNIVERSALIST CHURCH

Online Encyclopedia
Originally appearing in Volume V27, Page 746 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
» Make a correction to this article.
» Add information or comments to this article.
Spread the word: del.icio.us del.icio.us it!

UNIVERSALIST See also:

CHURCH , a religious See also:body organized in the See also:United States, and represented chiefly by parishes and churches in that See also:country and in See also:Canada. While the See also:distribution of the See also:denomination extends to every See also:state in the See also:Union, the greater number of organizations and members are found in New See also:England and New See also:York. A distinction should be noted between Universalism and the Universalist denomination. Universalism is found very See also:early in the See also:history of the See also:Christian Church—apparently from the beginning. It was certainly held and taught by several of the greatest of the Apostolic and Church fathers: as See also:Clement of See also:Alexandria, See also:Gregory of Nyssa, See also:Origen and probably by See also:Chrysostom and See also:Jerome. It was taught in a See also:majority of the Christian See also:Schools of the second and third centuries; at Alexandria, at See also:Antioch, at See also:Edessa and at See also:Nisibis.' But the Universalist denomination is of See also:modern origin and confined mostly to the See also:American See also:continent. It See also:dates from the arrival in See also:Good See also:Luck, N.J., of the Rev. See also:John See also:Murray (1714–1815),2 of See also:London, in See also:September 1770; although there were some preachers of the See also:doctrine in the country before Mr Murray came. He preached in various places in New See also:Jersey, New York, See also:Pennsylvania and See also:Massachusetts, and See also:societies sprang up as the result of his See also:ministry in all these states. His first See also:regular See also:settlement was in See also:Gloucester, See also:Mass., in 1774, whence in 1793 he removed to See also:Boston, which from that See also:time forth became the headquarters ' See Dr See also:Edward See also:Beecher's History of Opinions on the Scriptural Doctrine of Retribution (New York, 1878), and See also:Hosea See also:Ballou end's See also:Ancient History of Universalism (Boston, 1829). 2 A Wesleyan, then a follower of See also:Whitefield, Murray became a Universalist after See also:reading the See also:tract on Union (1759) written by See also:James Relly (172o-1778), See also:minister of a Universalist See also:congregation in London. Murray was a See also:chaplain in a Rhode See also:Island See also:brigade during the See also:War of American See also:Independence, and a friend of See also:General See also:Nathanael See also:Greene.

His Universalism was Calvinistic in its See also:

tone, arguing from a universal See also:election to a universal redemption—Ballou first openly See also:broke with Calvinism. Murray's See also:parish in Gloucester through him brought successful suit for the recovery of See also:property appropriated for the use of the See also:original (Congregational) parish, and thus gained the first legal recognition granted in New England to a Universalist society. See the Autobiography (Boston, 1816) edited by his wife, See also:Judith See also:Sargent Murray (1751–1820).of the denomination. A contemporary of Murray in his later years was Hosea Ballou (q.v.), also of Boston, who soon became the recognized See also:leader of the See also:movement, and for See also:half a See also:century was its most honoured and influential name. During his ministry the See also:sect See also:developed from twenty or See also:thirty churches to five See also:hundred, with a distribution over the Eastern and See also:Middle states. In the See also:period of Mr Ballou's domination little See also:attention was paid to organization. It was the period of the See also:propagation of the doctrine and of the controversies to which that gave rise. But about 186o began an agitation for a more coherent organization, and a polity better suited to unity and progress than the spontaneous See also:congregationalism that had developed during the earlier period. The result of that agitation was the See also:adoption, at the Centennial See also:Convention in 1870, of a somewhat elaborate See also:plan of organization, and a See also:manual of See also:administration under which the denomination has since been conducted. The plan of organization of the Universalist body follows. with necessary modifications, the See also:scheme of the See also:civil organization of the See also:national See also:government. While the See also:local parish is the unit, the states are organized as See also:independent federations, and combined into a national See also:congress or convention. The parishes within the territory of a state are organized into a state convention; representatives, duly elected by the several state conventions, constitute the General Convention, which is the supreme legislative authority of the denomination.

The state conventions meet annually; the General Convention once in two years. In the See also:

interval of sessions a See also:Board of Trustees, consisting of eleven members, of whom the secretary, the See also:chief administrative officer of the Convention, is one, administer the affairs of the denomination, except those concerns " reserved to the states. and the See also:people." Doctrine.—The historic See also:symbol of the denomination remains the See also:Winchester Profession, adopted at the See also:meeting of the General Convention—then a spontaneous yearly gathering of Universalists, without ecclesiastical authority—in Winchester, N.H., in See also:Sept. 1803. It consists of three brief articles, as follows: See also:Article I.—We believe that the See also:Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments contain a See also:revelation of the See also:character of See also:God and of the See also:duty, See also:interest and final destination of mankind. Article II.—We believe that there is one God, whose nature is Love, revealed in one See also:Lord Jesus See also:Christ, by one Holy Spirit of See also:Grace, who will finally restore the whole See also:family of mankind to holiness and happiness. Article III.—We believe that holiness and true happiness are inseparably connected, and that believers ought to be careful to maintain See also:order and practise good See also:works; for these things are good and profitable unto men., At the session of the General Convention in Boston in See also:October 1900, a still briefer " Statement of Essential Principles " was adopted and made the See also:condition of fellowship, in the following terms: 1. The Universal Fatherhood of God; 2. the Spiritual authority and leadership of His Son, Jesus Christ; 3. the trustworthiness of the See also:Bible as containing a revelation from God; 4. the certainty of just retribution for See also:sin; 5. the final See also:harmony of all souls with God. Universalism, shortly described, is the belief that what ought to be will be. In a sane and beneficent universe the primacy belongs to Truth, Right, Love. These are the supreme See also:powers. The See also:logic of this conception of the natural and moral order is imperious. It compels the conclusion that, although we see not yet all things put under the sway of the See also:Prince of See also:Peace, we see the Divine plan set forth in Him, and cannot doubt the consummation which He embodies and predicts.

