The piety of Dr. Doddridge was accompanied with the warmest benevolence to his fellow-creatures. No one could more strongly feel that the love of God was to be united with love to man. Nor was this a principle that rested in kind wishes and pathetic feelings for the happiness of others, but it was manifested in the most active exertions for their welfare. No scheme of doing good was ever suggested to him into which he did not enter with ardor. But the generosity of his mind was most displayed when any plans of propagating religion, and of spreading the gospel among those who were strangers to it, were proposed. In every thing of this kind he was always ready to take the lead, and was ardent in endeavoring to inspire his friends with the same spirit.

He was of a weak and delicate bodily constitution; and a severe cold which he caught about the forty-eighth year of his age, brought on a consumption of the lungs. The nearer he approached to his dissolution, the more plainly was observed his continual improvement in a spiritual and heavenly temper. Indeed, he seemed to have risen above the world, and to be daily breathing after immortality. This disposition of his mind was ardently expressed in several of his letters, and is manifest from his will, which was made at this time, and is prefaced in the following language:—"Whereas it is customary, on these occasions, to begin with commending the soul into the hands of God, through Christ, I do it; not in mere form, but with sincerity and joy; esteeming it my greatest happiness, that I am taught and encouraged to do it, by that glorious gospel, which, having most assuredly believed, I have spent my life in preaching to others; and which I esteem an infinitely greater treasure than all my little worldly store, or possessions ten thousand times greater than mine."

A short time before his death, he had been induced to try the mild air of the south; but change of climate did not produce the desired effect, and Dr. Doddridge continued gradually to weaken, till death put a period to his afflictions. In his last hours, he preserved the same calmness, vigor, and joy of mind, which he had felt and expressed through the whole of his illness. The only pain he had in the thought of dying, was the fear of that grief and distress which his wife would suffer from his removal. To his children, his congregation, and his friends in general, he desired to be remembered in the most affectionate manner; nor did he, in the effusions of his pious benevolence, forget the family where he lodged, or his own servant. Many devout sentiments and aspirations were uttered by him; but the heart of his wife was too much affected with his approaching change to be able to recollect them distinctly. Though he died in a foreign land, and, in a certain sense, among strangers, his decease was embalmed with many tears. His age was 49 years.



John Murray.

A distinguished preacher of Universalism in the United States, born in Alton, county of Hampshire, England, on the 10th of December, 1741.

When he had attained his eleventh year, the family removed to Ireland, in the vicinity of Cork. While here, he was converted to Methodism, and gained the attention of John Wesley, by whom he was appointed a class-leader. He was very earnest and devout in his religious exercises, and was regarded by his brethren as a valuable accession to their church. About this time his father died, and he shortly after left Ireland for England. He took up his residence in London, and was gradually led into gay society. The secret monitor, however, frequently reproached him, and finally brought him back again to the services of the sanctuary, and quickened the flame of religious devotion. At this time his prejudices against Universalism were very strong; his soul "kindled with indignation" against them. But, shortly after his marriage to a very amiable young lady of London, he was induced to visit Mr. Relly's chapel, the preacher of universal salvation; and, notwithstanding he had been so filled with wrath against Mr. Relly, that, as he subsequently said, he thought it would have been doing both God and man service to kill him, yet he was moved to tenderness by his preaching and subsequently became an attendant on his ministry. Rich were the consolations enjoyed by him and his amiable wife in their new faith. But great sorrows awaited him; she sickened and died; and the death-scene is described by himself, in his autobiography, with thrilling effect. He would gladly have accompanied her to the spirit-world. He was now alone; he felt himself a solitary being; he had no taste for the joys of life; his mind dwelt only on death and eternity; he was unfitted for society; and in this state of mind, Providence seems to have directed his thoughts to America. He resolved to embark; and, in the month of September, 1770, he landed upon the shores of New Jersey. Here he became at once acquainted with a philanthropic landholder, by the name of Thomas Potter, who, in the belief that God would send him a preacher, had erected a meeting-house, and who insisted that Murray was the man whom God had sent. In this house Murray commenced his labors as a preacher; and from this time, he is to be contemplated as the public advocate of Universalism, on the system of Relly. He soon visited the city of New York, and various other cities and towns in the Middle States, preaching the gospel whithersoever he went. His first visit to Boston was made in October, 1773, and his second in September, 1774. It was during this second visit that he was stoned in the pulpit of Rev. Mr. Croswell, in School Street. About this time he visited Gloucester, Massachusetts, which was afterwards his residence for many years. In 1775, he was appointed by General Washington chaplain to the Rhode Island troops, in the army then lying around Boston. He soon, however, returned to his charge in Gloucester, where he remained, making frequent visits to different parts of the United States, until October, 1793, when he was ordained pastor of the First Universalist Society in Boston, which had purchased the house of worship formerly occupied by the society of Dr. Samuel Mather. His labors were not confined to this society, however; in one respect he was a minister at large; he continued his itinerant habits, more or less, until October, 1809, when he was stricken with the palsy. He lived nearly six years after this affliction, and expired on the third day of September, 1815. He was buried in the Granary burying-ground, where his remains were suffered to lie unhonored until 1837, when they were removed to Mount Auburn, and a monument was erected to his memory. The monument is a beautiful fluted column, surmounted by an urn. It is encircled by a belt, or tablet, on which two inscriptions are placed; on one side—

