Friends/Brethren - American Family Tree [Return to List of Trees]
Arising out of the “Radical Reformation,” the Friends and Brethren were 17th century movements that built on many of the core teachings of Luther, Calvin, and other early reformers. Unlike the Lutheran and Reformed churches, however, they renounced any close ties with the state. They also stressed personal piety and enlightenment over rigid doctrinal conformity. The Quakers held their first meeting in the American colonies in 1661 and the Brethren would soon follow, establishing their first colonial church in 1723.
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Note: Groups that are colored blue are currently active. Groups that are colored gray are defunct.Included in this tree
| Religious Group | Founded | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Philadelphia Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends | 1681 | The Philadelphia Yearly Meeting was founded in the late 1600s in Burlington, New Jersey. The first meeting held in Philadelphia came in 1683 after the adjournment of the Yearly Meeting at Burlington. This group is part of the Friends General Conference, an association of otherwise autonomous yearly meetings in the U.S. and Canada, which was founded in 1900. |
| Hicksite Friends | 1827 | Hicksite Friends were followers of Elias Hicks who first left the Philadelphia Yearly Meeting in 1827. Their separation inspired similar ones throughout the nation. The Hicksite Friends joined the groups that formed the Friends General Conference in 1900. |
| Brethren in Christ Church | 1778 | The Brethren in Christ Church, a church out of the Mennonite tradition, was founded in 1778 in Pennsylvania. It took its current name in 1863. This group was commonly known as "River Brethren." |
| Old Order Yorker River Brethren | 1843 | The Old Order (or Yorker) River Brethren separated in 1843 from their parent church, the River Brethren (now known as the Brethren in Christ), protesting what they saw as laxity in matters of nonconformity to the world and non-resistance to the military. They are currently the smallest among the River Brethren groups, having only four congregations in southeastern Pennsylvania. |
| United Zion Church | 1855 | The United Zion Church, originally known as United Zion's Children, was founded in 1855 by Matthias Brinser and other former members of the Brethren in Christ. In 1967, the Brethren in Christ asked the United Zion Church for forgiveness for the action of the council in 1855. The following year, the United Zion Church offered a formal statement of complete forgiveness. The two groups still remain separate denominations, and these resolutions became the basis for the mission field and higher education. |
| Church of the Brethren | 1723 | The Church of the Brethren grew out of the 18th-century Pietist movement in Germany. It was founded in 1723 in the United States by Alexander Mack Sr., Christopher Sauer II, Alexander Mack Jr., and Peter Becker. They are also referred to as Conservative Dunkards. |
| Old German Baptist Brethren Church | 1881 | The Old German Baptist Brethren Church was founded in 1881 as a split from the Church of the Brethren. It represents the conservative wing in the Brethren movement. |
| Friends General Conference | 1900 | The Friends General Conference, founded in 1900, brought together several yearly meetings of the Society of Friends that followed the unprogrammed and free spirit of the Quakers associated with Friends minister Elias Hicks. |
| Brethren Church (Ashland, Ohio) | 1882 | The Brethren Church (Ashland, Ohio) was founded in 1882 by Henry R. Holsinger and former members of the Church of the Brethren. During the 1930s, a group supportive of a dispensational fundamentalist doctrinal position left the church to found the National Fellowship of Brethren Churches. That group subsequently became known as the Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches, but took the name Charis Fellowship in 2017. |
| National Fellowship of Brethren Churches | 1939 | The National Fellowship of Brethren Churches was founded in the 1930s by former members of the Brethren Church (Ashland, Ohio). It was known as the National Fellowship of Brethren Churches from 1939-1976 and the Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches from 1976-2017. In 2017, the group assumed the name Charis Fellowship. |
| Nebraska Yearly Meeting of Friends | The Nebraska Yearly Meeting of Friends was an associate of the Friends United Meeting. In 1957, the Rocky Mountain Yearly Meeting split from the Nebraska Meeting. | |
