New volumes of the Encyclopædia Britannica > Volume 30, K-MOR

METKOYlC — METZ
725
its membership, enlarged its revenue, and expanded its
work. In the conduct of a training-school in Chicago
the need of a deaconess was felt; the office had been
introduced into the Methodist Church in Germany; and
memorials from the Conference, including Chicago and
other cities near it, were sent to the general Conference
asking for the authorization of deaconesses. These
memorials were greatly reinforced by a similar memorial
from Bengal in India, showing the imperative necessity of
deaconesses to the highest success of the mission. Pro¬
vision was made for their establishment in 1888. The
same institution has been established in other Methodist
denominations, especially in the Methodist Episcopal
Church, South, and with it are connected prosperous
hospitals; and generous bequests and benefactions have
been made to that class of institutions which also exist
independently. Philanthropic institutions, such as orphan
asylums, children’s homes, and homes for the aged, have
relatively absorbed a large part of the energies and bene¬
ficence of Methodism, particularly of its women. The
first Methodist Episcopal hospital in American Methodism,
founded some years before, was opened in 1886 in
Brooklyn, and the next in Philadelphia in 1892. So
rapidly has this movement spread that there are more
than thirty general hospitals under Methodist auspices.
The Methodist Episcopal Church, South, established equal
ministerial and lay representation in 1866, in the general Confer¬
ence, and lay representation in the annual Conference, in the pro¬
portion of four for each presiding elder’s district. The Methodist
Episcopal Church in 1872 introduced lay representation, limiting
the number of laymen to one for each Conference having but one
ministerial delegate, and in all other Conferences to two, whatever
the number of ministerial delegates. From time to time efforts have
been made to remove this limitation so as to make the representa¬
tion equal. This involved a change in the constitution, which can
be accomplished only by a vote of three-quarters of the members
of the annual Conferences and a two-thirds vote of the general
Conference. The first condition having been complied with
by the ministers, and the second by the general Conference in
May 1900, the restrictive rale was altered, and laymen, selected to
be in readiness, were admitted to seats. The Methodist Episcopal
Church, South, has largely increased its contributions for missions,
for Church extension, and for denominational education. Since the
overthrow of Spanish rule in Cuba it has established a mission in
that island, and in the spring of 1900 had a number of workers in
the field. The contributions for missions of the Methodist Epis¬
copal Church have increased since 1884 from $813,269 per annum
to $1,864,325 in 1901, and its missions, in number of societies
and members, in proportion. The missionary enterprises of all
Methodist denominations in nearly all pagan lands have prospered,
prejudices melting away and converts becoming so numerous as to
outrun the provisions for their training and organization. The
Woman’s Foreign Missionary Societies have contributed in very
large measure to these results. In the Methodist Episcopal Church
a controversy has prevailed on the eligibility of women to member¬
ship in the general Conference. Several in 1888 and 1896 appeared
with credentials in due form ; thus far the question is unsettled,
some opposing on principle and expediency, more on the ground
that the constitution must first be changed. Two ineffectual
efforts have been made to do this. The constitution of the
Methodist Episcopal Church has been entirely revised since
1900, and women are now eligible to seats in the general Con¬
ference. The changes made in the polity of the Methodist Epis¬
copal Church, South, in 1866, were so radical that there has been
no disposition since, or at most no widespread desire, to do more.
