The Church of the United Brethren in Christ is an evangelical Christian denomination with churches in 17 countries. It is Protestant, with an episcopal structure and Arminian theology, with roots in the Mennonite and German Reformed communities of 18th-century Pennsylvania, as well as close ties to Methodism. It was organized in 1800 by Martin Boehm and Philip William Otterbein and is the first American denomination that was not transplanted from Europe. It emerged from United Brethren churches that were at first unorganized, not all of which joined the new denomination when it was formally organized in 1800, following a 1789 conference at the Otterbein Church in Baltimore, Maryland)
In 1889, a controversy over membership in secret societies such as the Freemasons, the proper way to modify the church's constitution, and other issues split the United Brethren into majority liberal and minority conservative blocs, the latter of which was led by Bishop Milton Wright (father of the Wright Brothers). Both groups continued to use the name Church of the United Brethren in Christ.
The majority faction, known as the Church of the United Brethren in Christ (New Constitution), merged with the Evangelical Church in 1946 to form a new denomination known as the Evangelical United Brethren Church (EUB). This in turn merged in 1968 with the Methodist Church to form the United Methodist Church (UMC).
The Wright-led faction was known as the Church of the United Brethren in Christ, Old Constitution until 1946, when it resumed usage of the original name. , the denomination claims about 600 congregations, with 47,300 members in fifteen countries. The US National Conference consists of about 200 churches and 25,000 members in the United States, plus mission districts in Haiti and India. The United States national office is located in Huntington, Indiana, as is the denomination's only college, Huntington University.
History
Though the church was not organized until 1800, its roots reach back to 1767. In May of that year, a "Great Meeting" (part of the interdenominational revival movement the First Great Awakening) was held at a barn belonging to Isaac Long in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Martin Boehm (1725–1812), a Mennonite preacher, spoke of his becoming a Christian through crying out to God while plowing in the field. Philip William Otterbein (1726–1813), a Reformed pastor at York, Pennsylvania, left his seat, embraced Boehm and said to him, "" (We are brethren).
The followers of Boehm and Otterbein formed a loose movement for many years. It spread to include German-speaking churches in Pennsylvania, Virginia, Maryland, and Ohio. In 1800, they began a yearly conference. Thirteen ministers attended the first conference at the home of Peter Kemp in Frederick, Maryland. At that conference in 1800, they adopted a name, the United Brethren in Christ. Boehm and Otterbein, now in their 70s, were elected as bishops. The United Brethren Church claims to be the first denomination to actually begin in the United States, rather than be transplanted from Europe. A confession of faith was adopted in 1815 (similar to one written by Otterbein in 1789), and it has remained the statement of church doctrine to the present. In 1841, they adopted a constitution. It has remained mostly intact, being changed perhaps a dozen times.
William Otterbein retained a connection with the Reformed Church, pastoring a Reformed Church in Baltimore, Maryland, from 1774 until his death in 1813. Martin Boehm was excluded by the Mennonites in 1775. He joined the Methodist Church in 1802, while remaining bishop of the United Brethren until his death in 1812. Francis Asbury, bishop of the Methodist Church in America, spoke at the memorial services of both of these United Brethren bishops. Otterbein had assisted in Asbury's ordination.
The United Brethren took a strong stand against slavery in 1821. After 1837, slave owners were no longer allowed to remain as members of the United Brethren Church. In 1847, the United Brethren founded Otterbein University in Westerville, Ohio, which continues today. In 1853, the Home, Frontier, and Foreign Missionary Society was organized. Expansion occurred into the western United States, but the church's stance against slavery limited expansion to the south.
Church of the United Brethren in Christ (Old Constitution) By 1889, the United Brethren had grown to over 200,000 members with six bishops. That same year they experienced a division. Denominational leaders wanted to make three changes: to give local conferences proportional representation at the General Conference; to allow laymen to serve as delegates to the General Conference; and to allow United Brethren members to hold membership in secret societies. However, the consensus process for amending the constitution at the time made it difficult to amend; amendments required a 2/3 majority of all church members. However, the delegates believed these changes were necessary for the good of the church and enacted them without this near consensus at the 1889 General Conference, held in York, Pennsylvania. They also adopted a new confession of faith.
A minority, mostly conservative. faction felt the changes violated the constitution because they were not made by a 2/3 majority of all church members. Milton Wright (the father of aviation pioneers Wilbur Wright and Orville Wright) was the only one of the church's six bishops to side with the minority. He and 13 other conference delegates left the meeting and resumed the session at the York Opera House. They argued that, based on the requirements in the church constitution, the majority faction had effectively withdrawn from the denomination, and they declared themselves to be the true United Brethren Church.