| Rocky Mountain Yearly Meeting of the Friends Church | 1957 | The Rocky Mountain Yearly Meeting (of Friends), serving Quakers in the far West, was founded in 1957 as a split from the Nebraska Yearly Meeting. |
| Ohio Yearly Meeting of Friends | 1813 | The Ohio Yearly Meeting of Friends was founded in 1813. They worship with a pre-determined structure and an official minister. Theologically, the Ohio Yearly Meeting was very influenced by the Holiness movement after the Civil War. |
| Evangelical Friends Church, Eastern Region | 1971 | The Evangelical Friends Church, Eastern Region was formed in 1813 as the Ohio Yearly Meeting of Friends. It took its present name in 1971 and follows a conservative holiness faith. |
| Oregon Yearly Meeting of the Friends Church | 1893 | The Oregon Yearly Meeting of Friends was established by Quaker settlers in the Northwest who were from the Iowa Yearly Meeting. In 1893, they were established as an independent yearly meeting and took on the name Oregon Yearly Meeting of Friends. As this group expanded geographically, they took on the name Northwest Yearly Meeting of Friends. |
| Northwest Yearly Meeting of Friends Church | 1971 | The Northwest Yearly Meeting of Friends Church dates to the movement of Friends into the Willamette Valley of Oregon in the late nineteenth century. They were officially established in 1893 as the Oregon Yearly Meeting of Friends. As they expanded geographically, the group adopted its present name in 1971. |
| Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches | 1976 | The Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches was founded in the 1930s by former members of the Brethren Church (Ashland, Ohio). It was known as the National Fellowship of Brethren Churches from 1939-1976, at which point it took this name until 2017. In 2017, the group changed its name to Charis Fellowship. |
| Religious Society of Friends (Kansas Yearly Meeting) | 1872 | The Kansas Yearly Meeting was formed in 1872 as Friends moved into Kansas and then Oklahoma, Texas, Nebraska, and Colorado. In 1978, they changed their name to the Mid-America Yearly meeting. |
| Religious Society of Friends (Mid-America Yearly Meeting) | 1978 | The Mid-America Yearly Meeting originally began as the Kansas Yearly Meeting in 1872, which formed as Friends moved into Kansas and nearby states. They took their new name in 1978, though they added "Evangelical Friends Church" to their name in 2001. |
| Evangelical Friends Alliance | 1965 | The Evangelical Friends Alliance was founded in 1965 as an association of four autonomous Quaker groups. These groups represented the most theologically conservative element in the Friends movement. In 1990, the Evangelical Friends International superseded the Evangelical Friends Alliance. |
| Evangelical Friends International | 1990 | In 1990, the Evangelical Friends International superseded the Evangelical Friends Alliance. It is theologically conservative and is a member of the National Association of Evangelicals. In 2008, this group changed its name to Evangelical Friends Church International. |
| Evangelical Friends Church - Mid-America Yearly Meeting | 2001 | The Evangelical Friends Church - Mid-America Yearly Meeting originally began as the Kansas Yearly Meeting in 1872, which formed as Friends moved into Kansas and nearby states. They took on name Mid-America Yearly meeting in 1978, though they changed to their present name in 2001. |
| Evangelical Friends Church International | 2008 | The Evangelical Friends Church International was originally founded in 1965 as the Evangelical Friends Alliance. In 1990, this group took on the name Evangelical Friends International, and in 2008 the group changed its name to Evangelical Friends Church International. The association works to provide resources and community to congregations that join it through campgrounds and schools (including Friends University, Malone University, and Houston Graduate School of Theology). It changed its name to the Evangelical Friends Church International in 2008. |
| Old German Baptist Brethren Church, New Conference | 2009 | The Old German Baptist Brethren Church, New Conference, was formed in 2009 by members of the Old German Baptist Brethren who opposed a resolution adopted at the Brethren's 2009 annual meeting. |
| Charis Fellowship | 2017 | Charis Fellowship was originally founded in the 1930s by former members of the Brethren Church (Ashland, Ohio). It was known as the National Fellowship of Brethren Churches from 1939-1976 and the Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches from 1976-2017. In 2017, the group assumed its present name. |
