Protestantism.-THE CONSTANT PROGRESS OF PROTESTANTISM is attested, as we have shown above, by the Catholics themselves. Numerous other proofs are furnished by the Protestant papers of every week, while the cases in which French Protestants are received into the Roman Catholic Church are extremely rare. The Evangelical Church of Lyons counts at present about six hundred members, nearly all of whom were formerly Catholics. The same was reported at a late meeting of the French branch of the Evangelical Alliance by one of the Baptist pastors of his denomination. Three out of four pastors, and three hundred out of four hundred members, have come from the Catholic Church. By this great progress NEW ACTS OF OPPRESSION are occasioned, especially in the provinces. A glaring case occurred recently in the department of Haute Vienne, where, in 1852, twelve evangelical schools had been closed at a time by order of the government. After many fruitless efforts to obtain an anthorization for reopening them, the Protestants at length flattered themselves with the hope that all the requisites of the law had been complied with, that the Minister of Public Instruction was in favor of their request, and that no opposition would any longer be made to them. Nevertheless the Prefect and the Conseil Academique of the department persisted in refusing the demanded authorization, and the Conseil Departmental, the highest authority in such matters, when appealed to, confirmed, "after a mature deliberation," as the Minutes say, "unanimously in the interest of public morality," the decision of the Prefect. THE NUMBER OF PROTESTANT PERIODICALS having been, during 1858, again increased by two, amounts now to twenty, among which there are two weeklies and fifteen monthlies. several occasions he has recently displayed. He has called his youngest son after one of the favorite saints of Russia, St. Sergius, and he has twice visited the monastery of this saint near Moscow, the first time for the special purpose of imploring the help of the saint for the safe delivery of the empress, and the second time for returning thanks. THE SECTS OF THE RUSSIAN CHURCH have been lately made the subject of an elaborate article in the Revue des deux Mondes, which maintains that the measures adopted against them by the Emperor Nicholas have not only failed, but have had the effect of increasing their numbers. They enjoy now a greater toleration. Their marriages and children are no longer considered illegitimate, but passports for traveling in foreign countries are still refused to them. The Roman Catholic Church.SEVERAL NEW CASES OF PERSECUTION against the Roman Catholic Church have been reported by the Univers of Paris. The inhabitants of the village Pawlow, near Vilna, though not slaves, are said to have been compelled by the Governor General Nasinov to join the Russian Church, and even the knout, according to these reports, has been again employed to prevent former members of the Greek United Church from reuniting with the Catholic Church, which they had expressed the desire to do. The Nord, a Russian paper in Brussels, has denied the truth of these reports, but has admitted that the laws which forbid the reception of any member of the Greek Church into that of Rome, are maintained by order of the emperor in their full vigor. The statements of the Catholic press, on the other hand, are corroborated by the Russian correspondents of the paper published by Alexander Herzen, a Russian refugee in London, so that it is likely that they are substantially true. Still THE RELATIONS BETWEEN RUSSIA AND ROME are of a more amicable nature than they were under Nicholas, and some more of the vacant bishoprics have been filled. Among a part of the aristocracy a Romeward tendency undoubtedly exists, which has induced the Pope to provide for a regular Russian service in the city of Rome. A celebrated Russian member of the Redemptorist order, Father Petcherine, has for that purpose been called to Rome. A STRONG OPPOSITION TO ROME is arising in Poland, partly from a new sect, founded by the mystic poet Towianski, who believes himself to be a new Messiah for the reformation of the Catholic Church, partly from writers who proclaim either the radicalism of Young Poland or the Pansclavonian doctrines, which begin to agitate the whole east of Europe. The Roman Index Librorum Prohibitorum proscribes one Polish book after another. But the thunder of the Vatican has lost its effect; instead of striking terror into trembling authors, it is welcomed by them as a cheap and efficient means of attracting general attention to their works. Evangelical Lutheran Church.THE PUBLICATION OF A THEOLOGICAL QUARTERLY, which the faculty of the University of Dorpat has started at the beginning of the present year, is likely to prove an event of importance. It will give to Russia a more learned Protestant clergy, and thus strengthen the present ascendancy of Protestant ideas in the rising literature of Eastern Europe. At the same time it will aim at bringing about a closer union between the Lutherans of Russia and those of other countries, and thus be another step for the consolidation of the Lutheran Church in Europe, and for her final deliverance from the fetters of the State. Her prosperity in Russia, it is hoped, will be increased by THE AU THORIZED ESTABLISHMENT OF a CENTRAL ECCLESIASTICAL FUND, from which schools and churches will be built, pastors and teachers supported, and all the enterprises of the Church promoted. This authorization, which had been in vain solicited during the reign of Nicholas, cannot fail to prove highly advantageous to the interests of Russian Protestantism. Buddhism. -Buddhism, though on the decrease, is not yet extinct in Russia. According to a work of Bishop Nil on Buddhism, there were, at the beginning of the present century, two Buddhist bishoprics in Russia, one in Nerchinsk, the other on this side of the Yablonoi mountains, on the lake of Gunse. Now only the latter is in existence. In 1822 there were in Russia 2,532 lamas, now only 285, with a Buddhist population of about 124,000 souls. TURKEY. Mohammedanism.-The fanaticism of the MOHAMMEDAN POPULATION still remains unabated, and gains new strength from the increasing progress of Christianity. According to the Univers fanatic Sheiks are going over the whole country, espe cially the Asiatic portion, to preach a crusade against the Christians, and are forming in the cities confraternities for the defense of the faith. In several, and perhaps in all the mosques of Constantinople, the people have been warned against buying and reading the Bible, and the call for the Bible has consequently diminished. The government, however, has given another proof of its liberal disposition toward the Christians, by ordering the execution of the instigators of the great massacre of Christians at Jiddah, in Arabia. Social improvements, also, are carried on with undiminished vigor. In Europe the proportion of Mohammedans is constantly decreasing, and the power of the Mohammedan element is moreover broken by the springing up of new sects, the last of which made its appearance during the past year at Gaza, and is said to hold Pantheistic doctrines, and to say nothing about the prophet. The Greek Church.-THE REORGANIZATION OF THE GREEK CHURCH is proceeding very slowly. At length a council of reform has been convened, consisting of seven clerical and thirty-one lay members. Two months have been consumed by the new council in discussing the mode of electing the Patriarch of Constantinople. The laymen demanded that he be elected by a direct vote of the Assembly, which would secure to them a majority, while the prelates called this a violation of the sacred canons, and claimed the right of being the sole electors. The parties being unable to come to an agreement, it has been proposed, as a compromise, that the sacred synod shall elect the patriarch among five candidates proposed by the council of administration. THE INFLUENCE OF RUSSIA on the Greek Church of Turkey seems to be increasing. Seven new establishments for the clergy and pilgrims of Russia are in the course of building in Palestine, and the Archimandrite Njegush of Montenegro has been in duced to go to St. Petersburgh and not to Constantinople, to receive the consecration as bishop. The Roman Catholic Church.Some of THE BISHOPS are displaying a great zal for advancing the interests of Rome. The Vicar Apostolic of Bosnia has built in his diocese, during the last three years, twelve new churches and seventeen new schools. The Pope's late delegate in Syria, Archbishop Brunoni, has witnessed, during the five years, that he has resided in Syria, the reception into the Roman Catholic Church of five thousand members of the Eastern Churches. Having been recently transferred to the Vicariate Apostolic of Constantinople, Archbishop Brunoni has paid an official visit to the patriarchs of the Greek and Armenian Churches, which is considered as the forerunner of new attempts to effect a corporate union of those two Churches with Rome. THE UNITED GREEK CHURCH has been greatly disturbed during the whole past year by the attempts of its patriarch, and of Rome, to introduce into the calendar the new style instead of the old. The patriarch, seeing himself unable to overcome the resistance of a large portion of his people, and, it is said, even fearing for his life, resigned in August, and returned to the convent of the Basilians, in which he had lived before his elevation to the patriarchate. His resignation having, however, not been accepted by the pope, he has been compelled to return to his patriarchal see. The controversy, and the excitement arising from it, are not yet settled, and the bishop sent by Russia to Palestine has been invited by the leaders of the anti-Roman party to Damascus, in order to bring about a union between them and the Orthodox Greek Church. Protestantism.