as university and Church schools increase, there is a steady decrease in the number of private schools. From 1854 to 1865 one hundred and sixty-eight institutions of this kind disappeared, from 1865 to 1876 one hundred and sixty-three, and at present no more than four hundred and ninety-four are left. If the increase of the Church and State institutions goes on as before, it may be expected that in twenty years hardly any private schools will remain in France, and that then the great battle between Catholic and university education will be fought. The Revue greatly regrets the disappearance of the private institutions, which, in its opinion, represent the principle of a direct and active concurrence of the family in education. It regrets this difference all the more because it cannot fully sympathize with either of the two extensive systems which remain, the Catholic education and the university education. The former represents a fanaticism with which no one but an ultramontane Catholic can be in sympathy; but the latter is too destitute of that religious and moral influence without which no education can be successful.

ART. IX.—FOREIGN RELIGIOUS INTELLIGENCE.
OLD CATHOLICS.

The Christian Catholic Church of Switzerland held its fourth annual synod at Aargau on May 25. The work of the synod was this year fin ished up within a few hours, in one day. The most important decision of the synod referred to the reception of the communion in both kinds. On this subject the French-speaking and German-speaking congregations have been for two years divided. The French have contended that a eucharist in one kind is, if not invalid, at least imperfect. The Germans, whose chosen speaker this year was Pfarrer Geschwind, stoutly contend for the validity of the administration in one kind, and fear that the reform would raise doubtful questionings with a population very much mixed among Protestants. The synod agreed upon a compromise worded as follows: 1. Communion in both kinds is likewise Catholic and permissible; 2. The right of introducing the same is reserved to the cantonal and district synods, and to the congregational boards of the Church, particularly in those cantons in which no superior authority exists. With regard to holy days, the synod determined that only Christ mas, New Year's, Ascension, and All Saints' days should be regarded as high festivals when they fall on week days, and that other holy days should be either discontinued or else transferred to the next Sunday;

but, on the other hand, that Good Friday should be "kept holy in a way corresponding to its high importance." The delegates to the synod numbered one hundred and twenty. From the statistical report, submitted by Bishop Herzog, it appears that there were 61 organized parishes, in which 75 clergymen labored. A net gain of 5 priests had been made during the year, notwithstanding 11 secessions. Nine students of the theological faculty at Berne had been ordained, and 11 students were still preparing for the ministry. The total number of adherents in all Switzerland was computed by the bishop at 80,000 to 95,000. In comparison with the statistics of the preceding year there was an increase of 624 in the number of children under religious instruction, (3, 606,) of 133 in the number of young persons admitted to the holy communion, (1,018,) of 71 in the number of persons buried by the priests of the Church, (713;) there was, on the other hand, a decrease of 82 in the number of baptisms, (1,100,) and of 43 in the number of marriages, (233.) The number of parishes was not reported in 1877; in 1876 it was 55; so that from 1876 to 1878 the increase of organized parishes was 6. The majority of the congregations speak French; but the German congregations exhibit a larger aggregate membership and a more rapid progress. German Switzerland, as the bishop states, exceeds the 32 parishes of French Switzerland, from which reports were received, of 1,200 in the number of children under religious instruction, of 618 in the number of young persons admitted to holy communion, of 404 in the number of baptisms, of 166 in the number of marriages, and of 123 in the number of burials.