"JOHN MURRAY, Preacher of the Gospel; born in Alton, England, December 10, 1741; died in Boston, September 3, 1815; reentombed beneath this stone, June 8, 1837."

On the opposite side—

"Erected at the recommendation of the United States General Convention of Universalists."



Elhanan Winchester.

A distinguished advocate of Universalism, born in Brookline, Massachusetts, September 30, 1751. In his nineteenth year, he was converted, under the preaching of the Baptists; and it was by his labors that the present Baptist society in Newton was originally gathered. In the autumn of 1774, he made a journey to the Southern States. Early in 1778, he first saw Siegvolk's "Everlasting Gospel," a work which originally appeared in Holland, but which had been translated and published by the Mennonites of Pennsylvania. It made a very deep impression upon his mind. In 1779, he came back to New England, his convictions of the truth of Universalism increasing upon him daily. He set out on his return to South Carolina in the autumn of 1780, and arrived at Philadelphia on the 7th of October. Here he intended to remain but a few days; but God evidently had a great work for him to do in this place. Even his enemies acknowledged that his "manner of preaching was popular, his address very fascinating, and his appearance dignified and commanding." The Baptist church in that city invited him to tarry and preach to them, and he at length consented. About this time he read "Stonehouse on Universal Restitution," which served to confirm him greatly in his belief of that doctrine. Notwithstanding his great popularity, a discontent began to show itself in certain members of the church. He foresaw that a storm was rising, and he determined to prepare for it; not (to use his words) "by denying what I had said, but by more fully examining, and determining for myself, whether the sentiment was according to Scripture, or not. If I found it was not, I was determined to retract; but if it was, to hold it fast, let the consequences be what they might." Such was his truly Christian resolution. He avowed his belief in the final happiness of all men.

A majority of the church were in his favor; but, being a man of remarkably peaceful disposition, he did not urge them to press their claims to the meeting-house; but they retired to the hall of the university, where they held their meetings for about four years, until they purchased a place for themselves. During the rest of his life, he is to be viewed as the public advocate of universal restitution. There were several eminent men who adhered to him, and among others, Dr. Redman, and the celebrated Dr. Benjamin Rush, who remained his correspondent when he was in Europe. Added to all his other troubles, his domestic afflictions were very great. At the age of thirty-two, he had buried four wives. The fifth was a desperate fury, who gave him great trouble as long as he lived. After preaching about six years in Philadelphia, he was seized with an irresistible impulse to visit England. No persuasions could divert him from the purpose; and in September, 1787, he arrived, almost penniless, and a total stranger, in the great metropolis of the British empire. He preached in different parts of London, and, by his fervid eloquence and earnest defence of the restoration, he soon gathered a congregation, who took for him the chapel in Parliament Court, in which he held his meetings until his departure for America. He spent six years and a half in this country, laboring assiduously to bring men to the knowledge of the truth; and a deep and wide impression was made by his labors. In consequence of the ill treatment he experienced from his wife, he was obliged to leave her; and he quitted England privately, and came home, filling the friends whom he had left behind with amazement, being ignorant at first what had befallen him. He arrived in Boston in July, 1794. Various were the speculations in this country in regard to his return. But he commenced at once his labors as a preacher, travelling in several of the states,—visited his former friends in Philadelphia, where he was joined by his wife, who had come home to America, and whom he freely forgave. It became evident, about this time, that his health was greatly impaired; and an increasing asthma foretold a fatal termination. He came to Hartford, Connecticut, in October, 1796, and raised a congregation, to which he preached until he could preach no more. In April, 1797, he delivered a sermon, under a strong presentiment that it was his last, from St. Paul's farewell address to the elders of the Ephesian church. He never entered the desk again. He contemplated his death with serenity and joy. On the morning of his decease, he commenced singing the hymn with several of his friends,—"Farewell, my friends in Christ below," but his voice soon faltered, and the torpor of death fell on him. His friends became disconcerted, and ceased to sing; but he revived a little, and encouraged them to go on, joining in the first line of each verse, until his voice was actually "lost in death." This was on the 18th of April, 1797, in the 47th year of his age. His funeral sermon was preached by Rev. Dr. Strong, of Hartford, who bore a frank testimony to Mr. Winchester's excellent character, and his final constancy in the doctrine he had preached.

