Plymouth Brethren - History

History

The origins of the Brethren are usually traced to Dublin where several groups of Christians met informally to celebrate the "Lord's supper" together in the Dublin in 1827–8. Of these the central figures were Anthony Norris Groves, a dentist studying theology at Trinity College, John Nelson Darby, then a curate in County Wicklow and John Gifford Bellett, a lawyer, who brought them together. "A circle was to be drawn just wide enough to include 'all the children of God,' and to exclude all who did not come under that category." They did not require ministers or even an order of service. Their guide was to be the Bible alone.

An important early stimulus was in the study of prophecy which was the subject of a number of annual meetings at Powerscourt House in County Wicklow starting in 1831. Lady Powerscourt had attended Henry Drummond's prophecy conferences at Albury Park and Darby in 1831 was espousing the same pre-tribulational view of the future as the charismatic but unreliable Henry Irving. To these meetings many of those who were to be important in the English movement came, including Benjamin Wills Newton and George Müller.

The two main but conflicting aspirations of the movement were to create a holy and pure fellowship on one hand, and to allow all Christians into fellowship on the other. Following decades of dissent, and the expansion of Methodism and political revolutions in the United States and France, believers in the movement felt that the established Church of England had abandoned or distorted many of the ancient traditions of Christendom. To get away from the sectarianism of dissenters, people in the movement wanted simply to meet together in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ without reference to denominational differences. Early meetings included Christians from a variety of denominations.

The first meeting in England was held in December 1831 in Plymouth. It was organised primarily by George Wigram, Benjamin Wills Newton and John Nelson Darby. The movement soon spread throughout the UK. By 1845, the assembly in Plymouth had over 1,000 people in fellowship. They became known as "the brethren from Plymouth" and were soon simply called "Plymouth Brethren". The term "Darbyites" is also used, especially when describing the "Exclusive" branch where the influence of John Nelson Darby is more pronounced. Many within the movement refuse to accept any name other than "Christian".

In 1845, Darby returned from an extended visit to Switzerland where he had achieved considerable success in planting churches. Returning to Plymouth, where Newton was firmly in control, he disagreed with some details of the tribulation that was coming in a book that Newton had published. He also objected to Newton's place as an elder in the Plymouth meeting. But several attempts to settle the quarrel in the presence of other brethren failed to produce any clear result. Two years later, Darby attacked Newton over notes taken by hearers of a lecture Newton had given on the 6th Psalm. A fierce exchange of tracts followed and although Newton retracted some of his statements, he eventually left Plymouth and established another chapel in London.

Darby had instituted a second meeting at Plymouth and in 1848 he complained of the Bristol Bethesda assembly, in which George Müller was prominent, that they had accepted a member from Ebrington Street, Newton's original chapel. After investigation of the individual, Bethesda defended their decision, but Darby was not satisfied. He issued a circular on August 26, 1848 cutting off not only Bethesda but all assemblies who received anyone who went there. This defined the essential characteristic of "exclusivism" that he was to pursue for the rest of his life.

Not surprisingly, given such a divisive principle, the Exclusive Brethren have suffered many subsequent splits. McDowell records at least 6. Even the Open Brethren suffered one split, which occurred at different times in different parts of the world. But both sides continued to expand their congregations, with the opens, with their emphasis on faith missions, expanding more rapidly than the exclusives.

The Brethren have been in decline in the UK since the 1950s, but the assemblies with more progressive approaches have grown. There has been a blurring of distinctions between some assemblies and other non-denominational and house church congregations. Some groups have abandoned earlier principles, such as rejection of a salaried ministry and insistence on women's silence. However those assemblies that have abandoned these principles, by allowing paid ministry and allowing women to teach openly from the pulpit, may no longer be considered "Brethren" assemblies, but referred to as "Bible" churches. The "Bible" churches look more like traditional non-denominational congregations.

Some fellowships maintain these distinctive principles while updating many traditions and practices, while others continue in much the same way as they have for most of the 20th century. The more traditional assemblies in the UK today can be found in Northern Ireland (where other denominations refer to them as 'Plyms'), Scotland, Northern England and parts of the South of England, like Hampshire. Outside the British Isles, the brethren have a large presence in the Faroe Islands, forming the largest non-conformist group amongst a population that predominantly belongs to the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Denmark.

The Brethren movement is widespread in the United States and Canada, where it has spread through evangelistic endeavours, immigration from the UK and Commonwealth countries, and by attracting Christians from other backgrounds with its emphasis on Biblicism, centrality of the Lord's Supper and equality of all believers under Christ, as well as its avoidance of denominational governance. Open Brethren congregations in America often are barely distinguishable from other evangelical denominations on the outside and often engage in joint efforts with other Christians in their communities. On the other hand, some previously thriving Brethren assemblies have seen dwindling attendances in recent years due in part to the lack of strong denominational loyalties and cultural discomfort with some Brethren traditions, such as head covering for women, silence of women, and a cappella singing. In America, the designation of the building in which Open Brethren assemblies meet most often include the word "Chapel" in their formal name, combined with a biblical place name or principle or otherwise a local geographic feature—for instance, Bethany Chapel, Central Gospel Chapel, Park Road Bible Chapel, Riverview Believers Chapel. But unlike many other Christian groups, the names of Christian saints, (e.g. Paul, Luke) are rarely or never used. Closed groups, however, avoid "taking a name" to their group. A Closed group building is referred to as a "Meeting Room" or "Gospel Hall", and the word "Chapel" is avoided.