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Plymouth Brethren

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The [Plymouth Brethren] are a Christian Evangelical religious movement that began in Dublin Ireland and England in the late 1820s and was made prominent by John Nelson Darby,the famous Pioneer from Homeopathy Doctor [Cronin],Doctor[Wilson],Prized Classicals Researcher from Trinity College in Cambridge University [Gifford Bellett],ex-Quaker [Wills Newton],younger brother from Cardinal John Henry Newman[Newman],creator from Bethesda Orphanage [Müller],Preacher [Miller],Historian [William Benjamin Neatby],writer [F. Roy Coad],sucessor from Evangelist Dwight Lyman Moody [Henry Allen Ironside], [Edmund Hamer Broadbent], [Roy A. Huebner], and [Hutchinson]; who felt that the established Church had become too involved with the secular state and had abandoned many of the basic truths of Christianity. The group began by meeting in households in Ireland, and were dubbed "brethren" because of their practice of calling each other "brother" instead of the titles favoured by other denominations.

The movement soon spread throughout the UK and by 1831, the group assembled in Plymouth, England had over 1,500 members. These members became known as "The brethren from Plymouth" and soon were simply called the "Plymouth Brethren". The group is also known as the Assembly Movement. The term Darbyites has also been used, although is uncommon and refers mainly to the Exclusive branch.

The Brethren are divided into "Open", "[Closed]" and "Exclusive" branches. The Exclusive Brethren maintain a very isolationist and traditional view, with many of their children home schooled, a strict smart dress code for church meetings and members commonly self employed or working for Christian organisations.

The Open and Closed Brethren differ on few theological issues and often, no clear distinction is made between the two by the general public. The main difference is in openness to visitors, that is, the Open Brethren allow anyone who is a believer to participate in the Lord's Supper (communion) while the Closed generally require a "letter of commendation" as discussed below. The Closed Brethren also will usually have a back row set up for anyone who does not have this letter so that the individual may observe, however not participate, in the morning meeting.

When arriving at one church from another, it is common practice for the leaders to send a "letter of commendation" with the newcomer to inform the new church that they are in fellowship at another assembly and can be allowed to fully participate in all services from the point of their arrival. It is customary to send one of these letters even when only one service will be attended, and individuals often take these letters on holiday when they will be away from their local church and wish to attend another.

A second difference between the Open and Closed Brethren is the willingness of association with other Christian churches. While the Open Brethren will often hold Gospel meetings, youth events or other activities with other Evangelical Christian churches, the Closed Brethren support only their individual assembly. A third difference is in the use of instrumental accompaniment during the meetings. While both generally do not use musical instruments during the Lord's Supper, the Open Brethren will have someone play piano, guitar or, although rare, a full worship band accompany the congregation during the other services.

In some parts of the world, the Open and Closed are placed together as Open, while the Exclusive are called Closed. Most of those who attend Closed Brethren assemblies are quick to distinguish themselves from the Exclusive Brethren.

Open Brethren remain affiliated with one another, mostly through common support of missionaries, area conferences, and the ministry of traveling preachers. Over the years, they have come to resemble Protestant evangelical churches in doctrine, except that there are no officially recognized clergy and the Lord's Supper is observed weekly - both of which are common to Open, Closed and Exclusive groups alike.

Terminology

The Plymouth Brethren are unusual in not recognising a denominational name; they do not generally refer to themselves as "Plymouth Brethren," nor do they regard themselves as a denomination. Thus there is no denominational headquarters and no governing body to whom local assemblies are accountable to. Local assemblies are often informally linked with each other.

The Plymouth Brethren refer to themselves as "the assemblies," and members are called "the brethren," "saints," or "believers." Members are usually aware of the term "Plymouth Brethren" but deny it applies to them since they don't consider themselves a denomination.

A common distinguishing characteristic of a Plymouth Brethren meeting place is an outdoor sign indicating a weekly service set apart for "Breaking of Bread," "The Lord's Supper," or "The Remembrance Meeting," which is how they refer to communion.

Many Plymouth Brethren assemblies meet in a building called a "Gospel Hall","Evangelical Room", "Gospel Chapel", "Bible Chapel", or "Bible Church".

Services

Sunday services are mostly similar among different congregations, and a distinctive of the Brethren is a separate weekly communion service. This is a solemn affair during which any of the men can, at any time, temporarily lead and direct the service. Women pray silently and sing all hymns but generally do not pray or exort the congregation audibly as this is often seen as violating the order set out in 1 Corinthians 11, 14 and 1 Timothy 2. (A few PB Assemblies in the US allow women to participate verbally in the weekly Breaking of Bread service. These assemblies are seen as "progressive" and may not be well accepted by other more traditional assemblies.)

The Brethren also have weekly meetings such as a teaching or preaching service. The teaching service of an Open Brethren assembly might resemble that of a conservative, evangelical church such as an Evangelical free church or Baptist church. Other meetings in an assembly include missionary report meetings, and mid-week prayer meetings, and Bible readings or studies. In Open Brethren assemblies there is frequently a Sunday School for children and youth groups for teens. Exclusive Brethren assemblies often meet daily from house to house for Bible readings.

Music

During the weekly breaking of bread service, hymns are usually sung unaccompanied by any musical instrument. Hymns sung during the other types of meeting are often accompanied by piano or electronic organ, though this practice varies from place to place. Other musical instruments are used at some assemblies. One of the unifying features in each of the different branches of the Brethren is a common hymnbook. One such hymnbook that dates back to 1856 is called, Hymns for the Little Flock, the first edition of which was compiled by G. V. Wigram.

Characteristics

Sancta Simplicitas
Orthodox Old Maid. "But, Rebecca, is your place of worship consecrated?"
Domestic (lately received into the Plymouth Brotherhood). "Oh no, Miss - It's galvanised iron!"
Cartoon from Punch, Vol. 102, April 23, 1892

The Plymouth Brethren are basically conservative evangelical Christians and are in substantial agreement with other conservative evangelical Christian groups. Their distinction lies in a combination of the doctrinal and practical matters which they teach with special emphasis.

The Brethren believe in the divine inspiration of the Bible and that the same Bible gives clear instruction about how services of worship are to be held. These instructions include:

  • the primary importance of the weekly communion service
  • the communion is not led or administered by an individual
  • the freedom and the responsibility for men to participate in services
  • the silence of women (whose heads must be covered during meetings of the local church) in most Plymouth Brethren assemblies
  • the importance of preaching the gospel
  • the rejection of a separation of believers into clergy and laity classes, and
  • the plurality of leadership (usually as elders and deacons) as opposed to an ordained, professional clergy class

Baptism and communion are the only two ordinances. All assemblies adhere to the practise of full immersion baptism, which is required before participation in fellowship. Sharing the exact beliefs of a local assembly may be a necessary condition for fellowship in some local assemblies, though this condition is much less common in "open" assemblies. Some Exclusive Brethen practice infant or household baptism.

History

Influence

The influence of the Plymouth Brethren upon evangelical Christianity exceeds their relatively small numerical proportion. The movement today has many congregations around the world.

Christian Missions in Many Lands (CMML) in the United States, Missionary Services Committee (MSC) in Canada and Echoes of Service in the United Kingdom, serve as support agencies for Brethren missionaries, helping with logistics and material support. These agencies help to train, equip, and support those sent from local churches.

The Brethren have been productive writers and publishers including George Cutting's "Safety, Certainty, and Enjoyment" and W.E Vine's "Dictionary of NT Words.". Many leaders of the contemporay evangelical movement have come from Brethren backgrounds including Geoff Tunnicliffe, CEO of the World Evangelical Alliance; the late British scholar F. F. Bruce; Brian McLaren of the emergent church "conversation"; 1950s Auca missionary martyrs Ed McCully, Jim Elliot, and Peter Fleming; Walter Liefeld, NT professor at Trinity Evangelical Seminary; and the late preacher Dr. Harry Ironside. J. N. Darby, one of the original members and perhaps the most well known of the movement, wrote over fifty books and is often credited with the development of the theology of dispensationalism.

See also

External links

Open Brethren

Exclusive or Closed Brethen

Resources

Booksellers & Publishers

  • Gospel Folio
  • John Ritchie, LTD
  • Pilkington and Sons
  • Loizeaux Brothers, 3301C Route 66, Neptune, NJ 07753 USA, Telephone: 1-732-918-2626
  • Christian Year Publications, The Glebe House, Stanton Drew, Bristol BS39 4EH. Tel 0044 1275 332475.
  • Walterick Publishing Ministeries, INC., 6549 State Avenue, Kansas City, KS 66102 Fax 913 334 0153 [2]
  • Bible Study Center, c/o Floyd Pierce, P.O. Box 3841, Springfield, Illinois, USA 62708-3841, Telephone (217) 544-7419 e mail: fpierce@ameritech.net
  • Scripture Truth Publications in Northumberland, UK.
  • Stem Publishing — a source of Brethren writings in electronic media.
  • Bible Truth Publishers > [3]
  • Christian Year Publications, The Glebe House, Stanton Drew, Bristol UK, BS39 4EH

Bibliography

  • Adams, Norman - Goodbye, Beloved Brethren. (1972, Impulse Publications Inc) ISBN 0901311138
  • Coad, F. Roy - A History of the Brethren Movement: Its Origins, Its Worldwide Development and Its Significance for the Present Day. (2001, Regent College Publishing) ISBN 1573831832
  • Ironside, H. A. - Historical Sketch of the Brethren Movement. (1985,Loizeaux Brothers) ISBN 0872133443
  • Neatby, William Blair - A History of the Plymouth Brethren, (1901); Reprinted by Tentmaker Publications [4] covers the first seventy years of the Brethren movement.
  • Pickering, Henry, Chief Men Among the Brethren, (1st ed. 1918 London: Pickering & Inglis), Loizeaux Brothers, Inc. Neptune, NJ, 1996, ISBN 0872137988
  • Smith, Natan Dylan. - Roots, Renewal and the Brethren. (1996, Hope Publishing House) ISBN 0932727085
  • Strauch, Alexander. - Biblical Eldership: An Urgent Call to Restore Biblical Church Leadership. (1995, Lewis & Roth Publishers) ISBN 0936083115
  • Stunt, Timothy C. F., From awakening to secession : radical evangelicals in Switzerland and Britain, 1815-35, Edinburgh : T&T Clark, 2000, ISBN 0567087190

Research libraries

John Henry Newman]], John Nelson Darby, John Bellett, and Francis Hutchinson who felt that the established Church had become too involved with the secular state and had abandoned many of the basic truths of Christianity. The group began by meeting in households in Ireland, and were dubbed "brethren" because of their practice of calling each other "brother" instead of the titles favoured by other denominations. The first meetings in Dublin were held in 1825 by Edward Cronin. By 1827, J.N. Darby and J.G. Bellett were attending the meeting; together with his two cousins (the Misses Drury) and Mr Tims, he began to meet in his house in Lower Pembroke Street,this meeting had grown so much that Mr H. Hutchinson offered the use of a larger room at 9 Fitzwilliam Street. By 1830, they were using a large auction room at 11 Aungier Street. The movement soon spread throughout the UK and by 1831, the group assembled in Plymouth, England had over 1,500 members. These members became known as "The brethren from Plymouth" and soon were simply called the "Plymouth Brethren". The group is also known as the Assembly Movement. The term Darbyites has also been used, although is uncommon and refers mainly to the Exclusive branch. The Brethren are divided into 9 branches(subdivided in another 5 sub-groups), "Open", "Closed", "Exclusive" and Exclusivists branches. The Exclusive Brethren maintain a very isolationist and traditional view, with many of their children home schooled, a very strict smart dress code for church meetings and members commonly self employed or working for Christian organisations.

The Open and Closed Brethren differ on few theological issues and often, no clear distinction is made between the two by the general public. The main difference is in openness to visitors, that is, the Open Brethren allow anyone who is a believer to participate in the Lord's Supper (communion) while the Closed generally require a "letter of commendation" as discussed below. The Closed Brethren also will usually have a back row set up for anyone who does not have this letter so that the individual may observe, however not participate, in the morning meeting.

When arriving at one church from another, it is common practice for the leaders to send a "letter of commendation" with the newcomer to inform the new church that they are in fellowship at another assembly and can be allowed to fully participate in all services from the point of their arrival. It is customary to send one of these letters even when only one service will be attended, and individuals often take these letters on holiday when they will be away from their local church and wish to attend another.

A second difference between the Open and Closed Brethren is the willingness of association with other Christian churches. While the Open Brethren will often hold Gospel meetings, youth events or other activities with other Evangelical Christian churches, the Closed Brethren support only their individual assembly. A third difference is in the use of instrumental accompaniment during the meetings. While both generally do not use musical instruments during the Lord's Supper, the Open Brethren will have someone play piano, guitar or, although rare, a full worship band accompany the congregation during the other services.

In some parts of the world, the Open and Closed are placed together as Open, while the Exclusive are called Closed. Most of those who attend Closed Brethren assemblies are quick to distinguish themselves from the Exclusive Brethren.

Open Brethren remain affiliated with one another, mostly through common support of missionaries, area conferences, and the ministry of traveling preachers. Over the years, they have come to resemble Protestant evangelical churches in doctrine, except that there are no officially recognized clergy and the Lord's Supper is observed weekly - both of which are common to Open, Closed and Exclusive groups alike.

Terminology

The Plymouth Brethren are unusual in not recognising a denominationas a name; they do not generally refer to themselves as "Plymouth Brethren," nor do they regard themselves as a denomination. Thus there is no any denominational headquarters,any holy see and no governing body to whom local assemblies are accountable to. Local assemblies are often informally linked with each other.

The Plymouth Brethren refer to themselves as,"the assemblies of brethren",or more simply "the assemblies," and members are called "the brethren," "saints," or "believers." Members are usually aware of the term "Plymouth Brethren" but deny it applies to them since they don't consider themselves a denomination.

A common distinguishing characteristic of a Plymouth Brethren meeting place is an outdoor sign indicating a weekly service set apart for "Breaking of Bread," "The Lord's Supper," or "The Remembrance Meeting," which is how they refer to communion.

Many Plymouth Brethren assemblies meet in a building called a "Evangelical Room", "Gospel Hall", "Gospel Chapel", "Bible Chapel", or "Bible Church".

Services

Sunday services are mostly similar among different congregations, and a distinctive of the Brethren is a separate weekly communion service. This is a solemn affair during which any of the men can, at any time, temporarily lead and direct the service. Women pray silently and sing all hymns but generally do not pray or exort the congregation audibly as this is often seen as violating the order set out in 1 Corinthians 11, 14 and 1 Timothy 2. (A few PB Assemblies in the US allow women to participate verbally in the weekly Breaking of Bread service. These assemblies are seen as "progressive" and may not be well accepted by other more traditional assemblies.)

The Brethren also have weekly meetings such as a teaching or preaching service. The teaching service of an Open Brethren assembly might resemble that of a conservative, evangelical church such as an Evangelical free church or Baptist church. Other meetings in an assembly include missionary report meetings, and mid-week prayer meetings, and Bible readings or studies. In Open Brethren assemblies there is frequently a Sunday School for children and youth groups for teens. Exclusive Brethren assemblies often meet daily from house to house for Bible readings.

Music

During the weekly breaking of bread service, hymns are usually sung unaccompanied by any musical instrument. Hymns sung during the other types of meeting are often accompanied by piano or electronic organ, though this practice varies from place to place. Other musical instruments are used at some assemblies. One of the unifying features in each of the different branches of the Brethren is a common hymnbook. One such hymnbook that dates back to 1856 is called, Hymns for the Little Flock, the first edition of which was compiled by G. V. Wigram.

Characteristics

Sancta Simplicitas
Orthodox Old Maid. "But, Rebecca, is your place of worship consecrated?"
Domestic (lately received into the Plymouth Brotherhood). "Oh no, Miss - It's galvanised iron!"
Cartoon from Punch, Vol. 102, April 23, 1892

The Plymouth Brethren are basically conservative evangelical Christians and are in substantial agreement with other conservative evangelical Christian groups. Their distinction lies in a combination of the doctrinal and practical matters which they teach with special emphasis.