The following is the inscription on the stone erected to his memory:—

"The General Convention of the Universal Churches, in Memory of their dear departed Brother, the REV. ELHANAN WINCHESTER, erected this Monumental Stone.

He died April 18th, 1797, aged 46 years.

Twas thine to preach, with animated zeal, The glories of the resurrection morn, When sin, death, hell, the power of Christ shall feel, And light, life, immortality, be born."



Saint Genevieve.

Born at Nanterre, about five miles from Paris, in the year 423, about the time of Pharamond, the first king of France. St. Germain, bishop of Auxerre, observing in her, when yet very young, a particular disposition to sanctity, advised her to take a vow of perpetual virginity, which she accordingly did in the presence of the bishop of Paris. After the death of her parents, she went to Paris. The city was about to be deserted, when Attila, with his Huns, broke into France; but Genevieve assured the inhabitants of complete security, if they would seek it by fervent prayers. Attila took his course from Champaigne to Orleans, returned thence into Champaigne, without touching Paris, and was defeated in 451. By this event, Genevieve's reputation was established. In a time of famine, she went along the River Seine, from city to city, and soon returned with twelve large vessels loaded with grain, which she distributed gratuitously among the sufferers. This increased her authority, and she was highly honored by Merovaeus and Chilperic. Nothing, however, contributed more to her reputation for sanctity, than the circumstance, that, from her fifteenth to her fiftieth year, she ate nothing but barley-bread, except that she took some beans every two or three weeks, and, after her fiftieth year, some fish and milk. In 460, she built a church over the graves of St. Dionysius Rusticus and Eleutherius, near the village of Chasteville, where Dagobert afterwards founded the abbey of St. Denys. She died in 499 or 501, and her body was placed in the subterraneous chapel which St. Denys had consecrated to the apostles Paul and Peter. Clovis, by her request, built a church over it, which was afterwards called by her name, as was also the abbey that was founded there. Another church, consecrated to this saint, was built adjoining to the church of Notre Dame. Her relics are preserved in the former. The church celebrates the third of January, the day on which she died, in honor of her.



Gilbert Burnet.

Bishop of Salisbury, was born at Edinburgh, in the year 1643. He was carefully educated by his father; and, having a strong constitution and a prodigious memory, he applied himself closely to study, and acquired a great portion of learning and knowledge, which he seemed to have ready for all occasions. He travelled through France, Italy, and Holland, where he formed connections with many of the greatest persons of his time, by whom he was much respected for his talents and virtues. At Amsterdam, he became acquainted with the leading men of the different persuasions tolerated in the United Provinces—Calvinists, Arminians, Lutherans, Anabaptists, Brownists, Roman Catholics, and Unitarians; amongst each of which, he used frequently to declare, he met with men of such unfeigned piety and virtue, that he became strongly fixed in a principle of universal charity, and an invincible abhorrence of all severities on account of religious opinions.

The following sentiments, which he solemnly uttered towards the conclusion of his days, are very expressive of the nature and power of true religion, and of its influence upon his own mind:—

"I recommend," he observes, "to all sorts of men, in the most serious manner, the study and practice of religion, as that which is the most important of all things, and which is both the light of the world, and the salt of the earth.

"Nothing so opens our faculties, and composes and directs the whole man, as an inward sense of God; of his authority over us; of the laws he has set us; of his eye ever upon us; of his hearing our prayers, assisting our endeavors, watching over our concerns; of his being to judge, and reward or punish, us in another state, according to what we have done in this. Nothing will give us such a detestation of sin, and such a sense of the goodness of God, and of our obligations to holiness, as a right understanding and firm belief of the Christian religion.

"By living according to the rules of religion, a man becomes the wisest, the best, and the happiest creature that he is capable of being. Honest industry, the employing of time well, a constant sobriety, an undefiled purity and chastity, with continued serenity, are the best preservatives, too, of life and health; so that, take a man as an individual, religion is his guard, his perfection, his beauty, and his glory. This will make him a light in the world, shining brightly, and enlightening many round about him.

