The Quakers are today almost the only survivors from the many religious groups that sprang up in the religious and social ferment of the English Civil War (1642–1649). They survived and flourished largely through the practical wisdom of a young man whose spiritual experiences and insights launched the movement. His name was George Fox. At the age of nineteen he entered a troubled period in which he found no spiritual help. Leaving home, he wandered for four years, consulting priests and non-conformist ministers. Having reached the point of near despair, he had a vivid spiritual experience, as he wrote in his Journal: "When my hopes in all men were gone...then O then I heard a voice which said "There is one, even Christ Jesus that can speak to thy condition". And when I heard it, my heart did leap for joy." Feeling the call to preach he met a group of former Baptists, and together they called themselves "The Children of Light". Over the years, moving from the English Midlands into Yorkshire, Fox was accepted by a group of Seekers. As time went on they began to refer to themselves as "Friends in the Truth", and it is this that gives us the official name of the "Religious Society of Friends". The term "Quakers", which sometimes appears in brackets after the official name, comes from an insult used by a magistrate in Derby when he was sentencing some Friends for being non-conformist (Fox had bidden him to "tremble at the word of the Lord"). On 13 June 1652 George Fox addressed a crowd of about a thousand people on a hilltop called Firbank Fell in Northern England close to the English Lake District. This event is often considered to be the founding event of the Quaker faith. The rock on which he stood is referred to as Fox's Pulpit. Two weeks later in Ulverston, he met Margaret Fell while preaching in the church there. Margaret and her husband Thomas (a Justice of the Peace and later Member of Parliament) by the greatest good fortune took George Fox into their home, Swarthmoor Hall, and protected him, while the Valiant Sixty of newly converted Quakers ranged far and wide across England, spreading the good news of a simpler form of Christian faith. Some time after Thomas Fell died, Margaret and George were married. While other religious groups of the period faded away with time, Fox devoted himself in 1666–1668 to setting up a structure of meetings which has remained virtually the same up until the present day: local 'particular' meetings, grouped regionally into "monthly meetings", "quarterly meetings" above them, and an annual "General Assembly of the Brethren" (usually referred to as a Yearly Meeting) as the leading authority. There has been a national annual meeting of some sort in Britain every year since 1668.
United Kingdom The earliest statement of Christian discipline was the
Epistle from the meeting of Elders at Balby, in 1656. This was a list of twenty advices as to how Friends should conduct themselves, formed following a meeting of prominent Seekers at Balby in Yorkshire, and is seen by many as the defining document founding Quakerism. The
Canons and institutions drawn up and agreed upon by the General Assembly or Meeting of the heads of the Quakers from all parts of the kingdom was produced following a meeting of leading Quakers in London in 1669. This had been drafted by
George Fox, the name
Canons and Institutions had been given to the publication by his opponents. It contained general advices and regulations, and was the basis of future books of discipline, although the name was formally disclaimed by Friends in 1675. The origins of the current book of discipline can be traced back to a manuscript in 1738 entitled
Christian and brotherly advices given forth from time to time by the Yearly Meetings in London, alphabetically digested under proper heads. The first printed collection appeared in 1783 as
Extracts from the minutes and advices of the Yearly Meeting of Friends held in London from its first institution (popularly known as the
Book of Extracts). This was revised in 1801 and 1822 and 1833 (the last revision resulting in another change in title to
Rules of Discipline). Up until this time, the publication was an alphabetical list of the main beliefs and practices of Quakers at the time. From 1861 the
Rules of Discipline was divided into separate chapters on •
Christian Doctrine – concerning the Christian theology and beliefs of Friends; •
Christian Practice – concerning the lives and testimonies of Friends •
Church Government – concerning the organisation, structure and government of the Religious Society of Friends, instead of the alphabetical arrangement of topics. This was revised in 1883, where it took the name
Book of Christian discipline. Subsequently, the three chapters became three separate books, revised at various points over the next 50 years. In 1921, a new publication
Christian Life, Faith and Thought replaced the previous
Christian Doctrine. This publication adopted a new approach of attempting "to state truth, not by formulating it, but by expressing it through the vital personal and corporate experience of Friends". Although much of this publication is in the form of prose drafted by a Revision Committee, this publication began the use of extracts which has subsequently been developed as an acceptable method of expressing the breadth of Quaker theology. In 1959
Christian Life, Faith and Thought and
Christian Practice were revised, followed by a revision in 1967 of
Church Government, and the three were merged into one new volume entitled
Christian faith and practice in the experience of the Society of Friends. The 1959 edition of
Christian Faith and Practice, whilst no longer used in Britain Yearly Meeting, is still a current book of discipline of Canadian Yearly Meeting.
