UNITED BRETHREN IN CHRIST, an American re ligious sect which originated in the last part of the 18th century under the leadership of Philip William Otterbein (1726-1813), pastor of the Second Reformed church in Baltimore, and Martin Boehm (1725-1812), a Pennsylvanian Mennonite of Swiss de scent. Otterbein and Boehm licensed some of their followers to preach and did a great work, especially through class-meetings of a Wesleyan type ; in 1789 they held a formal conference at Balti more, and in 180o, at a conference near Frederick City, Md., the Church was organized under its present name, and Otterbein and Boehm were chosen its first bishops or superintendents.
The liberal branch had 3,135 organizations in 1927 with a total membership of 401,553. This body carries on missions in West Africa (since 1855), Japan, China, the Philippines and Porto Rico. It has a publishing house (1834) and Bonebrake theological seminary (1871) at Dayton, 0., and supports Otterbein university
(1847) at Westerville, 0. ; York college (1890) at York, Neb.; Philomath college (1867) at Philomath, Ore. ; Lebanon Valley college (1867) at Annville, Pa. ; Central university (1907) at Indianapolis, Ind., and Kansas City university (1924) at Kansas City, Kan. The "Old Constitution" body had 572 organizations in 1906 with a total membership of 21,401. It has a publishing house at Huntington, Ind.
BIBLIOGRAPHY. See W. J. Shuey, of the United BrethBibliography. See W. J. Shuey, of the United Breth- ren in Christ (from 1867) ; A. W. Drury, Life of Philip William Otterbein (1884) ; E. L. Shuey, Handbook of the United Brethren in Christ (1893) ; D. Berger in vol. xii. of the "American Church History Series" (1894), and D. Berger, History of the Church of the United Brethren (1897).