The Last Will and Testament of the Springfield Presbytery

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The Last Will and Testament of the Springfield Presbytery is a landmark 1804 document in the early American Restoration Movement that dissolved a Presbyterian governing body to promote simple New Testament Christianity and Christian unity.


Statements (48)
Predicate Object
instanceOf Christian theological text
historical document
religious document
action formally dissolved the Springfield Presbytery
associatedOrganization Springfield Presbytery
associatedWithPerson Barton W. Stone
David Purviance
John Dunlavy
John Thompson
Richard McNemar
Robert Marshall
callsFor abandonment of party names and unscriptural distinctions among Christians
circulation distributed among early frontier congregations in Kentucky and Ohio Valley
country United States
dateWritten 1804
denominationContext Presbyterianism
documentType last will and testament (figurative)
genre ecclesiastical declaration
manifesto
historicalSignificance landmark document in the early American Restoration Movement
influenceOn Christian Churches and Churches of Christ
Churches of Christ
Disciples of Christ
Stone–Campbell Movement
early American Restoration Movement
keyTheme appeal to the New Testament as sole rule of faith and practice
call for Christians to be known simply as "Christians"
rejection of denominational labels
language English
legacy foundational text for unity principles in the Stone–Campbell tradition
locationOfOrigin near Cane Ridge, Kentucky
movement Restoration Movement
Stone–Campbell Movement
opposes binding of human confessions of faith
sectarian division among Christians
purpose to dissolve the Springfield Presbytery
to promote Christian unity
to promote simple New Testament Christianity
region Kentucky
relatedEvent Cane Ridge Revival
religiousTradition Christianity
scripturalBasis New Testament
structure modeled rhetorically on a legal will
theologicalEmphasis Christian unity based on the Bible alone
rejection of human creeds as tests of fellowship
restoration of New Testament Christianity
title The Last Will and Testament of the Springfield Presbytery
year 1804

Referenced by (2)

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