THE

RELIGIOUS CREEDS

AND

STATISTICS

OF EVERY

CHRISTIAN DENOMINATION

IN THE

UNITED STATES

AND

BRITISH PROVINCES.

WITH

SOME ACCOUNT OF THE RELIGIOUS SENTIMENTS

OF THE

JEWS, AMERICAN INDIANS, DEISTS, MAHOMETANS, &e.

PUBLISHED BY JOHN HAYWARD.

For Sale by the principal Booksellers generally in the several States.

..........

Press of JONATHAN HOWE, No. 39, Merchants Row.

1836.

Entered according to act of Congress, in the year one thousand eight hundred and thirty-six, by JOHN HAYWARD, in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of Massachusetts.

There are some articles, such as Church Government, Ortho

dox Creed, Reformation, &c. arranged with the several denominations, in alphabetical order.

PREFACE.

THE following pages were intended to form a part of another publication; but as the Creeds or Doctrines of the several denominations of Christians, could not be fully expressed without occupying more room than could be well spared in that work; and as articles of a religious nature might appear rather misplaced in a volume almost exclusively appropriated to geographical descriptions, and statistics of various kinds, the Editor has concluded to publish that part, containing religious intelligence, in a separate volume.

With some exceptions, this volume is a compilation from various works of acknowledged authority. The authors which the compiler has consulted, and from which he has taken many of the creeds, forms of church government, modes of worship, &c. are the following: Mosheim and MacLaine's Ecclesiastical History; Gregory and Ruter's Church History; Buck and Henderson's Theological Dictionaries; Adams' View of Religions; Benedict's History of all Religions; Evans' Sketches; Brown's Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge; Cyclopedia Americana; and many other valuable publications.

To the clergy and other gentlemen, who have kindly favored the Editor with their communications and assistance, he tenders his most grateful acknowledgments.

Should it be found that the Editor has been so unfortunate as to have made any mistatement in regard to the sentiments of any sect or denomination, he assures the public that the error, when discovered, shall be corrected in some publication, coextensive with the work.

H

Considerable time and labor have been bestowed to render the statistics of the several denominations as full and accurate, as possible. Indeed, the whole has been prepared with much care; and the Editor indulges a hope that it will prove acceptable to the public, as a book of common reference, on a subject of greater interest and importance, than any other to which the human mind can devote itself.

August 24, 1836.

NOTE.

The Editor proposes to publish, annually, the Statistics of the several denominations of Christians in the United States and British Provinces. Any assistance from his friends, at home

or abroad, to render the work accurate, will be very gratefully received.

RELIGIOUS CREEDS, &c.

ARIANS,

THE followers of Arius, a presbyter of the church of Alexandria, about A. D. 315, who held that the Son of God was totally and essentially distinct from the Father; that he was the first and noblest of those beings whom God had created; the instrument, by whose subordinate operation he formed the universe; and therefore, inferior to the Father both in nature and dignity; also, that the Holy Ghost was not God, but created by the power of the Son. The Arians owned that the Son was the Word; but denied that Word to have been eternal. They held that Christ had nothing of man in him but the flesh, to which the Word was joined, which was the same as the soul in us.

In modern times, the term Arian is indiscriminately applied to those who consider Jesus simply subordinate to the Father. Some of them believe Christ to have been the creator of the world; but they all maintain that he existed previously to his incarnation, though in his pre-existent state they assign him different degrees of dignity. See Matt. 4: 10.-15: 32.-19: 17.-27: 46. Mark 5: 7.-13: 32. John 4: 23.-14: 28.-20: 17. Acts 4: 24. 1 Cor. 1: 4.-11: 3.-15: 24. Eph. 1: 17.-4: 6. Phil. 1: 3, 4, &c.

ARMINIANS,

THOSE persons who follow the doctrines of Arminius, who was pastor at Amsterdam, and afterwards professor of divinity at Leyden. Arminius had been educated in the opinions of Calvin; but, thinking the doctrine of that great man with regard to free will, predestination and grace, too severe, he began to express his doubts concerning them, in the year 1591; and, upon farther inquiry, adopted the sentiments of those whose religious system extends the love of the Supreme Being and the merits of Jesus Christ, to all mankind.

The distinguishing tenets of the Arminians may be comprised in the five following articles relative to predestination, universal redemption, the corruption of man, conversion, and perseverance, viz. I. That God determined to bestow pardon and present salvation on all who repent and believe in Christ; and final salvation on all who persevere to the end, and to inflict everlasting punishment on those who should continue in their unbelief, and resist his divine