Known by those outside the movement as “Plymouth Brethren”, “Christian Brethren” or simply “The Brethren”, its adherents have made a tremendous impact upon global mission and have also contributed significantly to discussions around the subject of eschatology.[1] In our final article on church history, we trace the origins of this movement and its development over the past two hundred years.
For much of its history, this group has been divided into two categories known (again by those outside) as “Open (or Independent) Brethren” and “Exclusive Brethren”. Many so-called “Open Brethren” reject any attempts to give the movement a formal title.[2] For them, “brethren” is to be used in the same way as the apostle Paul used the word, for example, in 2 Thessalonians 3:1: “brethren, pray for us”. Many translations render this as “brothers” or “brothers and sisters”, indicating that the word should only be used to describe the company of brothers (and sisters) in a particular congregation and not as a denominational label. By contrast, an extreme but small sub-group of the “Exclusive Brethren” in the UK have recently embraced the term “Plymouth Brethren” and are now known as “The Plymouth Brethren Christian Church.”[3]
Interestingly, the movement did not actually begin in Plymouth, but rather in Dublin, during the 1820s. Historian Crawford Gribben describes its origins in this way: “Dublin evangelicals had been gathering for fellowship, both in the office of the Bible Society and in private homes. These meetings had been led by individuals such as Edward Cronin, William Stokes, and, during his visits to the city, Anthony Norris Groves.”[4] By the end of the decade, momentum was gathering: “The Dublin drawing-room meetings were becoming more public and less formal . . . in a striking break with evangelical thinking about the privileges of the clergy, they shared the Lord’s Supper.”[5]
Around this time, similar movements were emerging across Great Britain, many of which would later be recognised by the Dublin brethren as sharing the same principles of fellowship. Most notably, an assembly of believers was established in Plymouth, Devon, from which the term “Plymouth Brethren” arose. This assembly had strong links to John Nelson Darby, another of those who had been gathering to break bread (celebrate the Lord’s Supper or communion) in Dublin. Darby, an ordained minister in the Church of Ireland, would become the foremost teacher amongst these Christians. Meanwhile, in Bristol, an assembly known as Bethesda was formed under the leadership of Henry Craik and George Müller. Müller later founded orphanages across the city and is remembered around the world today for this remarkable work of faith.
Often Christian assemblies were formed by what Roy Coad describes as “spontaneous local action.”[6] Undoubtedly, the Holy Spirit was leading people across the country to examine the Scriptures and seek to apply the truths they discovered to establish new churches. Both Coad[7] and another historian, William Blair Neatby,[8] affirm that many of these newly formed congregations initially had no knowledge of developments in Dublin, but later became acquainted with the wider movement.
Having witnessed great growth throughout the 1830s, regrettably, the assemblies at Plymouth and Bristol both played a part in a schism that caused a permanent division. A rift between Darby and Benjamin Wills Newton of Plymouth eventually resulted in the separation of so-called “Exclusive” assemblies (which supported Darby) from what became known as the “Open” assemblies. Tragically, the breach was never healed.
Undoubtedly, practices have evolved over two hundred years and most “Brethren” churches today do things very differently from those formative congregations. Many of the leading figures in the early movement had only recently left other denominations, particularly Anglicanism, and it took a while for church doctrine and practice to be established. Nevertheless, there is much continuity between then and now, since the guiding principle has always been to wait upon the leading of the Holy Spirit in all things. Consequently, there is an absence of liturgy, with many assemblies of believers not following a prescribed order when celebrating the Lord’s Supper, and some extend this practice to their preaching and teaching meetings. Another distinctive feature of these churches is their general rejection of any ordained ministry. Instead, assemblies are led by a plurality of elders who provide spiritual and pastoral oversight.
The movement’s most noteworthy contribution to theology has been their promotion of dispensationalism, a framework for understanding God’s dealings with humanity throughout the ages. According to this view, history is divided into a series of dispensations or eras, each of which tests humanity in a distinct way and expects a response of faith to the revelation given at the time. Early adherents of the doctrine differed over the exact number of dispensations, but most commentators today recognise seven distinctive eras in God’s dealings with humankind.[9] Dispensationalism has been hugely influential within the wider evangelical movement and some of the most widely read books on Bible prophecy have been written by dispensationalists.
Today, because of the movement in the 1800s, there are “Brethren” assemblies throughout the world, many being the fruit of faithful missionary work. These churches remain firmly committed to preaching the gospel and many members have been involved in full-time evangelism, Bible teaching and missionary work, some serving in their homeland and others overseas. Among many in evangelical circles, they are well respected for the quality of their teaching and commitment to biblical principles.
[1] Eschatology is the theology of “The Last Days”.
[2] It should also be noted that most if not all of the sub-groups that come under the umbrella of “Exclusives” reject that moniker.
[3] Other “Exclusive” groups differ widely from the Plymouth Brethren Christian Church in their approach to doctrine and practice.
[4] Crawford Gribben, J.N. Darby and the Roots of Dispensationalism (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2024), p.10.
[5] Ibid., p.11.
[6] F. Roy Coad, A History of the Brethren Movement. Its Origins, its Worldwide Development and its Significance for the Present Day (Exeter: The Paternoster Press, 1968), p.167.
[7] Ibid., p.167.
[8] William Blair Neatby, A History of the Plymouth Brethren (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1901), p.4.
[9] A much more comprehensive overview of Dispensationalism can be found here.