The Brethren believe in the divine inspiration of the Bible and that the same Bible gives clear instruction about how services of worship are to be held. These instructions include:

  • the primary importance of the weekly communion service
  • the communion is not led or administered by an individual
  • the freedom and the responsibility for men to participate in services
  • the silence of women (whose heads must be covered during meetings of the local church) in most Plymouth Brethren assemblies
  • the importance of preaching the gospel
  • the rejection of a separation of believers into clergy and laity classes, and
  • the plurality of leadership (usually as elders and deacons) as opposed to an ordained, professional clergy class

Baptism and communion are the only two ordinances. All assemblies adhere to the practise of full immersion baptism, which is required before participation in fellowship. Sharing the exact beliefs of a local assembly may be a necessary condition for fellowship in some local assemblies, though this condition is much less common in "open" assemblies. Some Exclusive Brethen practice infant or household baptism.

History

Influence

The influence of the Plymouth Brethren upon evangelical Christianity exceeds their relatively small numerical proportion. The movement today has many congregations around the world.

Christian Missions in Many Lands (CMML) in the United States, Missionary Services Committee (MSC) in Canada and Echoes of Service in the United Kingdom, serve as support agencies for Brethren missionaries, helping with logistics and material support. These agencies help to train, equip, and support those sent from local churches.

The Brethren have been productive writers and publishers including George Cutting's "Safety, Certainty, and Enjoyment" and W.E Vine's "Dictionary of NT Words.". Many leaders of the contemporay evangelical movement have come from Brethren backgrounds including Jim Wallis from Sojourners Geoff Tunnicliffe, CEO of the World Evangelical Alliance; the late British scholar F. F. Bruce; Brian McLaren of the emergent church "conversation"; 1950s Auca missionary martyrs Ed McCully, Jim Elliot, and Peter Fleming; Walter Liefeld, NT professor at Trinity Evangelical Seminary; and the late preacher Dr. Harry Ironside. J. N. Darby, one of the original members and perhaps the most well known of the movement, wrote over fifty books and is often credited with the development of the theology of dispensationalism. In Latin America Enrique Dàmaso Alvarez,in Spain Jose Maria Martinez and his son Pablo Martinez Vila,in Germany Erich Sauer.

See also

External links

Open Brethren

Closed Brethren

Exclusive Brethen

Resources

Booksellers & Publishers

  • Gospel Folio
  • John Ritchie, LTD
  • Pilkington and Sons
  • Loizeaux Brothers, 3301C Route 66, Neptune, NJ 07753 USA, Telephone: 1-732-918-2626
  • Christian Year Publications, The Glebe House, Stanton Drew, Bristol BS39 4EH. Tel 0044 1275 332475.
  • Walterick Publishing Ministeries, INC., 6549 State Avenue, Kansas City, KS 66102 Fax 913 334 0153 [7]
  • Bible Study Center, c/o Floyd Pierce, P.O. Box 3841, Springfield, Illinois, USA 62708-3841, Telephone (217) 544-7419 e mail: fpierce@ameritech.net
  • Scripture Truth Publications in Northumberland, UK.
  • Stem Publishing — a source of Brethren writings in electronic media.
  • Bible Truth Publishers > [8]
  • Christian Year Publications, The Glebe House, Stanton Drew, Bristol UK, BS39 4EH

Bibliography

  • Adams, Norman - Goodbye, Beloved Brethren. (1972, Impulse Publications Inc) ISBN 0901311138
  • Coad, F. Roy - A History of the Brethren Movement: Its Origins, Its Worldwide Development and Its Significance for the Present Day. (2001, Regent College Publishing) ISBN 1573831832
  • Ironside, H. A. - Historical Sketch of the Brethren Movement. (1985,Loizeaux Brothers) ISBN 0872133443
  • Neatby, William Blair - A History of the Plymouth Brethren, (1901); Reprinted by Tentmaker Publications [9] covers the first seventy years of the Brethren movement.
  • Pickering, Henry, Chief Men Among the Brethren, (1st ed. 1918 London: Pickering & Inglis), Loizeaux Brothers, Inc. Neptune, NJ, 1996, ISBN 0872137988
  • Smith, Natan Dylan. - Roots, Renewal and the Brethren. (1996, Hope Publishing House) ISBN 0932727085
  • Strauch, Alexander. - Biblical Eldership: An Urgent Call to Restore Biblical Church Leadership. (1995, Lewis & Roth Publishers) ISBN 0936083115
  • Stunt, Timothy C. F., From awakening to secession : radical evangelicals in Switzerland and Britain, 1815-35, Edinburgh : T&T Clark, 2000, ISBN 0567087190

Research libraries

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