DISCIPLES OF CHRIST. The religious movement, whose representatives have come to be known as Disciples of Christ, or Christians, may be said to date its origin from the 'Dec laration and Address' issued by Thomas Camp bell, September 1809, and endorsed by his son, Alexander Campbell, who later became the leader of the movement. Thomas Campbell migrated from the northern part of Ireland in 1807 to seek a home for himself and his family in the New World. He located near Washing ton in western Pennsylvania. He was related by blood to the poet Thomas Campbell, and was a man of learning and profound piety. Being a minister in the Seceders' branch of the Presbyterian Church, he entered upon his labors in connection with that denomination im mediately upon his arrival in this country. His experiences in seeking to assemble the scattered people of God of different names and creeds and to instruct them in spiritual things led him to realize more fully the evils of divisions among Christians. In his efforts to promote greater unity and co-operation among the mem bers of these different sects, he found himself in conflict with the ecclesiastical authority under which he was working and was brought to trial before his presbytery, which censured him for his course. Mr. Campbell soon withdrew from the ecclesiastical authority under which he had been preaching but continued his min istry to an increasing number • of people in private dwellings and wherever else an audi ence could be gathered.
In the 'Declaration and Address' referred to it was declared that "the Church of Christ upon earth is essentially, intentionally, and con stitutionally one, consisting of all those in every place that profess their faith in Christ and obedience to Hun in all things according to the Scriptures, and that manifest the same by their temper and conduct; and of none else, as none else can be truly and properly called Chris tians." While admitting the necessity of "dis tinct societies, locally separate one from an other," this new declaration of independence declared that "there ought to be no schisms, no uncharitable divisions among them. They ought to receive each other as Jesus Christ also re ceived them, to the glory of God, and for this purpose they ought all to walk by the same rule; to mind and speak the same things, and to be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.° The address adds that "in order to do this, nothing ought to be inculcated upon Christians as articles of faith, nor required of them as terms of com munion, but what is expressly taught and en joined upon them in the Word of God. Nor ought anything to be admitted as of divine ob ligation in their church constitution and man agement but what is expressly enjoined by the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ and his apostles upon the New Testament Church, either in express terms or by an approved precedent." In a word, the new movement had for its aim no less an object than the unity of Chris tians as they were one in the apostolic Church. In order to realize this consummation in har mony with the Lord's intercessory prayer they decided to reject all party names for. those given in the New Testament, and all human creeds or formulas as authoritative or binding on the human conscience, or as bases of fellow ship, and to take the word of God alone as their rule of faith and practice, and especially the New Testament, which was given for the guidance and instruction of Christians in their new life in Christ. Believing it to be necessary
to return to the original foundation and prac tice of the Church in order to realize its unity and its power, they made a fresh study of the New Testament to ascertain (1) what was the essential creed or confession of faith required in the early Church; (2) on what conditions persons were received into its membership; and (3) what was the nature of their organization and government. They reached the conclusion that the confession of faith made by Simon Peter, on which Jesus declared he would build his Church, namely, "Thou art the Christ the Son of the living God" was the creed of Chris tianity and the essential faith, and that all those who would make this confession from the heart, being penitent of their past sins, were to be admitted by baptism into the membership of the Church; that baptism in the early Church consisted of the burial of a penitent believer in water in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, and that only such were fit subjects for baptism; that the form of Church government was congregational; that each congregation had its deacons and elders or bishops, the former to look after the tem poral and the latter the spiritual interests of the Church. The Lord's Supper, it was found, was observed at first daily perhaps, but later weekly, on the first day of the week, in remembrance of Christ's suffering and death. Hence they prac tise weekly communion.
With this plea for the New Teitament basis of fellowship, and a return to the original purity and simplicity of the gospel and church organi7 zation, the disciples have made a marvelously rapid increase. The movement at present in the whole world has reached a numerical strength of 1,307,502, having its colleges, its religious journals, and its missionary, educa tional and benevolent organizations, all of which are doing effective work. The American Christian Missionary Society is the national organization for home missions. The Foreign Christian Missionary Society, as its name indi cates, has for its object the evangelization of the world. Besides this the Christian Woman's Board of Missions is an organization of the Christian women, which is doing mission work in both the home and foreign fields.
The Disciples of Christ raised $6,378,493.03 for current expenses in one year, while con tributing a grand total of $2,294,522.08 for all religious purposes in that year. They are sup porting missions in India, China, Japan, Africa, the Philippines, Cuba, Porto Rico, Mexico, Scandinavia and Turkey. Their aim is .to be evangelical without being sectarian, and to be liberal without being latitudinarian. They attribute their success to their advocacy of Christian union, the simplicity and directness of their preaching and the freedom which they enjoy, untrammeled by human creeds or by any hierarchial authority.