Religion: Presbyterians Assembled

The 165th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. (Northern) met in Minneapolis last week and as its first order of business elected a new moderator: the Rev. Dr. John Alexander Mackay, 64, president since 1936 of Princeton Theological Seminary.

Scottish-born Dr. Mackay promptly issued a press statement warning against "a new form of idolatry" threatening the U.S. This, he said, is the "passionate, unreflective opposition to the Communist demon [which] is coming to be regarded as the one and only true expression of Americanism, and even of Christianity. It is proper to abhor Communism. Communism is an evil—let there be no mistake about that. But the spirit to which I refer, this new cult of negation, is something quite different."

Then the assembly:

¶ Inched its way a step further toward union of its 2,500,000-member denomination with the 700,000-member Presbyterian Church in the U.S. (Southern) and the 220,000-member United Presbyterian Church by approving a plan of union "for study and comment."

¶ Considered, and overwhelmingly voted down, a recommendation by the Duluth Presbytery that the phrase "holy Catholic Church" in the Apostles' Creed be changed to "holy Christian Church." Duluth had objected that the phrase is sometimes "wrongly identified with the Roman Catholic Church."

¶ Approved a missions and "benevolences" budget of $18,870,175 for next year, $215,825 less than this year's.