Universalists are those members of the Christian family in whom this thought has become predominant. The See also:

idea that there is a Divine order, and that it contemplates the final See also:triumph of Good over Evil, in human society as a whole and in the history of each individual, has taken See also:possession of them. Hence they are Universalists. 'Certain Universalists objected to the last clause of Article II. as implying a universal fall in See also:Adam's sin; and others objected to the material and utilitarian construction which might be put on the last clause of Article III. 746 The Universalist Church embraces but a fraction of those who hold the Universalist belief. The literature of See also:religion, the testimony of See also:common knowledge, the See also:drift of theological thinking, equally with the results of See also:expert investigation, See also:con-See also:firm this conclusion. But the denomination holds aloft the banner, conducts the See also:campaign of See also:education and organization, and represents in the religious See also:world the principle, that the best possible outcome is to be expected to the human experiment. See also:Work.—Some idea of the work carried on by the denomination may be derived from the extent and variety of its organized forces. There were in 1907 about r000 parishes on its See also:roll; and these, with large See also:numbers of families not included in parishes, were organized into 41 state and provincial conventions; into a National See also:Young People's Christian Union. of over 600 local societies, with a membership of Io,000; into one National See also:Women's Missionary Association and several state societies; and into one General Convention, with its Board of Trustees, Secretary, See also:Superintendent, and Committees on See also:Missions, Education, Investments, Ways and Means and Fellowship. a. The See also:Home Missionary work devolves in the first instance on the several State Conventions, which have a Board and local secretaries and superintendents charged with this particular business in their several territories. In the next See also:place, the Home Missionary work in new See also:fields and where the local organization is weak, is in See also:charge of the Board of Trustees of the General Convention.

They employ a See also:

Southern Missionary and a General Superintendent, and appoint and aid in maintaining superintendents and missionaries in the newer states and Territories—as the See also:North-Western Superintendent, the See also:California Superintendent, &c. b. See also:Foreign Missions. In 1907 the Universalist denomination had for about fifteen years maintained a See also:mission in See also:Japan, where five American and five native missionaries were regularly employed, with teachers and helpers of varying numbers. The See also:parent church of this mission is established in See also:Tokyo, and plantings have been made at eight or nine other points throughout the See also:empire. A Girls' Home is maintained in Tokyo, and a considerable work in teaching and training is conducted under the auspices of the Mission in See also:universities and other schools elsewhere. A mission under the auspices of the Universalist General Convention is also maintained at See also:Columbia, See also:Province of Camaguey, See also:Cuba. c. The educational interests and activities of the denomination are expressed in four colleges, established by the Universalists—Tufts See also:College (1852), at See also:Medford, Massachusetts; Lombard College (1855; opened in 1852 as See also:Illinois Liberal See also:Institute), at See also:Galesburg, Illinois; St See also:Lawrence University (1856), at See also:Canton, New York; and Buchtel College (1872), at See also:Akron, See also:Ohio; three theological schools, connected with the first three colleges just named and founded respectively in 1869, 1881 and 1858; and three See also:academies, See also:Dean See also:Academy, See also:Franklin, Massachusetts, Goddard See also:Seminary, See also:Barre, See also:Vermont, and See also:Westbrook Seminary, See also:Portland, See also:Maine; and a See also:publishing See also:house in Boston with a See also:branch in See also:Chicago is one of the denomination's chief agencies for the spread of the knowledge of what it holds to be the truth. d. The Chapin Home in New York, the Church of the See also:Messiah Home in See also:Philadelphia, the See also:Washburne Home in Minneapolis and the See also:Bethany Home in Boston are examples of the benevolent and charitable work in which the Universalist body is interested and enlisted. As stated above, the Universalist denomination embraces about loon churches, with congregations numbering about 200,000 persons; a membership of communicants reported in 1906 as 55,831; a membership in See also:Sunday schools of 52,538; and church property valued at $10,598,100.39.

End of Article: UNIVERSALIST CHURCH

Additional information and Comments

There are no comments yet for this article.
» Add information or comments to this article.
Please link directly to this article:
Highlight the code below, right click, and select "copy." Then paste it into your website, email, or other HTML.
Site content, images, and layout Copyright © 2006 - Net Industries, worldwide.
Do not copy, download, transfer, or otherwise replicate the site content in whole or in part.

Links to articles and home page are always encouraged.

[back]
UNIVERSAL LANGUAGES 		[next]
UNIVERSITIES

Site © 2006 - Net Industries