Chile and Her People of To-day: An Account of the Customs, Characteristics, Amusements, History and Advancement of the Chileans, and the Development and Resources of Their CountryWinter, Nevin O. (Nevin Otto)
History
Chile and Her People of To-day: An Account of the Customs, Characteristics, Amusements, History and Advancement of the Chileans, and the Development and Resources of Their Country
Winter, Nevin O. (Nevin Otto)
Chile; National characteristics, Chilean
One will find signs of the Protestant invasion of Chile from Arica,
in the extreme north, to Tierra del Fuego. The movement has generally
been accompanied by educational enterprise, of which there are several
splendid examples in Chile. One of these is the American College for
Girls, and the Instituto Ingles, an institution for boys, both of which
are in Santiago. The former, which is under the control and direction
of the Methodist Episcopal Church, has achieved more than a national
reputation in Chile, and many of the very best families send their girls
to that college for their education. It is recognized as giving the very
best education that can be obtained in the Republic, and the enrollment
has included the names of the children of presidents of the republic,
and many others in high authority. The same may be said of the latter
institution, which is under the control of the American Presbyterian
Church, and which is always crowded to its utmost capacity, with many
names upon the waiting list who cannot be accommodated. The patrons of
the two institutions understand that the schools are Protestant schools,
that the Bible is read and studied, that morning prayers are compulsory,
but beyond that the students are at liberty to attend any religious
services that may be desired by the parents. Outside of the regular
religious services, no effort is made to alienate the students from the
church in which they have been baptized. The Methodists also conduct
grammar schools at Concepción and Iquique, and schools of the primary
and lower grammar grades at other places. In all more than fifty day
schools are conducted by these two denominations. The work that has been
begun is a beneficial one in a moral way, and the results have been very
satisfactory to those engaged in the work.
At the present time the American Presbyterian and the Methodist Episcopal
Churches are the only American denominations that are aggressively
doing missionary work in Chile. The former began their work in 1873,
and the latter in 1878. The Methodists have thirty missionaries and a
large number of native workers assisting them, and have established
fifty-eight stations. The Presbyterians have twenty-six missionaries, and
these workers, together with native helpers, are at work in sixty-five
different communities. Both in Valparaiso and Santiago there is a Union
Church, to which members of various Protestant bodies come for the
religious services, and both of these churches are doing a very effective
work.
The Protestant Anglican Church was the first to begin any evangelistic
work in Chile. Its first mission was established more than sixty years
ago. They began work in the extreme south, and still have stations
on Tierra del Fuego for the Indians. They also have churches at
Santiago, Valparaiso, Iquique, Concepción and Punta Arenas for the
English-speaking people who live in those cities.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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