Church, Pressensé finds in the false Catholicity which has in the course of centuries been developed in the Church of Rome, and has now been completed by the dogmatization of papal infallibility. With this Church, as long as it stands on its present basis, no understanding is possible. Among Protestants he designates in particular the union of Church and State, in consequence of which the Churches are used as tools for carrying out or supporting the plans of the State Government, and the spirit of confessionalism which unduly magnifies the binding character of the human confessions of faith, and looks down with contempt upon the Christian character of other religious denominations as the greatest obstacles to Christian union. The third discourse takes a hopeful view of the future. Pressensé believes that the system of Romanism will now enter into the era of decline. The Catholic world could not thoroughly understand its corruptions and baneful influence until the system was complete in all its parts. This is now the case; and we have, therefore, reason to expect that now there will come the awakening, and that the great recoil of the Christian conscience from the superstitions of the papal system will ere long set in. In the Protestant world he finds that the principle of a separation between Church and State is steadily gaining ground, and that the Evangelical Alliance has already practically shown to the world that the leading Protestant Churches, while differing in minor points, agree in what is essential.

ART. IX.-FOREIGN RELIGIOUS INTELLIGENCE.

THE OLD CATHOLIC CHURCH.

OUR account of the progress of the Old Catholic Church of Germany, in the last number of the "Methodist Quarterly Review," closed with the election of Professor Hubert Reinkens as first bishop of the Church. It was a remarkable coincidence that on the same day (June 4) the head of the Old Catholic Church of Holland, Archbishop Loos of Utrecht, suddenly died. It is a matter of course that many Ultramontane papers saw herein a clear manifestation of divine wrath. The old Catholics, as Jansenists of Holland, have a hierarchy consisting of an Archbishop of Utrecht and Bishops of Harlem and Deventer, the former of whom is, however, without diocese. The title of Bishop of Harlem having been vacant for some time, the death of the Archbishop of Utrecht raised

some hope in the Ultramontanes that the bishop elect of the German Old Catholics would probably have to wait long for his consecration. Some even went so far as to circulate a report that the only surviving member of the Jansenist hierarchy, Bishop Heykamp of Deventer, had refused to consecrate Bishop Reinkens. But these hopes and dreams were soon to be disappointed. The consecration of Professor Reinkens as first Old Catholic Bishop of the German Empire is an accomplished fact. It took place on August 11 at Rotterdam, in Holland, simultaneously with the consecration of a new Bishop of Harlem. The ceremonies lasted for three hours, and are said to have attracted great attention. Deputies even went from Cologne, Bonn, Brussels, Crefeld, and many other places, and the English Church of Dusseldorf had sent its pastor as delegate.

Bishop Reinkens has long had the reputation of being one of the greatest scholars of Catholic Germany. He was born in 1821 at Burtscheid, near Aix-la-Chapelle, worked in his youth in a factory of Aix-laChapelle, and entered a gymnasium when he was nineteen years old. From 1844 to 1847 he studied, at the University of Bonn, philosophy, philology, and theology; was soon after ordained as a priest, and in 1850 was appointed as a lecturer (Privatdocent) on Church history at the University of Breslau. In 1853 he was also appointed Cathedral preacher, (Domprediger,) and in 1857 advanced to an ordinary professor of the University. From 1867 to 1868 he was in Rome, where he received the same impressions as did Luther three hundred years ago. When the great battle against Papal infallibility began in the Catholic Church of Germany he took at once a prominent part in it, and few have been so indefatigable. In all the successive movements which have preceded the establishment of the Church he was one of the leaders, and the best books that have been written on the subject are from his pen. His works on "Hilarius of Poitiers," on "Martin of Tours," and others, are highly

valued.

