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Thuringia Tichoniua THE NEW SCHAFF-HERZOG were Evangelical; 38,045 Roman Catholic; and Reuss-Greiz; to it was added in 1880 limited local 4,143 Jews. The church year-book of 1907 shows a church rule with governing council. Generally, the Roman Catholic increase, by immigration, in Wei- churches have no representative functions. Only mar of 27 per cent, and a Protestant increase of 6 per in Weimar and Meiningen are there synods in which cent; in Rudolstadt, Roman Catholic increase 57 per cent, and Protestant, only 4 per cent. Thurin gian Roman Catholics are distributed among five bishoprics; Weimar (with 9 parishes) belongs to Fulda, Meiningen (5) to Wurzburg, Altenburg (1) and the two principalities of Reuss (3) belong to the apostolic vicariate of Saxony at Dresden, Goths (1) and the two Schwarzburgs (3) to Paderborn, and Coburg (1) belongs to Bamberg. In the cities of Weimar church schools are maintained mostly through the " Society of Boniface," except in the Eisenach Highlands, where state schools prevail. The Unity of the Brethren have a settlement at Ebersdorf, Reuss-Schleiz, with female seminary and mission-school, and a location at Neudietendorf near Goths. There is a small scattering of Mennonites, Baptists, Methodists, and Irvingites. At Blanken burg the Evangelical Alliance of Germany has a great hotel and auditorium where the radical wing of that society assembles the last week of August every yeas. The history of the church government in the various states is practically the same. There existed consistorial governments until Govern- the period of 1848-66, when they were went of the abolished and their functions assigned State to a department of the territorial min Church. istry of public worship and education. Under these departments there is a su pervision of the churches by ephors or superintend ents of respective districts. At the same time a local church government was instituted consisting in church meetings and church councils; in Mein ingen the former have, besides the election of the church council, to decide upon the raising of funds, alterations in the liturgy, the use of catechisms and hymnals, the change of the parish, and the like. The local church councils, of which the pastor and local magistrate are generally ex-officio members, have to see after good morals and church order, the admin istration of property, legal representation, and local charity, in cooperation with civil boards, if such exist. In Altenburg and the two Schwarzburgs they exercised the votum negativism, or right of protest against the doctrine, conduct, or person of the pas tor. In the Schwarzburgs (as also in Weimar) there are general church councils under the department of the ministry of public worship and education, which presides over them; its functions are ex amination of candidates, supervision of official con duct, and introduction of measures looking to the appointment and promotion of the clergy. To the local church councils belongs the prerogative of re moving deficits by taxation. In Coburg the admin istration under the ministry of public worship and education is exercised through the division of the State Church into six ephories, each under the joint control of the local state councilor, or magistrate if in the city, and the magistrate's councilor, and the ephor; in Goths each of the eight official church districts is under a board composed of the councilor 'I or city magistrate a senator, and the ephor. Ex ceptionally the old consistorial order yet exists in i
the local churches and the government have representatives. With the exception of four delegates out of thirty-five in Weimar and two out of twentytwo in Meiningen appointed by the dukes, and in the former one representative of Jena University, all are elected by the larger elective unions composed of the dioceses of the superintendents. These synods, however, have only advisory power; they have no voice in the levy of taxes or adoption of measures. The church government of Thuringia may be described, on the whole, as episcopal under strict control by the heads of the states, with a presbyterial appendage for local purposes. The official designation in Weimar and Meiningen is Evangelical State Church; in Altenburg, Evangelical Protestant; and in the Schwarzburgs and Reuss-Greiz, Evangelical Lutheran. The church governments of Thuringia are all represented at the Eisenach Conference (q.v.). All except Meiningen have assumed part in the Evangelical church union (see BUIVD, EVAftGELIscaEx). In common the Thuringian church governments have a loose affiliation and enter into mutual conference as occasion may require.
The grand-duchy of Weimar, with 21 dioceses, having each a superintendent and adjunct and a judge inspector of the circuit on the secular side, had (1905) 312 clerical positions with
Parochial c. 270 pastors and vicars. Many pas- Statistics. torates, in the cities chiefly, are filled by choice of the governing council, about one-fourth by the patron, usually by virtue of his patronage a member of the council, and the majority by the civil church government. Exam ination of candidates takes place before the council at Weimar and is participated in by a few Jena pro fessors. Visitations take place at stated periods on the part of the general church council and members of the synodal committee. In Meiningen, where the order of appointment and visitation is the same as in Weimar, the State Church counts 14 ephories, 144 parishes, and about 130 clergy; in Altenburg 8 ephories, 116 parishes, and about 130 clergy; in Goths 12 ephories, about 100 parishes, and about 120 clergy; in Coburg 4 ephories, 37 parishes, and about 35 clergy; in Sondershausen, 4 ephories, 58 parishes, and about 60 clergy; and in Rudolstadt, 5 ephories, 65 parishes, and about 60 clergy. There is throughout a graduated system of ground in come with increment, of retiring allowances, and widows' pensions. In catechetics, liturgy, and use of hymnals there is much diversity; the system of pericopes is still firmly prevalent, limiting the min ister in the use of Biblical material and in renewing interest. The church attendance is small, more so in the country and towns than in the cities. Char itable orders and institutions are semi-philanthropic and semi-ecclesiastical, owing to the close historical connection of Church and State. A network of women's associations overspreads Weimar, feder ated in the " Patriotic Institute of Women's Soci eties "; but, although possessing the Church as their main support, yet they do not constitute an