-THE PROTESTANT SCHOOLS which have been established by the American missionaries enjoy a great prosperity. Thus, a girl's school at Nicomedia, which is now self-supporting, has fifty-seven pupils, chiefly from the higher families of the Armenians, whe are very well pleased with it. At Sidon the Protestant school was so generally attended by Catholic children that it required threats of excommunication on the part of the Bishop of Tyre to cause the withdrawal of some of them. Greater attention than before will be paid to EUROPEAN TURKEY as a missionary field. The whole country has been mapped out and divided between the American Board and the Methodist Episcopal Church. Both have lately increased the number of their missionaries, and extraordinary prospects are there opening to them. EVANGELICAL DEACONESSES of Kaiserswerth, Prussia, have now four establishments in the East, at Constantinople, Jerusalem, Smyrna, and Alexandria. Their school at Smyrna is nearly selfsupporting; their hospital in Constantinople is supported by the German Benevolent Society of that city, and the other two establishments by voluntary contributions, mostly collected in Russia. THE ART. XI-SYNOPSIS OF THE QUARTERLIES. I.-American Quarterly Reviews. I. THE PROTESTANT EPISCOPAL QUARTERLY REVIEW, January, 1859.-1. Natural Intimations of a Future Life: 2. Proverbs: 3. Recent German Apologetics: 4. On the Authorized Version of the New Testament: 5. MiscellaneousSlight Foot-prints of Good Men; Bishop White on Episcopacy and the Succession. II. THE AMERICAN QUARTERLY CHURCH REVIEW, AND ECCLESIASTICAL REGISTER, January, 1859.-1. The American Union; its Nature and Origin: 2. Theodore Parker and the Newest Theology: 3. Parton's Aaron Burr, dissected by a Nonagenarian: 4. Church Universities: 5. St. Patrick no Romanist: 6. The New Liturgy in Harvard University: 7. Letter to the Editor-Bishops, Successors of the Apostles: 8. A Word for our Fathers, in a Letter to an English Layman: American Ecclesiastical History-Early Journals of General Conventions. III. THE NORTH AMERICAN REVIEW, January, 1859.-1. Canonical Compurgation and the Wager of Battle: 2. The Mount Vernon Memorial: 3. Edmund Burke: 4. Life and Writings of De Quincey: 5. Abelard: 6. Thompson's History of Boston: 7. Bible Revision: 8. Cotemporary French Literature: 9. Thompson's Life of Stoddard: 10. White's Shakspeare. IV. THE EVANGELICAL REVIEW, January, 1859.-1. The New Testament Bishop a Teacher: 2. The Sabbath: 3. A Want in the Lutheran Church met by the Founding of the Missionary Institute: 4. Is it right to Baptize the Children of Parents not in Connection with any Christian Society? 5. The Relation of the Family to the Church: 6. Baccalaureate Address: 7. Reminiscences of Lutheran Clergymen: 8. What is the Result of Science with regard to the Primitive World? V. THE BIBLICAL REPERTORY AND PRINCETON REVIEW, January, 1859-1. Praying and Preaching: 2. Religion in Colleges: 3. Sawyer's New Testament: 4. The Book of Hosea: 5. The Unity of Mankind. VL THE CHRISTIAN REVIEW, January, 1859.-1. The Evangelical Armenians of Turkey, the Reformers of the East: 2. Angels: 3. Longfellow as a Poet: 4. The Domestic Constitution: 5. The Heathen Witnesses of the Progress of Christianity before 200 A.D.: 6. Harrison on Greek Prepositions: 7. The Baptism of Basil the Great-Was it in his Infancy? 8. Buckle's History of Civilization: 9. Early German Philosophers. VII. UNIVERSALIST QUARTERLY And General ReVIEW, January, 1859.-1. Enthusiasm-Its Nature and Conditions: 2. Truth, as a Dogma and as a Principle: 3. Our Helps and Hindrances: 4. Mohammedanism and its Founder: 5. The Aggressive Spirit of Christianity: 6. Divine Sovereignty: 7. Clapp's Theological Views. VIII. THE PRESBYTERIAN QUARTERLY REVIEW, January, 1859.-1. Re-union of the Synods of New York and Philadelphia: 2. The Publication Cause: 3. The New England Theocracy: 4. Foundation of Faith in the Word of God: 5. The Revival. IX. THE SOUTHERN PRESBYTERIAN REVIEW, January, 1859.-1. The Astronomical Argument against Christianity: 2. The Statesman: 3. The Fullness of Time: 4. Morality of the Legal Profession: 5. The Support of Superannuated Ministers, and the Indigent Families of Deceased Ministers: 6. The Prophetic Period of 1260 years: 7. The Early Presbyterian Immigration into South Carolina. X. THE CHRISTIAN EXAMINER, January, 1859.-1. The Moravian Brethren: 2. Francis Quarles: 3. Imagination in Theology: 4. Carlyle's Frederic: 5. The Two Religions: 6. Dr. Furness and Dr. Bushnell-A Question of Words and Names. XI. THE THEOLOGICAL AND LITERARY JOURNAL, January, 1859.