Shortly after the synod a parish was fully organized in St. Gall, the capital of the canton of the same name. Adding this new parish to those mentioned in Bishop Herzog's report, the Christian Catholic Church was, about the middle of 1878, fully constituted in eight of the twenty-two cantons of Switzerland. The following statistical table-which exhibits the total and the Roman Catholic population of these cantons, the number of Roman Catholic parishes in 1865, and of Christian Catholic parishes in 1878-will give a clear statistical view of the present condition of the Christian Catholic Church:

The Catholic population of these eight cantons constitutes more than two fifths of the entire Catholic population of Switzerland. The governments of all these cantons protect and favor the Christian Catholic Church. In all of them, especially in the German cantons of Aargau,

St. Gall, and Solothurn, a number of further accessions are expected. Among the fourteen cantons which have as yet no Christian Catholic congregation there are five and a half in which the Protestant Churches predominate, and in which the cantonal governments may be supposed to sympathize more or less with the reformatory movement. These cantons are Appenzell, (Outer Rhodes,) Glarus, Graubünden, Schaffhausen, Thurgau, Vaud. They had, according to the census of 1870, a total population of 538,213, and a Catholic population of 82,249, and, in 1865, 162 Catholic parishes. As there are no obstacles in any of these cantons to the establishment of Christian Catholic congregations, adding the Catholic population of these cantons to that of the first group, we find that more than one half of the Catholic population of Switzerland lives under cantonal governments which may be expected to protect and favor the reformatory Church. In the other eight and a half cantons, which have as yet no Christian Catholic congregation, the immense majority of the population belongs to the Roman Catholic Church, the cantonal authorities are wholly under ultramontane influence, and, although the constitution of Switzerland guarantees the freedom of religion to every Swiss citizen, it would not be safe for the friends of the reformatory movement to attempt an organization. It is, however, a noteworthy fact that in the largest Catholic city of Switzerland, Luzerne, a considerable majority of the inhabitants favor the reform movement, and the organization of a congregation has only been postponed by the hope of the Christian Catholics to take with them, at the final separation, a fair proportion of the Church property.

The Old Catholic Church of Germany passed, in 1878, through a severe crisis, and was at the end of the year in any thing but a flourishing condition. At its fifth synod, which was held, as in former years, at Bonn, the vexed question of priestly celibacy was decided by the adoption of a resolution in favor of its abolition. The synodal council, in compliance with the request of the previous synod, had prepared a report on the legal aspects of the question. Its conclusion was, that in Prussia, Hesse, and Baden no legal hinderances stood in the way of a priest's marriage, and that the Governments of these States would regard it as a purely inner Church question. In Bavaria, on the other hand, where the jurisdiction of the Old Catholic bishop had not yet been acknowledged, it was expected that the abolition of priestly celibacy would induce the Government to treat the Old Catholics henceforth as a non Catholic sect. The synodal council, therefore, advised the synod to postpone, by a formal vote, the decision on the question until 1883. The majority of the synod was, however, in favor of a decisive resolution, and, after various compromises had been offered, a resolution was adopted by seventy-five against twenty-two votes, which declared: 1. That the law of compulsory celibacy is only a question of discipline, not of doctrine. 2. That it is not in harmony with the spirit of the Gospel and with the spirit of the Catholic Church. 3. That thereby scandalous and immoral offenses are induced. 4. That a voluntary celibacy is by no means

to be condemned; but, 5. That the canonical prohibition of clerical marriage, from subdeacon upward, shall be no longer binding on the Old Catholic Church. Nineteen priests and fifty-six lay deputies voted for the abolition, and the bishop and five priests, with sixteen laymen, against it. Among the majority are found the names of the vicar-general, Dr. Knoodt, Professors Von Schulte, Weber, Michelis, and Lutterbeck. The synodal council voted exactly level, two clerics and two laymen for and against. The archbishop of Utrecht sent, in the name of the Old Catholic Church of Holland, a letter warning the German Church against the abolition. The statistical report showed a total of Old Catholics in Germany of 51,864 souls-a slight falling off since last year. But the number of enrolled members had increased by about 250, a sign that the cause has made greater progress among young unmarried men. The largest falling off is in Bavaria. Baden lags behind, and only Prussia shows an increase. In consequence of the synod's decision against compulsory celibacy Professors Reusch and Friederich at once withdrew from the synod. Subsequently Professors Langen and Menzel also severed their connection with the synodal council. At a convention of the Old Catholics of Bavaria a resolution was passed to consider the decision of the synod as not binding for the Old Catholics of Bavaria."