As the Old Catholics retain on the whole the principles of the Roman Catholic Church, except the unconditional submission to the Pope, no systematic efforts could be made for the consolidation and extension of the Church until they had a bishop. They are now in a position to show what force there may be in their movement, and it is generally believed that no man could have been so useful a bishop to the Church as Reinkens. From what thus far has taken place, it would seem that the Church constitution of the Old Catholic Church, when fully finished, will greatly resemble that of the Protestant Episcopal Church of the United States. The third Old Catholic Congress, which in September will be held in Constance, will adopt a law regulating the constitution of the Congregations and of the Synod. The formal recognition of the Old Catholic Bishop by the Government of Prussia is shortly expected.

In the meanwhile the Government of Prussia asserts its authority against the schemes of the Roman Catholic hierarchy with great firmness. As the bishops refused to have their institutions, which are supported by the

State, examined by the State Inspectors, the Government has declared that it no longer recognizes them as State institutions. It will no longer pay any salaries to the professors, nor any subsidies for the support of the buildings; nor will it recognize any certificates of study that will be given to its pupils. If this complication continues for several years it may place the Roman Catholic bishops in a very awkward position, for if the Government does not recognize the priests educated in the Episcopal seminaries, the Roman Catholic Church may soon see herself wholly disestablished and the Old Catholic Church gradually supplant her.

GREEK CHURCH.

SINCE the beginning of the year 1872, there exists in the Church of Russia a religious society which bids fair to exercise a great influence, not only upon this Church itself, but also upon its relation to the other great divisions of the Christian world. The Society calls it the "Association of the Friends of Ecclesiastical Enlightening," and contains among its most active members the young theologians who have studied at the German universities, and who on that account take a special interest in the religious movements of the Roman Catholic and Protestant Churches. The Grand Duke Constantine, the brother of the Emperor, is the patron of the Association, and takes often an active part in its proceedings. The Society officially states its objects to be as follows: 1. To promote the intercourse between our clergy and the secular society, and the exchange of opinions on questions concerning the Orthodox Church. 2. The diffusion of correct views on the true doctrine, the history, and the present wants of the Orthodox Church, by means of books and lectures, both scientific and popular. 3. To entertain communications with the champions of orthodox truth in foreign countries, to give to them a moral support, and to contribute to the enlightenment of the public opinion of foreign countries concerning the Orthodox Church. With regard to the first and second points it is said: "One of the chief public calamities of our time is the indifference of the laity with regard to the questions and wants of Church life. In our country also society derives too little advantage from the enlightening of the Church. The clergy has assumed the organization and the habits of a caste, and the Russian Church itself is exposed to attacks upon its pretended lethargy, though this is by no means an inherent quality of orthodoxy. Our first and most important task consists, therefore, in our activity at home. According to our programme we must endeavor to awaken in the orthodox society an interest in religious questions, and as much as possible to bring the laity and the clergy nearer to each other." As regards the third question, the Secretary of the Society, Alexander Kiriyev, in his report on the year 1872-1873, remarks: "No one who watches public opinion can have failed to see the interest which Russia has taken in the great religious events of the Western countries. The intense attention with which the whole Russian society has followed these events and the religious questions of the age in general, which formerly were regarded as

