"The essays contained in this volume ... were read before a general convention of the church, held in Philadelphia, January 17-23, 1863, in honor of the thre hundredth anniversary of the Heidelberg Catechism."--Pref Historical introduction, by S.R. Fisher and L.H. Steiner: Preparation for the tercentenary convention. Proceedings of tercentenary convention, with sketches of addresses.--Theological, historical and biographical essays: Opening sermon, by S.R. Fisher. Undying life in Christ, by J.W. Nevin. The city and University of Heidelberg, by C.B. Hundeshagen; tr. by T.C. Porter. The Swiss reformers, by Dr. Herzog; tr. by H. Harbaugh. Melancthon, and the Melancthonian tendency in Germany, and its relation to the Reformed Church, by Dr. Ebrard; tr. by W.M. Reily. Sketches from the history of the Heidelberg Catechism in the land of its birth, by C. Ullmann; tr. by J.W. Nevin. A brief history of the Heidelberg Catechism in the Netherlands, by G.D.J. Schotel; tr. by H. Harbaugh. Frederick III, elector of the Palatinate, by B.S. Schneck. The authors of the Heidelberg Catechism, by T.C. Porter. Creed and cultus: with special reference to the relation of the Heidelberg Catechism to the Palatinate liturgy, by H. Harbaugh The genius and mission of the German Reformed Church, in relation to the Lutheran Church and to those branches of the Reformed Church which are not German, by Theodore Appel. The organic structure of the Heidelberg Catechism, by T.G. Apple. The theological system in which the Heidelberg Catechism rests, the kind of religious life it cultivates, and the theory of practical religion which it assumes, by M. Kieffer. The Heidelberg Catechism in its relation to other confessions, by E.V. Gerhart. The Heidelberg Catechism in the Reformed Church of Holland and America, by Thomas De Witt. The authority of the Heidelberg Catechism, by G.B. Russel. The educational system of religion underlying the Heidelberg Catechism, by D. Gans. Catechetics and catechetical instruction, by B. Bausman. The fortunes of the Heidelberg Catechism in the United States, by J.H.A. Bomberger. The history of the theological seminary of the German Reformed Church in its relation to the Heidelberg Catechism, by B.C. Wolff