Thomas Campbell’s Trip to America and The Declaration and Address

Photo by The New York Public Library on Unsplash

Disciples History Moment for May 18, 2025

Because of Thomas Campbell’s stress due to providing for his family of 7 children, pastoring the Ahorey Church in Ireland, being a private tutor, and managing a public school, his doctor advised a long sea voyage. His son, Alexander, also encouraged him, and on May 8, 1807, Thomas Campbell boarded the ship Brutus for America with his family to follow once he was established in the New World. After a little over a month at sea, Thomas landed in Philadelphia on May 13th.

There he was called by the Presbytery to minister to those in the area of Pittsburg who were unable to receive communion, because there were so few Presbyterian churches. Campbell did so but also allowed those in competing Presbyterian groups to receive the Lord’s Supper. Because of this, Thomas was seen by the Presbyterian authorities as being too relaxed in the ministerial rules and too fond of other denominations.

So, Thomas was suspended, censored, admonished and not given a church to pastor. Thomas then resigned from his ministry with the group, and, having done so, began preaching to any and all Christians. This led to the formation of the Christian Association of Washington (PA) in August of 1809. The Association’s leaders asked him to write up their purpose and objectives as an association of Christians (which was not a church).

Campbell began writing what would become known as The Declaration and Address. This became the founding document of the Stone-Campbell Movement. Its foundation was based upon the principle “Where the Scriptures speak, we speak; where the Scriptures are silent, we are silent.”

Its most famous quote is “The Church of Christ upon earth is essentially, intentionally, and constitutionally one; consisting of all those in every place that profess their faith in Christ and obedience to him in all thing according to the Scriptures and that manifest the same by their tempers and conduct, and of none else; as none else can be truly and properly called Christians.”

The Declaration and Address has been called by historians “one of the most important documents of the ecumenical movement to come out of North America.”

Rev. Kevin K. Adams

References: The Memoirs of Alexander Campbell by Robert Richardson and The Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement