Foreign missions that have closed (Argentina, China, Denmark and Sweden, France and Switzerland, Indonesia, Niger, and Turkey) Former Brethren church ( Betesda) in Malmö, Scania, Sweden. There are a number of practices distinctive to the Brethren Church: they observe foot washing and love feasts in conjunction with the communion service. The Church of the Brethren also practices anointing with oil: a person needing spiritual or physical healing is anointed on the forehead in a prayer service. Brethren also teach pacifism and conscientious objection to involvement in war. They avoid taking oaths, saying “I affirm” rather than “I swear” when making a commitment. Adult baptism, with three immersions, is observed as the believer’s first act of commitment in a life of obedience and following Jesus Christ. Nigeria | Church of the Brethren". Brethren.org. November 22, 2013. Archived from the original on December 10, 2008 . Retrieved November 15, 2015.

Among other beliefs, the group believes that the Bible is the supreme authority for church doctrine and practice over and above "the mere tradition of men". Expansion across the continent and changes due to the Industrial Revolution caused strain and conflict among the Brethren. In the early 1880s a major schism took place resulting in a three-way split: The traditional Old German Baptist Brethren, the progressive Brethren Church, and the conservative German Baptist Brethren, who later changed their name to the Church of the Brethren in 1908. In total, in the 21st-century United States, 14 Anabaptist or evangelical Protestant groups survive who descended from the 18th-century Schwarzenau Brethren of Germany. A succession of further schisms and reunifications led to a number of groups forming over the years, of which the Plymouth Brethren Christian Church is now the best known. What do Plymouth Brethren believe in? Biblical Inspiration Authority". Brethren. Archived from the original on November 17, 2015 . Retrieved November 15, 2015.

She added: "I remember once my husband sent a text from his mobile to the home phone. All it said was 'hi'. That evening we received a visit from a local brother saying he was here because my husband had sent a text. Officially naming and recognizing eldership is common to Open Brethren (cf. 1 Thessalonians 5:12–13), whereas many Exclusive Brethren assemblies believe that recognizing a man as an elder is too close to having clergy, and therefore a group of leading brothers, none of whom has an official title of any kind, attempts to present issues to the entire group for it to decide upon, believing that the whole group must decide, not merely a body of elders. Traditionally, only men are allowed to speak (and, in some cases, attend) these decision-making meetings, although not all assemblies follow that rule today.

The Exclusive Brethren experienced many subsequent splits, scatterings, and recombinations. The Open Brethren also suffered one split (concerning the autonomy of assemblies) which occurred at different times in different parts of the world. Nevertheless, both the Exclusive and the Open Brethren continued to expand their congregations, with the opens expanding more rapidly than the exclusives. [12] Based in Dublin, this group (John Nelson Darby, Anthony Norris Groves, John Bellett, Edward Cronin and Francis Hutchinson) paved the way for the movement to come together with a brotherly fellowship, or ‘Brethren’.

The Church of the Brethren is one of the historic peace churches, which includes Quakers, Amish, Apostolic and Mennonite churches. This is because two of the Brethren's fundamental beliefs are nonviolent resolution of conflict and nonresistance to evil, which they combine with antiwar and peace efforts around the world. The church's commitment to love the enemy and use nonviolence is summarized in its phrase, "all war is sin" (Annual Conference, 1935), and the fact that many Brethren have refused to engage in military service. The group continued to expand and from Pennsylvania, they migrated chiefly westward. By 1908 they were most numerous in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, Kansas and North Dakota. United States (headquarters) and Puerto Rico, with groups in Brazil; the Dominican Republic; Haiti; Nigeria and Oku, Cameroon; Spain; and South Sudan; also present in Ecuador ( United Andean Indian Mission) and India having (two Brethren denominations and the Church of North India).

The elements constituting the formation of the Brethren Church were historically referred to as progressives and later, by others, as "traditionalists." Progressives stressed evangelism, advocated for revival meetings, Sunday schools, and foreign missionary work, and objected to plain, non-fashionable distinctive dress, and objected to the supremacy of the annual conferences. The Plymouth Brethren originated in the 1820s work of John Nelson Darby and others in Ireland, the United Kingdom, and India. Plymouth Brethren divided into two branches in 1848: As of 2003, six Brethren bodies meet together in the Brethren World Assembly: Church of the Brethren, Conservative Grace Brethren Churches, International, Dunkard Brethren, Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches, Old German Baptist Brethren, and The Brethren Church. The first Assembly was held in Pennsylvania in 1992. They met at Elizabethtown College and celebrated the 250th The students contribute willingly to the local community through impressive charitable work, but their contribution to school life, for example, through the school council, is underdeveloped.”The remaining middle group—called "conservatives"—retained the name German Baptist Brethren. At the Annual Conference of 1908 at Des Moines, Iowa, the name was officially changed to the Church of the Brethren. The Annual Conference justified the name change by citing the predominant use of English in the church, the fact that the name "German Baptist" frustrated mission work, and that it would disassociate the denomination from the Old German Baptist Brethren. [6] 20th century [ edit ] About Anthony Norris Grove". Web.ukonline.co.uk. Archived from the original on 12 October 2009 . Retrieved 24 October 2010. Grass, Tim (2006). Gathering to his Name: The Story of the Open Brethren in Britain and Ireland. Bletchley, UK: Paternoster. ISBN 9781842272206. Brethren Disaster Ministries, Brethren Service Center, Brethren Volunteer Service, Children's Disaster Services, Heifer International, SERRV International Lindsay, Thomas Martin & Grieve, Alexander James (1911). "Plymouth Brethren", Encyclopædia Britannica, Eleventh Edition. New York: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.