PLYMOUTH
172
PLYMOUTH
during 1910, raised the number of communities of
nuns in this diocese to twenty-nine. The Cathohc
population is about one in a hundred, that is, 12,000,
most of whom, being employed in the Government
Army and Xavy establishments, reside in Plymouth,
Stonehouse, and Devonport. It is worthy of note that
Bishop John Carroll of Baltimore, founder of the
Hierarchy. of the Church in the United States of
America, was on 15 August, 1790, consecrated in Lul-
worth Church, Dorset, by Bishop Walmesley, Vicar
Apostolic of the Western District. The Faith never
failed during the Reformation at Lanherne, Cornwall,
and at Chideock, Dorset, through the fidclit)- of the
Lords Arundell. Ble.ssed Cuthbert Mayne (q. v.), the
protomartyr of pontifical seminarists, was a native of
Devon.
Oliver, Collections (1837); Brother Foley, Records of the English Province S. J. (London, 1877-S3); Challoner. Memoirs of Missionary Priests; Brady, English Hierarchy (London, 1S77).
C. M. Graham.
Plymouth Brethren, the name given to a wide- spread Protestant sect originally called by its own members "The Brethren", which came into being by gradual development in the early part of the nine- teenth century. The members themselves protest against the name: — "^A'ho are these 'Plymouth Brethren'? I do not own the name. I am a brother of every believer in the Lord Jesus, and, if I lived in Plymouth, the Elder might call me a 'PljTnouth Brother'; but I do not hve there, hence I do not own the name" (Davis, "Help for Enquirers", p. 20). Several influences concurred towards the rise of the body, and it is not possible to point to any one name as that of the founder. Its first origin seem to have been in Dublin where, in 182S, an Englishman, Anthony Norris Groves, then a student of Trinitj- College, was a member of a small body of churchmen who met for prayer and conference on the Scriptures and spiritual subjects. The members were profoundlj' impressed by the necessity of a \nsible union of Chris- tendom, the centre of which thej' conceived to be the death of Christ as set forth in the Rite of the Lord's Supper. At first the members did not withdraw from their respective communions, but the first step in that direction was suggested by Groves, who advanced the view "that believers meeting together as disciples of Christ were free to break bread together, as their Lord had admonished them; and that, in so far as the ajjos- tles served as a guide, every Lord's Day should be set apart for thus remembering the Lord's death and obeying His parting command." This view, that the ministration of the sacraments and the preaching of the Gospel was the common right of all Christians, became the distinguishing feature of the assemblies of The Brethren which now began to spring up in other places besides Dublin. An important development was soon brought about bj' one of the leaders of the Dublin Assembly, John Nelson Darby, an ex-barrister who had taken orders in the Episcopalian Church of Ireland and then seceded therefrom. Having always advocated entire separation from all other communi- ties as the only effective way of procuring true unity, he at length succeeded in attaining this purpose, and is accordingly by some considered as the founder of the Plymouth Brethren, a distinction which others claim for Groves.
The growth of the Brethren had been largely helped by the spread of Darby's first pamphlet, "The Nature and I'nity of the Church of Christ", which he had published in 1S2S, and in 1830 a public assembly was opened in Aungier St., Dublin. Darby then started on a tour with the view of propagating his ideas, visiting Paris, Oxford, and Cambridge. At Oxford he met Benjamin Wills Newton, an English clergyman, who first invited him to Plymouth, where Newton was the chief member of an assembly of Brethren which
w!vs very active in the neighbourhood. From this
assembly came the name "Brethren from Plymouth"
or more shortly "Plymouth Brethren", by which the
body was subsequently known. From 1830 to 1838
the movement spread rapidly, and assemblies were
opened in most of the large towns in England. In
1838 Darby went to Switzerland, where he spent
seven years in propagating the ^•iews of the sect with
considerable success. At the present day the canton
of Vaud is the stronghold of the "Brethren" on the
continent, and scattered assemblies are also found in
France, Germany, and Italy. In 184.5 the revolution
in Vaud caused Darby to return to England, but he
proved a very disturbing element, and from his reap-
pearance must be dated the unending quarrels and
dissensions which have ever since been a marked
feature of Plj-mouth Brethrenism. In 1845 having
quarrelled with Newton on the interpretation of cer-
tain prophecies, he accused him of denying the au-
thority of the Holy Ghost by assuming even a limited
presidency over the assembly. This resulted in the
secession of Darby with a hundred followers. In 1848
there was another cleavage — into Neutrals and Ex-
clusives. The Neutral Brethren, also known as Open
Brethren, supported the action of the Bethesda con-
gregation at Bristol which received Newton's followers
into communion. The Exclusive Brethren or Darby-
ites, who included the majority of the members, held
aloof. These have undergone further divisions since
then, so that at the present time there are several dif-
ferent bodies of Phmiouth Bretfu-en. As these bodies
differ among themselves on doctrinal as well as on dis-
ciplinary points, it is only possible hereto outline their
teaching in a very broad way, passing over the points
ol difference between the warring sections.
Doctrine. — The underlying principle of the teach- ing of the Plymouth Brethren, and one which explains their action in endeavouring to attract to themselves "the saints in the different systems and to teach them to own and act upon,the true principles of the assem- bly of God" (Mackintosh, " Assemblj- of God", p. 24), is that the Church described in the New Testament has fallen into utter corruption, so that it is con- demned b}' God to extinction. This corruption was due to the Church admitting good and evil alike within her pale, and admitting an ordained ministry to exist. They hold that the Church was intended to contain the righteous onlj-, and that all official minis- try is a denial of the spiritual priesthood which belongs to all believers and a rejection of the guidance of the Hoh' Ghost. From this it follows that entire separa- tion from all other Christian churches and denomina- tions is necessary as a first condition of salvation. But some principle is needed to unite those who have thus separated themselves from other believers. This principle is union with Christ effected by the power of the Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost is said to preside in the assembly and to select from those present, who all have an equal right to minister, the person or per- sons who are to be His mouthpiece. The will of the Holy Ghost is recognized by the existence of His gifts, that is the power to exhort or to comfort or to teach. Whoever possesses these gifts is bound to use them for the common good, but the assembly selects from the gifted persons the particular one who is to be the min- ister for the time being. Such an election is considered as inspired by God. It is employed to ascertain both who is to lead the worship and who is to preach, but women are debarred from ministering in either way. The chief act of worship is the Lord's Supper, which is given precedence over all prayer and preaching: " Beware of thinking anything can be of equal moment with duly showing forth the Lord's death. The Sup per of the Lord claims an unequivocal prominence in the worship of the Saints." (Kelly, op. cit. inf., lec- ture iii) The weekly celebration of the Lord's Supper is incumbent on all, and no member is allowed to