Most of the congregations that sided with Wright lost their property. Wright led this group— comprising 10,000 to 15,000 constituents—in those early years as they reorganized. A new headquarters began taking shape in 1897 in Huntington, Indiana, with the establishment of a publishing house, national offices, and Huntington College. Wright served as bishop until 1905.
Until 1946 both groups operated under the name Church of the United Brethren in Christ, distinguished by whether they were the Church of the United Brethren in Christ (Old Constitution), known as the "Radicals", or the Church of the United Brethren in Christ (New Constitution), known as the "Liberals". Both claimed 1800 as their founding date, with heritage dating to 1767, and the same history up to 1889.
In 1946, the larger New Constitution United Brethren church merged with the Evangelical Association to form the Evangelical United Brethren Church. That body in turn merged with the Methodist Church (USA) in 1968 to form the United Methodist Church. The present United Brethren Church is descended from the Old Constitution faction. This group eventually adopted two of the changes that had led to the division of 1889 – local conferences have proportional representation at General Conference, and half of the delegates are laypersons. The present church contends that unlike in 1889, these changes were adopted constitutionally, by near consensus.
Theology The Church of the United Brethren in Christ is a conservative Trinitarian body of Christians that profess the deity, humanity, and atonement of Jesus; that the Bible, both the Old and New Testaments, is the inspired Word of God; and that salvation is through faith, repentance, and following after Christ. The church holds two ordinances: baptism and the Lord's supper. The church takes a neutral position on the observance of foot washing, stating, "the example of washing feet is left to the judgment of every one to practice or not...".
Branches and connections At first the Church of the United Brethren in Christ was loosely organized and known simply as the United Brethren Church. When it officially organized into a denomination in 1800, it adopted the name "Church of the United Brethren in Christ" to avoid confusion with the Unitas Fratrum (Unity of the Brethren), or, as it more commonly was called in English, the United Brethren (also known as the Moravian Church). Although there was influence by Pietism and the Moravians on the founders of the Church of the United Brethren in Christ, there is no direct organizational link.
Likewise, there are no organizational connections with the Brethren denominations coming out of the German Brethren and Swiss Brethren movements, and there are no connections with various Latter Day Saint groups that use "United Brethren" in their name.
Brethren in Christ Known branches of the Church of the United Brethren in Christ include several congregations that had been led by United Brethren founder Martin Boehm. Initially known as River Brethren, they developed into several denominations, including the Brethren in Christ Church, Calvary Holiness Church, Old Order River Brethren/Yorker Brethren, and United Zion Church. While they were associated with the United Brethren during the early decades, they never joined when the movement formalized into a denomination.
Missionary Church During the 19th century, John Swank and a small number of supporters left the United Brethren Church. They joined with a small faction that had broken from the larger Brethren in Christ Church. Led by John Wegner, this group was also known by the name "Brethren in Christ". Part of this group, led by John Swank, later broke off and merged to become part of the Mennonite Brethren in Christ. The Mennonite Brethren in Christ eventually contributed to the convergence of denominations of what is now the Missionary Church, USA, headquartered in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The remainder of the Wegner/Swank Brethren in Christ became the Pentecostal Brethren in Christ before becoming part of the Pilgrim Holiness Church, which merged to become part of the Wesleyan Church.
United Christian Church In addition a small group of members withdrew (primarily over a desire for a stronger stand on pacifism) to form one of the denominations known as the United Christian Church around the middle of the 19th century.
Christian Union / Churches of Christ in Christian Union Church In 1848, a small group withdrew to form the Republican United Brethren Church. They later merged with another small splinter group, called the Reformed United Brethren Church to create the Evangelical United Brethren Association. The Evangelical United Brethren Association is believed to have united with several other groups to form the Christian Union in 1864. In 1909, the Christian Union split into the Christian Union and the Churches of Christ in Christian Union.
The Evangelical United Brethren Association was not related to the Evangelical Association that later was known as the Evangelical Church and later merged to become The Evangelical United Brethren Church.
United Methodist Church and United Church of Canada The largest branching came in 1889, when the main body divided into two groups. The larger group embraced a new constitution while the smaller group retained the original constitution. The larger group was known as the Church of the United Brethren in Christ or, later, the United Brethren Church (UB). In 1946, the United Brethren Church merged with the Evangelical Church to form the Evangelical United Brethren Church (EUB). In 1968 the Evangelical United Brethren Church merged with the Methodist Church to form the United Methodist Church (UMC).