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National Council of Congregational Churches in the

1910 New Catholic Dictionary

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A Protestant Church, founded by Robert Browne (born 1550), at Norwich, England. It was originally called Brownism, and Independence or Independency, in dissent from the Anglican Church; its members were called Independents; Separatists, or Brownists. It was the Pilgrim Fathers, or Puritans, who adopted the name Congregationalism which was later used in England, where the sect prospered under Cromwell, one of their leaders. The Congregational Union of England and Wales was formed in 1833, and revised in 1871. The official title in the United States is National Council of Congregational Churches in the United States. Affiliated with it since October 20, 1925, is the Evangelical Protestant Association of Congregational Churches, formerly the Evangelical Protestant Churches of North America. Each Congregational church is autonomous and yet there is interdependence, or loose union among the churches, resulting from various efforts at consolidation. A Statement of Faith, adopted at Kansas City in 1913, is the sole creed of Congregationalism in America; it subscribes to the freedom of the individual soul and the independence of each local church. Four periodicals are published. Foreign missionary work of the Congregational Church is carried on through the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions in Southern and West Central Africa, the Turkish Empire, India, Ceylon, China, Japan, Philippine Islands, Pacific Islands, Mexico, Spain, Austria, and the Balkans.