Church Government and
Christian faith and practice together made up the Book of Discipline. A new British revision was worked on from 1985, due to requests "not from the centre but from local meetings and individual Friends, as well as committees". to reflect developments in society, language and belief. The new version was accepted by Britain Yearly Meeting in 1994, and appeared in print in 1995, in one volume. This volume is almost entirely made up of an anthology of extracts from other sources, unlike earlier editions. This edition saw the name change to its current form –
Quaker Faith and Practice: The book of Christian discipline of the Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends in Britain. The chapters on the structure and organisation of Britain Yearly Meeting have been revised several times since then to reflect organisational changes in Britain Yearly Meeting, and latterly to re-write the Chapter on 'Quaker marriage procedure' in connection with the Quaker approval of same-sex marriage. The rest of the book as currently exists has not been redrafted since 1994; however the process of doing so is currently beginning, as agreed by Britain Yearly Meeting in 2018. Some Quakers in Britain have suggested that future editions revert to having two volumes to the Book of Discipline:
Church Government dealing with organisation, structure and government of the Yearly Meeting; and
Faith and Practice dealing with the beliefs, testimonies and practices of Quakers in Britain. The Fifth edition as revised through 2013 is available online.
United States Various Yearly Meetings were founded in what is now the
United States from the early days of Quakerism. Each of these produced their own book of discipline, although each was based on the earlier disciplines of London Yearly Meeting. These were revised at various points according to changes in beliefs and practices of Friends over time. Conferences of Yearly Meetings in the later part of the nineteenth century, between the
Guerneyite Yearly Meetings, who had accepted the
Richmond Declaration of Faith, proposed formulating a
Uniform Discipline for all the Guerneyite Yearly Meetings in the United States. In 1897,
New England Yearly Meeting,
Wilmington Yearly Meeting,
Indiana Yearly Meeting, and
Kansas Yearly Meeting jointly accepted
The Constitution and Discipline for the American Yearly Meetings of Friends as their book of discipline, and this book was subsequently accepted as the book of discipline of
California Yearly Meeting,
New York Yearly Meeting,
Western Yearly Meeting, and
Baltimore Yearly Meeting in 1901; and of
Oregon Yearly Meeting,
North Carolina Yearly Meeting, and
Iowa Yearly Meeting in 1902. When
Nebraska Yearly Meeting was founded in 1908, they too accepted
The Constitution and Discipline for the American Yearly Meetings of Friends as their book of discipline. In 1940,
Five Years Meeting proposed that the 1897
Uniform Discipline be updated and revised. The ensuing publication
Faith and Practice, was published in three volumes: (I) Faith and Life; (II) Organisation and Business Procedure; (III) Authorised Declaration of Faith. However, controversies and disagreements between Yearly Meetings meant that not all Yearly Meetings accepted this book of discipline – some accepted only one or two volumes, and others made revisions or alterations to the text. The publication was never formally accepted by Five Years Meeting, although some Yearly Meetings did formally accept a revised version as their own book of discipline. Since then, each Yearly Meeting has revised their own books of discipline, and no longer use a
Uniform Discipline.
Philadelphia Yearly Meeting Philadelphia Yearly Meeting published their
Rules of Discipline of the Yearly Meeting of Friends held in Philadelphia in 1806, with paragraphs on each of the main practices and testimonies of Friends in that Yearly Meeting arranged in alphabetical order. The title
Faith and Practice was first applied to Philadelphia Yearly Meeting's book of discipline in 1955 and it was revised in 1972, 1979, and 1997, with minor revisions in 2002. ==Current books of discipline==