"Thus religion, if truly received and sincerely adhered to, would prove the greatest of all blessings to a nation. But by religion I understand something more than receiving particular doctrines, though ever so true, or professing them, and engaging to support them, even with zeal and eagerness. What signify the best doctrines, if men do not live suitably to them; if they have not a due influence upon their thoughts and their lives? Men of bad lives, with sound opinions, are self-condemned, and lie under a highly-aggravated guilt.

"By religion I do not mean an outward compliance with forms and customs, in going to church, to prayers, to sermons, and to sacraments, with an external show of devotion; or, which is more, with some inward forced good thoughts, in which many satisfy themselves, while these have no visible effect on their lives, nor any inward force to control and rectify their appetites, passions, and secret designs. These customary performances, how good and useful soever when understood and rightly directed, are of little value when men rest on them, and think, because they do them, they have acquitted themselves of their duty, though they still continue proud, covetous, full of deceit, envy, and malice. Even secret prayers, the most effectual means, are designed for a higher end; which is, to possess our minds with such a constant and present sense of divine truths, as may make these live in us, and govern us, and draw down such assistance, as to exalt and sanctify our natures.

"So that, by religion, I mean such a sense of divine truth as enters into a man, and becomes the spring of a new nature within him; reforming his thoughts and designs; purifying his heart; sanctifying and governing his whole deportment, his words as well as his actions; convincing him that it is not enough not to be scandalously vicious, or to be innocent in his conversation, but that he must be entirely, uniformly, and constantly, pure and virtuous, animated with zeal to be still better and better, more eminently good and exemplary.

"This is true religion, which is the perfection of human nature, and the joy and delight of every one that feels it active and strong within him. It is true, this is not arrived at all at once, and it will have an unhappy alloy, hanging long even about a good man; but, as those ill mixtures are the perpetual grief of his soul, so that it is his chief care to watch over and to mortify them, he will be in a continual progress, still gaining ground upon himself; and as he attains to a degree of purity, he will find a noble flame of life and joy growing up in him. Of this I write with a greater concern and emotion, because I have felt it to be the true, and, indeed, the only joy which runs through a man's heart and life. It is this which has been, for many years, my greatest support. I rejoice daily in it. I feel from it the earnest of that supreme joy which I want and long for; and I am sure there is nothing else which can afford any true and complete happiness."

This eminent scholar, Christian, and divine, departed this life on the seventeenth of March, 1714.



THEOLOGICAL SCHOOLS.

Name. Place. Denom. Open. Prof. Stud. Total. Bangor Bangor, Cong. 1816 3 43 139 Theol. Me. Seminary New Hampt. N. Baptist 1828 2 36 75 Theo. Inst. Hampt., N. H. Gilmanton Gilmanton Cong. 1835 3 26 21 Theol. Sem. do. Theological Andover, Cong. 1808 5 142 785 Seminary. Mass. Divinity Cambridge, Cong. 1816 2 27 191 Sch. Harv. do. Unit. Univ. Theological Newton, Baptist 1825 3 33 137 Institution do. Theol. Dep. N. Haven, Cong. 1822 3 61 245 Yale College Ct. Theol. Inst. E. Cong. 1834 3 29 37 of Conn. Windsor, do. Theol. Inst. New York, Prot. 1817 5 74 186 Epis. Church N. Y. Epis. New York do. do. Presbyt. 1836 4 129 Theol. Sem. Theol. Sem. Auburn, Presbyt. 1821 4 71 344 of Auburn do. Hamilton Hamilton, Baptist 1820 4 27 124 Lit. and Th. do. Inst. Hartwick Hartwick, Lutheran 1816 2 3 Seminary do. Theol. Sem. Newburgh, Ass. 1836 3 11 As. Ref. Ch. do. Ref. Ch. Th. Sem. N. Br'wick Dutch 1784 3 36 179 Dutch Ref. N. J. Ref. Ch. Theol. Sem. Princeton, Presbyt. 1812 5 113 714 Pr. Ch. U. do. S. Sem. Luth. Gettysburg, Evang. 1826 3 26 130 Ch. U. Pa. L. States German York, do. G. Ref. 1825 2 20 Reformed Ch. West. Theol. Alleghany Presbyt. 1828 2 31 175 Seminary T. do. Theological Canonsburg, Asso. 2 22 47 School do. Ch. Theological Pittsburg, Asso. 1828 1 19 Seminary do. Ref. Mercersburg Mercersburg, Theol. Sem. do. Epis. Theol. Fairfax Co., Prot. 1822 4 43 126 School of Va. Epis. Va. Union Theol. Pr. Ed. Co., Presbyt. 1824 3 20 175 Seminary do. Virginia Richmond, Baptist 1832 3 67 Baptist do. Seminary Southern Columbia, S. Presbyt. 1831 3 18 62 Theol. C. Seminary Theological Lexington, Lutheran 1835 2 10 20 Seminary do. Furman High Hills, Baptist 2 30 30 Theol. do. Seminary Lit. and Eaton, Ga. Baptist 1834 10 Theol. Seminary South-West. Maryville, Presbyt. 1821 2 24 90 Theol. Sem. Ten. Lane Cincinnati, Presbyt. 1829 3 61 43 Seminary Ohio. Theol. Dep, Gambier, do. Prot. 1828 3 10 Ken. College Epis. Theol. Dep. Hudson, do. Presbyt. 3 14 6 Wes. Res. Col. Theological Columbus, Lutheran School do. Granville Granville, Baptist 1832 2 8 Theol. Dep. do. Oberlin Oberlin, do. Presbyt. 1834 4 58 Theol. Dep. Indiana S. Hanover, Presbyt. 2 10 Theol. In. Seminary Alton Theol. Upper Alton, Baptist 1835 Seminary Il. Carlinville Carlinville, Presbyt. 1838 Theol. Sem. do. Theol. Dep. N. Palmyra, Presbyt. 1 Marion Col. Mo.

