History
The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) is a
Protestant denomination of approximately 800,000 members in the United
States and Canada. It's one of the largest faith groups founded on
American soil.
Some key persons and dates in the church's development:
Presbyterian minister Barton W. Stone was born in Port Tobacco,
Maryland, December
24,
1772. He died in Hannibal Missouri, November 9, 1844. Stone was
educated as a school teacher and entered the ministry through the
Presbyterian Church. He served a church in Cane Ridge Kentucky, and
after hosting the historic Cane Ridge Revival of 1801,
(also see pages on the
Cane Ridge
Meeting House and Shrine) he and several others formed the
Springfield Presbytery denouncing all human creeds and appealing to
the Bible as the only rule of faith and practice.
They soon dissolved the Springfield Presbytery, and published
the Last Will and Testament of the Springfield Presbytery, one
of the documents the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) considers
key in its development. They dissolved their denominational ties to
enter into unity with "the body of Christ at large." They called
themselves, simply, "Christians."
Thomas Campbell was born in County Down, Ireland,
February 1, 1763.
He
died in Bethany, Virginia (now West Virginia), January 4, 1854. He came
to America from Scotland in 1807. He was chastised by Pennsylvania
church authorities for refusing to use Presbyterian creeds as terms of
communion. In 1808 he and others founded the Christian
Association of Washington, Pennsylvania. That group adopted the
motto, well-known by Disciples, "Where the scriptures speak, we speak;
where the Scriptures are silent, we are silent."
Campbell and others were called "Reformers," for their desire to restore
the Church's first century roots. This way of life came to be known as
the "Restoration Movement."
Near Washington, Pennsylvania, Campbell and his son, Alexander, and the
Christian Association established the Brush Run Church, which, in
1815, became part of a nearby Baptist Association.
Reformers and the Baptists differed on key issues. By 1830,
the Reformers cut their last ties with the Baptist Association and
became known as "Disciples."
Thomas Campbell's passion for Christian unity is summed up in his
proclamation that : "The church of Christ upon earth is
essentially, intentionally, and constitutionally one." This
statement is the first and key proposition of Thomas Campbell's
Declaration and Address, a work called by some the "Magna
Charta" of the movement that preceded the denomination known as the
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).
Alexander Campbell was born September 12, 1788 in the County of Antrim,
Ireland. He
was
raised as a Presbyterian. He attended the University of Glasgow,
Scotland.
In 1809, Alexander arrived in America from Scotland, and joined his
father, Thomas, in western Pennsylvania. He carefully read and fully
endorsed the principles of Thomas' Declaration and Address.
Biographer Nathaniel Haynes says that Thomas and Alexander Campbell were
"one in their aims, spirit and work."
The younger
Campbell
was a prolific writer. In 1823, he founded the
periodical The Christian Baptist. After the Reformers
dissolved ties with the Baptists, Campbell founded a new publication
called The Millennial Harbinger. He was a talented debater,
and in 1829 drew attention to the Restoration Movement in a widely known
debate with social reformer Robert Owen. In 1837, he engaged the Roman
Catholic John B. Purcell, archbishop of Cincinnati, in a widely
publicized eight day debate on the traditions and beliefs of
the Catholic Church.
His public speaking skills, writing, and articulation of the place of
reason (but not pure rationalism) in Christian faith propelled
him into the leadership of the "Disciples of Christ."
A dedicated scholar and educator, Alexander Campbell founded
Bethany College, Bethany,
Virginia (now West Virginia) in 1840 and served as the school's first
president.
1832-
The "Christians" and the "Disciples of Christ" agreed on basic beliefs
and aims and united with a formal handshake in Lexington, Kentucky, and
created a new Christian movement on the American frontier.
1832-1968
The "Christians" and the "Disciples of Christ" functioned and grew as a
"movement," often referred to as the "Stone-Campbell movement." During
this period, Disciples often described the relationship of the
Christians and the Disciples of Christ as a "brotherhood." In 1960, the
Commission on Brotherhood Restructure started the task of designing a
new form of organization. Throughout the 20th century, American Asian,
Hispanic and African American Disciples congregations multiplied.
1968-
A representative assembly meeting in Kansas City overwhelmingly approved
the Provisional Design for the Christian Church (Disciples of
Christ). Church historian D. Duane Cummins writes: "Approval of the
Provisional Design marked the passage of the Disciples into
denominational maturity. Officially named the Christian Church
(Disciples of Christ), they became a church."
"Disciples History" provided by www.disciples.org.