Evangelical Alliance, the,
An association of Christians belonging to the
Evangelical Churches.
It was established Aug. 19-23, 1846, in
London by a world's convention of delegates from Christian denominations.
Its aim is to promote religious liberty, Christian union and co-operation, and it sprang from a general desire for united efforts among Protestants.
Its purpose is not towards organic union, nor church confederation, but simply towards a free Christian union of members from churches who hold fundamentally the same faith.
It claims no legislative nor official authority that could in any way affect the internal workings of any denomination, but relies solely on the moral power of love and truth.
When it was organized there were 800 Christians present, including Episcopalians, Presbyterians, Independents, Methodists, Baptists, Lutherans, Reformed, Moravians, etc., from
England,
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the
United States,
Germany,
France,
Switzerland, and other countries.
At that time the following articles were adopted:
1. The divine inspiration, authority, and sufficiency of the Holy Scriptures.
2. The right and duty of private judgment in the interpretation of the Holy Scriptures.
3. The unity of the Godhead, and the Trinity of the persons therein.
4. The utter depravity of human nature in consequence of the Fall.
5. The incarnation of the Son of God, his work of atonement for the sins of mankind, and his mediatorial intercession and reign.
6. The justification of the sinner by faith alone.
7. The work of the Holy Spirit in the conversion and sanctification of the sinner.
8. The immortality of the soul, the resurrection of the body, the judgment of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ, with the eternal blessedness of the righteous and the eternal punishment of the wicked.
9. The divine institution of the Christian ministry, and the obligation and perpetuity of the ordinances of baptism and the Lord's Supper.
In 1867 the
American branch of the
Alliance was founded, and adopted the above articles, with the following qualifying preamble:
Resolved, That in forming an Evangelical Alliance for the United States in co-operative union with other branches of the Alliance, we have no intention to give rise to a new denomination; or to effect an amalgamation of churches, except in the way of facilitating personal Christian intercourse and a mutual good understanding; or to interfere in any way whatever with the internal affairs of the various denominations; but simply to bring individual Christians into closer fellowship and co-operation, on the basis of the spiritual union which already exists in the vital relations of Christ to the members of his body in all ages and countries.
Resolved, That in the same spirit we propose no new creed; but, taking broad, historical, and evangelical catholic ground, we solemnly reaffirm and profess our faith in all the doctrines of the inspired Word of God, and in the consensus of doctrines as held by all true Christians from the beginning.
And we do more especially affirm our belief in the divinehuman person and atoning work of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, as the only and sufficient source of salvation, as the heart and soul of Christianity, and as the centre of all true Christian union and fellowship.
Resolved, That, with this explanation.
and in the spirit of a just Christian liberality in regard to the minor differences of theological schools and religious denominations, we also adopt, as a summary of the consensus of the various Evangelical Confessions of Faith, the Articles and Explanatory Statement set forth and agreed on by the Evangelical Alliance at its formation in London, 1846, and approved by the separate European organizations; which articles are as follows, etc.
The Evangelical Alliance since its origin has extended its work throughout the Protestant world.
It has no central authority and appears in active operation only from time to time, as it meets in general conference.
The character of these conferences are purely religious, lasting from ten to twelve days. The time is spent in prayer and praise, in discussions of the great religious questions of the day, and in brotherly communion.
Nine international meetings have thus far been held.
The first occurred in
London, 1851; the second in
Paris, 1855; the third in
Berlin, 1857; the fourth in
Geneva, 1861; the fifth in
Amsterdam, 1867; the sixth in New York, 1873; the seventh in
Basel, Switzerland, 1879; the eighth in
Denmark, 1884; and the ninth in
Italy, 1891.
The
United States branch held a national conference in
Chicago, 1893, in connection with the
Columbian World's Exposition.
The week of prayer, beginning with the first Sunday in each year, and now generally observed throughout Protestant Christendom, is one of the most important results obtained by the
Alliance.