For a notice of the Roman Catholic seminaries, see page 325.

Progress Of Christianity.

M. LAFFON DE LADEBAT, of France, computes the number of Christians, in each century, since the Christian era, as follows:—

1st century 500,000 2d 2,000,000 3d 5,000,000 4th 10,000,000 5th 15,000,000 6th 30,000,000 7th 25,000,000 8th 30,000,000 9th 40,000,000 10th 50,000,000 11th 60,000,000 12th 70,000,000 13th 75,000,000 14th 80,000,000 15th 100,000,000 16th 125,000,000 17th 155,000,000 18th 200,000,000

Since the commencement of the nineteenth century, the number of Christians has increased, with great rapidity, in all parts of the world.



FOOTNOTES

1 The 21st of the former Articles is omitted, because it is partly of a local and civil nature, and is provided for, as to the remaining parts of it, in other Articles.

2 "As far as it respects civil affairs, we believe it the duty of Christians, and especially all Christian ministers, to be subject to the supreme authority of the country where they may reside, and to use all laudable means to enjoin obedience to the powers that be; and therefore it is expected that all our preachers and people, who may be under the British or any other government, will behave themselves as peaceable and orderly subjects."

3 "The question is, not whether God, all things considered, has purposed the existence of sin rather than to prevent it; but for what reason has he purposed it? Some affirm this reason to be, that sin is the necessary means of the greatest good. Now, what I claim, and all that I claim, is, that no one can prove this to be the reason why God has purposed the existence of sin, and that some other may be the true reason, without affirming what the true reason is."

4 The Exode did not begin until Terah's death; then Abraham left Haran, and the Exode began, as is clearly proved by Acts 7:4.

5 Exode in Egypt from Abraham to wilderness state.

6 Joshua was a young man when he came out of Egypt, (Exod. 33:11;) could not have been more than 45 years old then; 85 when he entered Canaan, and 110 when he died, leaves 25 years.

7 Judges begin. See Judges 2:7-15.

8 This ends the Judges,—448 years. Acts 13:20; also, chap. 8.

9 Samuel could not have been more than 38 when Eli died. Then, Israel was lamenting the loss of the ark more than 20 years. Samuel judged Israel some years after, and became old, and his sons judged Israel. He must have been 62 or 63 when Saul was made king.

10 See 2 Kings, chapters 14 and 15.

11 See Ferguson's Astronomy; also, Prideaux's Connection.

12 See BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.

13 17 churches, 16 ministers, and 2236 members, in this state, are included in the New York Association.

14 9 churches, 7 ministers, and 526 members, in this state, are included in the Mississippi Association.

15 Archbishop Cranmer was the first in this succession, at and after the Reformation; and Bishop White was the connecting link between the English and American successions.

16 The reader will perceive some difference in the dates, and also in the spelling between this list and the list of Bishops, p. 315. This difference arises from the following of different authorities in the chronology and spelling by the compilers of the two lists. It will be seen that they agree in the order of succession, with one or two exceptions. The fourth and fifth names in this list are generally considered as the same individual, and the best authorities place him before Clement. The other apparent differences in the succession are caused by the inserting in this list of the names of all who were in the see of Rome at any time; while in the other, those who were not lawful bishops of Rome are omitted.

THE END