UNITED BRETHREN, THE, IN CHRIST.
The Church of the United Brethren in Christ took its origin toward the close of the eighteenth century, in eastern Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia, in an evangelical movement conducted by ministers and people of several denominations. The Church was not a product of schism, or in any proper sense an offshoot from any existing denomination, but was formed by the union of people of different churches, who found a com mon ground in the advanced views of spiritual experience and life which they adopted.
(1) Early Leaders. The most conspicuous figure in the formation and early progress of the Church was Philip William Otterbein, a learned German divine, who came to America as a mis sionary of the German Reformed Church, in the year 1752, he being then twenty-six years of age. He served successively congregations in Lancas ter and Tulpehocken, Pennsylvania ; Frederick City, Maryland; and York, Pennsylvania, until 1774, when he accepted the pastorate of a newly formed independent Reformed congregation in the city of Baltimore. Holding higher ideas of Christian experience and living than prevailed generally among his brethren, he preached his views freely, and usually with great acceptance to his congregations. He also instituted prayer and experience meetings for the purpose of fos tering among them a more earnest spiritual life— forms of service which as a young pastor he had been accustomed to hold before his coming to America. He remained in the pastorate of the Baltimore congregation to the end of his life, a period of nearly forty years.
While residing at York, and subsequently in Baltimore, he made frequent visits to other points, where his earnest insistence on the doctrine of the new birth and a more devout type of Chris tian living gained many adherents to his views. It was during one of these visits that he first met, in a country neighborhood, in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, in the summer of about 1768, the Rev. Martin Bcehm, a minister in the Mennonite Church. Mr. Bcehin was preaching on the occasion to a large congregation assem bled in a country barn. Without acquaintance with Mr. Ottcrbein, Mr. Bcelim had for some time been preaching with great zeal the same earnest gospel which Otterbein proclaimed. Ot terbein heard with profound interest the warm words of life from Mr. Bcehm's lips, and when he ceased speaking, the tall, courtly German arose, and casting his arms about the slight form of the simple hearted and plainly attired Mennonite, ex claimed with deep feeling, [Fir sind brueder, "We are brethren." The incident is understood as having suggested the name for the new de nomination when it was finally organized.
(2) Results. The preaching of these mcn led to the true conversion and a better spiritual life of many who held church membership, but whose religious life was chiefly an outward formalism.
The converts were organized into bands or classesfor Christian fellowship and worship. Per sons from among them were appointed as class leaders, whose duty it was to conduct a weekly service and otherwise exercise a spiritual over sight over their brethren. Some of these devel oped into ministers, and other ministers also joined in the movement. Thus, in time, a con siderable body of ministers became engaged in this special work, but for a number of years they remained without organization. Gradually it be came desirable to send authorized persons to visit the scattered bands for their spiritual edification, and thus dawned the beginnings of the itinerant system of church supply, which the Church later adopted as one of its permanent characteristics.
(3) Organization. It was for many years not the wish of the leaders of the movement to or ganize a separate denomination. Indeed, Mr. Ot terbein retained his connection with the German Reformed Church to the end of his life, as Mr. Wesley, the founder of Methodism, did in the Church of England. Mr. Boehm fared differently, his brethren finally, with evident regret, exclud ing him from their fellowship on account of what they regarded his heretical preaching. But Provi dence clearly led the way, and against the wishes of these men it became necessary, in time, to ef fect a formal organization. The first formal con ference of ministers was held in Mr. Otterbein's parsonage, in Baltimore, in 1789. Of the four teen then recognized as associated in the work seven were present. At this conference a brief but comprehensive confession of faith, from the pen of Mr. Otterbein, was adopted; also a series of rules for the government of the ministers and members. A second conference was held in 1791, the number of ministers having now increased to twenty-two. No formal conference was again held until the year 1800. This confer ence, held near Frederick City, Maryland, as sumed a position of much historic interest. A completed organization was now effected, a name for the new body, "The United Brethren in Christ," was adopted, and bishops were for the first time elected, the choice falling naturally upon Mr. Otterbein and Mr. Boehm. The ministers now numbered thirty-two. No statistics remain showing the strength of their following. But thus organized, and bearing now a definite name, the Church took its place as a distinct body among the early American denominations. Up to this time, and for a number of years after, the preach ing was exclusively in the German language. At the present time less than four per cent. of the congregations of the Church have their services in German.