Page:Collier's New Encyclopedia v. 10.djvu/96

UNITARIAN CHURCH 78 to commit themselves to any authorita- tive creed, they underwent a gradual change to Arian, and at length to Uni- tarian, views. Many preached such views without exciting attention or con- troversy, though, till 1813, the law which made it blasphemy to speak against the Trinity was still in existence. During the latter half of the 18th century Dr. Priestly appeared as the champion of the humanitarian view of Christ's nature, and by the influence of his writings se- cured the more open advocacy of that doctrine. Toward the close of the 18th century there was a certain amount of Arianism among the Moderates in the Church of Scotland. Unitarianism, as a distinct system, was preached at Montrose as early as 1783, and at the beginning of the 19th century some attempts were made to diffuse it by means of mission- ary efforts. There are now nine con- gregations in Scotland. That at Edin- burgh was originally a branch from the Cameronians, but, having adopted the principle of free inquiry, its members gradually embraced Arian, and eventual- ly (1812) humanitarian, views. In Ireland the history of Unitarianism is intimately connected with that of Presbyterianism. It flourishes principal- ly in the N. of the island, and the 10,- 000 Irish Unitarians are Presbyterians in fact as well as in name. After 1740 Arian views of the person of Christ were pretty widely diffused among the New England clergy; and in 1787 took place the first secession from the Episcopal Church. By imperceptible degrees many of the New England churches glided into Unitarianism; but it was not till about 1815 that the name began to be much used. At that time the influence of Dr. Channing was thrown into the scale; and since then Massachu- setts, and particularly Boston, has been the stronghold of Unitarianism in the United States. Harvard University is not a denominational institution; but it is at present in the hands of the Uni- tarians; and most of their ministers are educated either there or at the Mead- ville Theological School, Pa. Besides the Unitarians, properly so called, the Uni- versalists and the Hicksite Quakers are understood to hold anti-Trinitarian sen- timents, though they give no special prominence to the doctrine of Divine Unity. ^ In polity the Unitarians are con- gregational, each church being independ- ent in the control of its own affairs. There are National, State and lo- cal conferences. The National confer- ence, which meets biennially, declares in its constitution "its allegiance to the gos- UNITED BRETHREN pel of Jesus Christ," and its "desire to secure the largest unity of spirit and the widest practical co-operation" in Chris- tian civilization. The Unitarian Church has its largest representation in Massa- chusetts, that State containing about one- half of its membership. In 1900 the reports of the denomination showed min- isters, 550; churches, 459; and mem- bers, 71,000. There are a few Unitarian churches in the principal colonies of Great Britain; and Unitarian sentiments, under the names of Liberal Christianity and Ra- tionalism, are more or less widely dif- fused in France, Switzerland, Germany and Holland. It will of course be understood that the Unitarians of all shades of opinion are agreed in rejecting the entire orthodox scheme — including the doctrines of the Trinity, the vicarious atonement, the deity of Christ, original sin, and ever- lasting punishment— as both unscriptu- ral and irrational. They celebrate the Lord's Supper in their churches, not as a sacrament, but as a service commemora- tive of Christ's death, and expressive of spiritual communion with Him. They also adhere generally to the rite of in- fant baptism, though there are a few Unitarian Baptist churches. Many ob- ject to the name Unitarian as one which might be held to imply a doctrinal bond of union, and to be, to that extent, in- consistent with unrestricted freedom of religious thought. When, at the meeting of the British and Foreign Unitarian Association in 1866, it was proposed to add to the rules a clause defining "Uni- tarian Christianity," the motion was al- most unanimously rejected. UNITED BRETHREN IN CHRIST, THE, a religious denomination which was formed among the Germans of Pennsyl- vania, largely under the direction of Philip William Otterbein, a pastor of the German Reformed Church, and Mar- tin Boehm, a preacher among the Men- nonites. The first important meeting was at Baltimore in 1789, annual con- ferences beginning to be held in 1800, the first at Frederick, Md. It was on this occasion that the designation of this church was adopted, and Otterbein and Boehm were elected bishops. There was a General Conference in 1815, when a Confession of Faith and a Discipline were adopted. The organization calls for quarterly and annual conferences, and a quadrennial general conference, which is the legislative part of the organization, and since 1901 has been constituted by an equal number of ministers and lay- men. All the ordained preachers are el- ders, and they are the only order recog-