Plymouth Brethren
Webster's Dictionary [1]
The members of a religious sect which first appeared at Plymouth, England, about 1830. They protest against sectarianism, and reject all official ministry or clergy. Also called Brethren, Christian Brethren, Plymouthists, etc. The Darbyites are a division of the Brethren.
The Nuttall Encyclopedia [2]
An anti-clerical body of Christians, one of the earliest communities of which was formed in Plymouth about 1830; they accept, along with Pre-Millenarian views, generally the Calvinistic view of the Christian religion, and exclude all unconverted men from their communion, while all included in the body are of equal standing, and enjoy equal privileges as members of Christ. They appear to regard themselves as the sole representatives in these latter days of the Church of Christ, and as the salt of the earth, for whose sake it exists, and on whose decease it and its works of darkness will be burnt up. They are known also by the name of Darbyites, from the name of one of their founders, a barrister, John Nelson Darby, an able man, and with all his exclusiveness a sincere disciple of Christ (1800-1882).