the exclusive domain of the clergy, proved the advantage and the necessity of founding a society which can serve as a center for all who take an active interest in religious questions, and as a bond of union for clergy and laity, giving to both an opportunity for common action. We can no longer think of separating ourselves from the remainder of the Christain world by a Chinese wall; for we must not forget that the community of interests among civilized nations is not on the decrease, but steadily on the increase. No, we are not indifferent to what happens in the remainder of Europe; it is not the same to us what other Christians think of us. It is true, we have been for ten centuries without the sympathy of the West, which was arrayed against us in hostile opposition; it blamed us because it did not know us. But at present, when the most educated representatives of the Catholic Church loudly express their hopes for reconciliation between the Orthodox East and the separated West, indifference toward this cause would be a crime; it would prove that we pray for Christian union with our lips, but not with our hearts." In the third meeting of the Society Professor Katanski delivered an interesting address on the former attempts to reunite the Greek Oriental and the Roman Catholic Churches. He distinguishes three periods in the history of these attempts. The first, from the eleventh century to the downfall of the Byzantine Empire, is the period of the official attempts, mostly proceeding from political combinations. In the second period the Popes and the Jesuits endeavored to bring about a union, as a means to draw the Greek Oriental Church over to a "pure Latinism.” In the present age, for the first time, the conviction is gaining ground that the religious reunion of the Western world with the East cannot be effected by coercive measures of a political character, nor by dialectic discussions and shrewd Jesuitic schemes, but that it must be the fruit of the quiet work of religious ideas and the progress of religious life in the West. On the other hand, the speaker admits that the East also must have its revival, on the character of which he expresses the following views: "The East must previously be born again, both politically and intellectually, must emancipate itself from the external fetters which now oppress it, must raise the level of its education, produce a rich theological literature, compel the Western nations to read and respect it, and in this way enable the West to arrive at a correct understanding and appreciation of the East, which is first requisite for bringing the two parts of the Christian world nearer to each other. The regeneration of the East has begun, but it is not yet complete. The whole of the East is not yet politically free, (Turkey); and the intellectual regeneration is still far from being accomplished; therefore the East is not yet regarded by the West as its peer, nor can it regard itself as a peer; and in its oppressed condition it keeps aloof from the proud brother who feels his superiority. It has not yet reached that condition of security from abroad and vitality within which would enable it joyfully to entertain the idea of sharing with its brother the old treasure which it has kept inviolate."

THE MOHAMMEDAN WORLD.

THE number of countries in which Mohammedanism is the predominant religion, or at least a great power, is still considerable. There are about six and a half millions of Mohammedans in Europe, nearly eighty millions in Asia, and almost quite as many in Africa. It is a remarkable circumstance, that by far the most powerful Mohammedan ruler of the globe, the Sultan of Turkey, resides in Europe, where the Islam has only a population of about four and a half millions in the Turkish and two millions in the Russian dominions. Even the Sultan himself has in the European division of his empire more Christian subjects than Mohammedan. In Asia Mohammedanism strongly predominates in Asiatic Turkey, which has a Mohammedan population of at least thirteen millions. Persia, with its five millions, is an almost exclusively Mohammedan country. The same is the case with Afghanistan, Beloochistan, and the Khanates of Independent Tartary. In China the Mohammedans constitute a compact body, both in the North-west and in the South-western provinces. In both places they have endeavored to establish their independence. In the North-west they have so far succeeded that the new Mohammedan empire of Yakoob Kushbegi has for several years successfully maintained its independence, and is still extending its boundaries. On the other hand, the Mohammedan rebels in the Southwest, the so-called Panthay, have during the present year succumbed to the victorious Chinese armies. The death of their Sultan and the destruction of their capital, Talifu, and their other principal places, seem for the present to have put an end, not only to their rule in those regions, but even to their political influence. In the vast British Empire of India the Mohammedan population is estimated at about twenty-five millions, and predominates in a number of the native States which are British dependencies. The Mohammedans also constitute à majority of the population of the large and important island of Java, where they are rapidly increasing; and on the island of Sumatra they control, among others, the kingdom of Acheen, which has of late attracted so great attention by its conflict with the Netherlands. Russia has in its Asiatic possessions a Mohammedan population of about one million five hundred thousand. In Africa, Mohammedanism has, since the beginning of the present century, made great progress in the negro States, and has in particular become the controlling power of Central Africa, and advanced westward as far as Liberia. According to the latest estimates the Mohammedans of Africa are believed to constitute a population of about seventy-seven millions, among a total population of about one hundred and ninety-two millions. Morocco, Algeria, Tunis, Tripoli, Egypt, Zanzibar, are all Mohammedan States; in the South and South-west they do not anywhere predominate, although they are found every-where in increasing numbers.

Although Mohammedanism, since the beginning of the present century, has conquered a considerable territory in Central Africa, it is