Occasionally a few, who meet with little support, advocate the aboli¬
tion of the life tenure of the bishops, or propose radical modifications
in the presiding eldership. The Methodist Protestant Church, the
largest non-episcopal body, is constantly raising the standard of its
ministerial qualifications and the grade of its preparatory schools
and colleges. It has revised its hymnal and its discipline, restricted
its church boards, and has had the satisfaction of seeing lay repre¬
sentation (the chief reform advocated by its founders) adopted by
those who rejected their propositions. At the general Conference
of 1884 the rule limiting a continuous pastorate to five years was
abolished, and a rule adopted giving each annual Conference
authority to decide for itself whether there should be any limit, or,
if any, what it shall be. The overture sent down to the Conferences
authorizing the ordination of women to the ministry, after much
discussion and agitation, was rejected. The Wesleyan Methodist
body, formed in 1843, though small, has a strong denominational
spirit, and is true to its fundamental and somewhat exclusive prin¬
ciples. These were tested in 1895, when the Church refused to
modify the rules relating to secret societies, dress, and furniture,
though an important Conference threatened disloyalty if it was not
done. They declared that on this question as a unit they would
survive or perish, and decided that, however few the members that
adhered to a Church in case of a rebellion, they should constitute
the Church and hold the Church property.
The African Methodist Episcopal Church has extended its
missions into British, French, and Dutch Guiana, Trinidad, St
Thomas, Hayti, Liberia, and Sierra Leone. This body has devoted
itself to education with extraordinary zeal and success, and for
this purpose it has raised within a few years above $1,000,000.
At the Conference of 1884 of the African Methodist Episcopal
Zion Church the word “male ” was struck out from the Discipline,
so that the sexes are equally eligible to all positions, lay and
clerical. It has been constantly growing in numbers and in zeal
for missions, education, and churchly order.
Statistics of American Methodists (1899).
Methodists.
1. Methodist Episcopal .
2. Union American Methodist
Episcopal
3. African Methodist Episcopal
4. African Union Methodist
Protestant
5. African Methodist Episcopal
Zion
6. Methodist Protestant .
7. Wesleyan Methodist .
8. Methodist Episcopal, South
9. Congregational Methodist
10. Congregational Methodist
(Coloured)
11. New Congregational Me
• thodist .
12. Zion Union Apostolic .
13. Coloured Methodist Epis
copal
14. Primitive
15. Free Methodist .
16. Independent Methodists
17. Evangelist Missionary .
Total Methodists .
Ministers.
16,771
175
6,179
63
3,475
1,647
699
6,166
345
192
30
2,061
68
1,003
8
48
38,935
Churches.
26,424
200
5,715
73
2,955
2,401
506
14,479
350
366
32
1,433
100
1,034
15
13
56,101
Communi¬
cants.
2,762,691
16,200
698,354
2,608
537,337
184,097
16,496
1,477,180
21,000
319
4,000
2,346
204,972
6,834
27,487
2,569
2,010
5,966,500
(j. M. BU.)
Metkovic, or Metkovich, a market-place and seat
of the administration of the government district of the
same name in the Austrian crownland of Dalmatia. It is
situated near the frontier of Herzegovina, on the Narenta
river, navigable thus far, and has since the Austrian occu¬
pation been the chief depbt for imports to Herzegovina.
It is a railway and steamship station. Population (1890),
4198; (1900), 4878, chiefly Serbo-Croatians.
Metz, a town, first-class fortress, and episcopal see of
Germany, in Alsace-Lorraine, capital of (German) Lorraine,
on the Moselle, 99 miles north-west of Strasburg by rail,
and 10J miles east of the French frontier. The strength
of the fortifications now lies chiefly in the ring of detached
modern forts, two to three miles distant from the town.
Its garrison, a mixed body of Prussians, Saxons, and
Bavarians, numbers 22,000 men. The cathedral (Roman
Catholic) has been undergoing restoration since 1875.
The town hall (1771) contains a small museum (this is in
addition to the library museum). A fine equestrian statue
of the Emperor William I. (1892) adorns the esplanade,
and a bronze statue of Prince Frederick Charles (1898)
the adjacent Boufflers garden; and there are also statues
to Generals Ney (1855) and Fabert. The noteworthy
public buildings and institutions include also the law
courts, episcopal palace, provincial administrative offices,
the arsenal, military school, music school, teachers’ semi¬
naries, theological seminary, deaf and dumb asylum, glass¬
painting school, Ac. Except for tanneries, leather factories,
and ironworks, there is relatively little industry. Since