In Austria the Old Catholics were acknowledged on October 17, 1877, as an independent religious body, under the designation of "Old Catholic Church." Old Catholic congregations are, however, not regarded according to the new Austrian law as fully organized until they have a pastor against whom the State Government raises no objection. Thus the congregation of Vienna was not fully organized until September 29, 1878, when a pastor whose election had been approved by the Government was solemnly inducted into his office. The sympathies with the Old Catholic cause appear still to be widely extended, and great hopes are now again entertained with regard to its further progress.

The interests of the Old Catholic Church of Italy are actively supported before the public by the bishop elect, Prota-Giurleo, and its literary organ, the Emancipatore Cattolico of Naples. In its last number for 1877, the Emancipatore gave a review of the National Church during the year, and explained the delay in the consecration of the bishop by the complications attending the Eastern war. "But we are satisfied," it said, "with the significant increase in the number of our adherents, especially among the high dignitaries of the Church and the laity of the southern provinces, especially in Calabria, Apulia, Basilicata, and Salerno," It also stated that the relations with the representatives of the Old Catholic movement in Germany, Switzerland, and France had become very cordial and intimate, and that proofs of fraternal sympathy had been received from the Church in the United States. Since then, the Emancipatore has declared that it was authorized to announce that the consecration of the bishop-elect, and the complete organization of the Church, were near at hand.

ART. X.-FOREIGN LITERARY INTELLIGENCE.

GERMANY.

Of the revised and enlarged edition of Herzog's Theological Cyclopedia, three volumes, extending to the close of the letter D, are completed, (Real-Encyclopädie für Protestantische Theologie und Kirche. New York: Westermann & Co.) The great hope which the theologians of the entire Protestant world have expressed with regard to this work are realized. The new edition of the Cyclopedia is more than a revised edition of the original work; it is an entirely new work, giving on every subject treated an abundance of information which can hardly be found to the same extent in any other work. It is indispensable to any one who wishes to acquaint himself with the results of theological science in Germany, and the library of no theological institution should, therefore, be without it. We have noticed a few inaccuracies and omissions. Thus, in the article Australia, the statement on the Episcopal dioceses omits the dioceses of New Castle and Bathurst, and that on the Roman Catholic Church, the archbishopric of Melbourne, which was erected in 1874, and the bishoprics of Ballarat, Sandhurst, Hobarton, Bathurst, Maitland, Goulburn, Armidale, and Brisbane. (See Methodist Quarterly Review, 1877, p. 732.) The articles on the States of South America, all of which are very meager, should mention among the works of reference, Neher, Kirchliche Statistik, Vol. III, which contains much more information on these States than any of the works that are mentioned. Of course, a few imperfections of this kind in no way diminish the superior merit of the work.

Another of the best German Cyclopedias, the comprehensive Cyclopedia of Education, by K. Schmid, (Encyclopädie des Erziehung, und Unterrichtswesens,) has just been completed by the appearance of Volume XI. The first volume was published in 1859. The first and second volumes of the work have recently appeared in a new edition, and the third and fourth volumes soon will. Though not chiefly theological, this work treats on many subjects of importance for theologians, and it is throughout written from an evangelical point of view.

A valuable work on the history of Protestantism in Roman Catholic countries has been begun by Pressel, under the title: Bausteine zur Geschichte des Gustav Adolf Vereins, (Freienwalde, 1877, and 1878.) The first volume (Das Evangelium in Spanien) traces the history of Protestantism in Spain; the second, by L. Witte, treats of Italy.

Among the editions of the Apostolic Fathers, that by Dr. Hefele, now bishop of Rottenburg, is highly valued. A fifth revised edition has recently been published by Professor Funk, of the University of Tübingen. (Opera Patrum Apostolicorum, Tübingen, 1878.)