-1. Dr. Hickok's Rational Cosmology: 2. Notes on Scripture-Matthew xiv, xvii: 3. Haven's Mental Philosophy: 4. Religious Lessons of the Deluge: 5. The Miracle, the Discourse, and the Persecution-Acts iii and iv: 6. The Formularies of the Church of Holland. XII. BROWNSON'S QUARTERLY REVIEW, January, 1859.-1. Usury Laws: 2. Catholicity and Civilization: 3. The Humanists: 4. Primitive Elements of Thought : 5. Conversations on Theocracy: 6. Popular Amusements. XIII. THE NEW ENGLANDER, February, 1859.-1. The True Style and Measure of the Higher Education: 2. The New Andover Hymn Book: 3. Roman Catholic Contributions and Missions: 4. China and the Chinese: 5. Revision of the English Bible: 6. Dr. Cleveland's Reply to the New Englander: 7. Palestine a Perpetual Witness for the Bible: 8. Nature and the Supernatural. XIV. THE MERCERSBURG REVIEW, January, 1859.-1. The Synod at Frederick, Md. 2. The Heidelberg Catechism-Its Formation and First Introduction in the Palatinate: 3. The Human Body and Disease, considered from the Christian Stand-point: 4. Introduction to the Study of Philosophy: 5. The Office of Bishop: 6. The Palatinate-A Historico-Geograhical Sketch. XV. THE CONGREGATIONAL QUARTERLY, January, 1859.-1. Thomas Prince: 2. Congregationalism-its Features and Superiorities: 3. The Massachusetts General Association: 4. A Lesson from the Past: 5. The American Congregational Union: 6. Father Sawyer-A Biographical Sketch: 7. The Office of Deacon: 8. The Congregational Library Association: 9. John Norton's "Orthodox Evangelist:" 10. American Congregational Statistics, for 1858. II.-Foreign Reviews. I. THE LONDON REVIEW, (Wesleyan,) January, 1859.-1. Early Christian Monachism: 2. Scotch University Reform: 3. Memoirs of Saint Simon: 4. Comparative Literary Rank of Nations: 5. The Ministry of Life: 6. Arithmetic, Ancient and Modern: 7. Literary Skepticism: 8. Illustrated Works: 9. Christianity and Ethics: 10. Fiji. II. THE JOURNAL OF SACRED LITERATURE, January, 1859.-1. The Franks, and their Metropolitan: 2. Chinese: 3. Babylon and its Priest-kings: 4. Notes on John xvii: 5. Exegesis of the Book of Job: 6. Analecta Syriaca: 7. Analysis of the Emblems of St. John. (Rev. vii.) III THE CHRISTIAN REMEMBRANCER, January, 1859.-1. Old English Chronicles: 2. Pastoral Poetry: 3. What is wanted in the Church's Missions: 4. Life of Mrs. Schimmel Penninck: 5. Inett's English Church: 6. The Bishop of St. Andrew's on the Aberdeen Appeal: 7. Anti-Confessional Agitation. IV. THE NATIONAL REVIEW, January, 1859.-1. Crabbe: 2. The Autobiography of Catherine II. 3. The Results of Short Imprisonments: 4. Virgil and his Modern Critics: 5. Count Miot de Melito and the French Revolution: 6. False Morality of Lady Novelists: 7. The Religion of the Working Classes: 8. Longfellow 9. Mansel's Limits of Religious Thought: 10. Parliamentary Reform. V. THE BRITISH QUARTERLY REVIEW, January, 1859.-1. Physical and Moral Heritage: 2. Dalmatia: 3. Religious Systems-Ancient and Modern: 4. Bolingbroke: 5. Serf-emancipation in Russia: 6. Masson's Life of Milton: 7. France and England: 8. Carlyle's Frederic the Great. VI. THE WESTMINSTER REVIEW, January, 1859.-1. Reform of Parliament: 2. The Religious Policy of Austria: 3. The Sanitary Condition of the Army: 4. Chloroform and other Anæsthetics: 5. Spiritual Destitution in England: 6. Carlyle's History of Friedrich the Second: 7. Recent Cases of Witchcraft. VII. THE BRITISH AND FOREIGN EVANGELICAL REVIEW, January, 1859.-1. Friar Bacon and Lord Bacon: 2. Dr. Pusey on the Election of Bishops: 3. John Wycliffe His Writings, Opinions, and Influence: 4. Spiritual Discipline of the Jesuits: 5. The Religious Awakening of 1858: 6. The Codex Vaticanus and Biblical Criticism: 7. Professor Stuart and Mr. Barnes on Romans v. 12-19: 8. Lives of Ursinus and Olevianus, and the Reformation in the Palatinate. VIII. REVUE DES DEUX MONDES, Nineteenth Volume. Paris. January, 1859.1. Religious Controversies in England-F. Newman, J. Martineau, W. Greg, The Evangelical Alliance. By Charles De Rémusat, of the French Academy: 2. Recollections of the Court of Dresden-Mlle. De Haltingen. By Madame Dora d'Istna: 3. Byron, Shelly, and English Literature-A Review of the Last Days of Shelly and Byron, by E. Trelawney. By Edmond de Guerle: 4. The Europeans in Oceanica-Australia Colonized and Savage. By Alfred Jacobs: 5. Marguerite de Tanly. By Amédée Achard: 6. Representative Monarchy in Italy-King Charles Albert and Count Cæsar Balbo. By Albert Blanc: 7. Scientific History in the Nineteenth Century-M. Biot. By Auguste Langel: 8. Poetry-Maritima. By J. Autran: 9. Political and Literary Record of the fortnight: 10. Musical Review: 11. Bibliographic Bulletin. |