4201 Brook Road in Richmond, Virginia
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Battery
Park Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) 4201 Brook Road in Richmond, Virginia |
Battery Park Christian
Church Senior Minister: Rev. Dr. William E. Blake Organist: Janet Watts Choir Director: Robert Peterman Minister of Christian
Education: Moses Joshua Office Manager: June
Taylor Mailing Address:
Office Hours: Monday through Thursday 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Sunday Morning Services: View Church Calendar |
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The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
GENERAL INFORMATION
ORIGINS: The
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) was born on the American frontier in the
early 1800s as a movement opposing the rigid denominationalism imported from
Europe and seeking Christian unity on a simple New Testament basis. Its founders
were Alexander Campbell in western Pennsylvania and Virginia and Barton
W. Stone in Kentucky. The basic principle was a fellowship built around the
Lord's Table and tolerance of widely divergent viewpoints concerning
"non-essentials." Counting the Churches of Christ and the so-called
independent Christian Churches which gradually separated from the Disciples, the
Campbell-Stone development represents an indigenous American religious movement
second only to the Mormons in size. Both Campbell and Stone had been
Presbyterians.
ORGANIZATION: The Disciples have a history of congregational government although in 1968 they adopted a structure that sees the church in congregational, regional and general "manifestations." The manifestations are considered equal rather than pyramidal and each has its protected rights and identified responsibilities. Each is in covenantal relation to the others and calls or dismisses its own staff and handles its own finance and property. The general manifestation is called general rather than national because both the United States and Canada are included in the structure. There are 35 regions, many of them encompassing all of a single state.
The red chalice,
bearing the "X-shaped" cross of St. Andrew was adopted as the symbol
of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) by the denomination's General
Assembly in 1971. The chalice symbolizes the centrality of the Lord's
Supper to Disciples life. The St. Andrew's Cross, the national cross of
Scotland, focuses attention on the Scotch Presbyterian roots of the church.
Thomas and Alexander Campbell both studied in Scotland and were Presbyterians.
St. Andrew has been identified with the laity and evangelism, prominent emphases
of the Disciples over the years. The red color of the chalice signifies
vitality, spirit and sacrifice.