Christadelphians

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Christadelphians. A Christian sect founded by John Thomas (New York, c.1848), but with adherents in Britain. Originally called Thomasites, the name Christadelphian (‘Brother of Christ’) was adopted during the American Civil War to justify objection to military service. Rejecting ministers and churches, and with no overall organization, the core belief is millennialist, with Christ expected to return and rule from Jerusalem; the Bible is regarded as infallible, the doctrine of the trinity is rejected, baptism is seen as valid only by immersion, and the unconverted will not be raised from the dead.

A. S. Hargreaves

Christadelphians [Gr.,=brothers of Christ], small religious denomination founded in the United States in 1848 by John Thomas. Its members live by the Scriptures and await the second coming of Jesus on earth, who, they believe, will establish a theocracy with its center in Jerusalem. There is no ordained ministry. Christadelphians do not believe in the Trinity or the existence of hell. They do not vote, hold public office, or participate in war. There are about 6,500 members in the United States and 50,000 members worldwide.

Christadelphians, members of a lay movement, sometimes called Thomasites after their English‐born founder John Thomas (1805–71), who repudiated the name Christian as associated with anti‐Christian beliefs and attempted to revive the early apostolic faith. They expect a second coming of Jesus to establish a theocracy centered at Jerusalem. Adherents have shrunk from 15,000 in 1960 to 5000 in 1980.

Chris·ta·del·phi·an / ˌkristəˈdelfēən/ • n. a member of a Christian sect, founded in the U.S. in 1848, that claims to return to the beliefs and practices of the earliest disciples and holds that Christ will return in power to set up a worldwide theocracy beginning at Jerusalem. • adj. of or adhering to this sect and its beliefs.

Christadelphians A Christian sect founded by John Thomas (New York, c.1848), but with adherents in Britain. Originally called Thomasites, the name Christadelphian (‘Brother of Christ’) was adopted during the American Civil War to justify objection to military service. The core belief is millennialist, with Christ expected to return and rule from Jerusalem.

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