The
Brethren Assembly was a product of the 19th century
resurgence of Christian unity and activity. This was neither a new Church nor a
novel teaching, but a reawakening within the Protestant Reformation of the 16th
century. This association of a number of believers was the consequence of a
move to return to the form of worship and prayer of the early days of
Christianity. They gave up their social
disparities and differences to form a brotherhood of themselves and came to be
known as Brethren.
The first assembly of this kind was held in
1825 in Dublin, Ireland, pioneered by Dr.Edward Cronin, J.N.Darby, Bellect, Hatchinson, Edward
Wilson, V.Parnel and Dr.Antony Groves. Their initial endeavor was to reform the
Churches they were members of. But a
major change of strategy was initiated in 1827, when four men assembled at
No.9, Pills William Square, Dublin, the residence of Hatchinson, for the breaking of the bread, following the
example of early Christians, not in the presence of ordained priests. This was based on the teaching of St. Peter
that all those who recognise Jesus Christ as their Saviour
make up a “royal priesthood”. They held
that an ordained priest was not a pre-requisite for the worship of God. Cronin, Darby, Bellect and Hutchinson
constituted that congregation.
Shortly afterwards, similar
congregations were held at Providence Chape. Plymouth. From there the movement spread to other
countries and continents. Within a short
span of time, J.N.Darby
initiated setting up of 1400 Zealand, West Indies, Switzerland, France and Holland. By 1829, the movement had reached Arabia and immediately afterwards
touched Egypt. George Muller who rose to fame through the
establishment of orphanages was an early member of the Brothren.
This
spiritual movement found its way to India in 1835 through Antony Norris Groves, who was professionally a dentist. His activities centered in Bihar, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. Missionary
work soon followed in Karnataka and Bengal. In 1872, this movement was spearheaded in
Kerala by Mathai Upadeshi, a disciple of
John Arulappa, who
took the baton from Groves.J.J.Gregson,
a preacher of Kesnt Convention in England delivered sermons in the
Convention at Maramon, Kerala. His Bible
classes inspired several people in Kerala and consequently in 1896, P.E.Mammen Kasheesha of Kumbanadu, a Priest of Marthoma Church, was baptised by
immersion at Kunnmkulam, Thrissur, Kerala, by the
Brethren missionary V.Nagal,
who is renowned as the composer of the song “Samayamaam
Rathathil”.
On
March 9, 1899, following the Dublin example, four men congregated at the
residence of Kuttiyil Mathai, Kumbanadu, for the breaking of bread, without a
priest. This marked the beginning of
Brethren movement in Kerala. Later the missionary work of V.Nagal, E.H.Nod and poet K.V.Simon went a long way in the growth of
brethren Assembly in Kerala. Today this
movement has over 600 churches in Kerala and is estimated to have over 2200
churches in India. Unlike other Churches, the
Brethren Assembly has no centralized administration. Every regional church is almost autonomous.
In
regional Churches elders and ‘service persons’ do day-to-day administrative
work. They are not elected, but
recognised by believers as men of God-given talents. Anyway, members of the Churches of a region
usually meet and organise informal conventions. Co-ordinated
activities for women, children, and youth are also conducted. Regional Churches conduct weekly prayer
services, Sunday School, youth conventions, prayer
meetings, house meetings and Bible classes.
‘Oversight meetings’ to discuss church activities are also held
periodically.
