QUAKERS, Protestant denomination. A distinctive feature of Quaker religious doctrine is the belief that God dwells in the heart of every person, directly calling him to take the path leading to a perfect life. This intimate relationship between God and every human being is called "inner light." It also manifests itself in an ascetic lifestyle, a special emphasis on the spiritual responsibility of each individual, a strong sense of his involvement in the fate of his neighbor.
By the end of the 1990s, there were more than 300,000 Quakers in the world, about 100,000 of them living in the United States. Quakers formed the relatively large Society of Friends (five-year meeting) and the smaller Religious Society of Friends (general conference), the Religious Society of Friends (conservative), and the more fundamentalist Evangelical Friends Association. Large communities are located in Kenya (about 100 thousand members) and in Great Britain (about 18 thousand members).
Faith and liturgical practice
The Quaker doctrine is based on the doctrine of "inner light", "divine spark". This is "the true light that illumines every person who comes into the world" (John 1: 9); sometimes he is called the "inner Christ" or "the inner voice." It is believed that the voice of God speaks directly to the soul, and therefore it is considered as the highest authority for a person. Since it belongs to all people, the Quakers do not recognize the special dignity of church clergy and have abandoned all liturgical rites. Small groups of Quakers hold weekly prayer meetings, where everyone usually sits silently in an empty room, waiting for the "inner Christ" to speak through the one who is inspired to "testify." There is no altar in the room, prayers are not read, hymns are not sung.
Quakers do not perform ordinances. They believe in the spiritual sacrament that does not require physical substances such as bread and wine. Likewise, they believe in spiritual baptism, whereby membership in the Quaker community is granted at birth. Although Quakers share many of the doctrines of Protestantism, they do not adhere to any official creed. Instead, they are guided by Faith and Practice, a kind of charter that outlines proper assembly, the personal, social, and political responsibilities of believers, and the practice of doing business with integrity.
From the very beginning, the Quakers were isolated from other Christians due to their special beliefs and unusual behavior. Far ahead of their time, the Quakers asserted the equality of women and men, treated the American Indians like brothers, and opposed slavery. They continue to refuse to take the oath, believe that the truth must always be told, and although they still adhere to the principle of non-violence in life, they have changed their attitude towards pacifism. Today, only a few draft-age Quakers refuse to serve in the military for religious reasons.
Promotional video:
Organization
Early in their history, Quakers realized the importance of being organized and began to meet in meetings to worship and discuss business. The main body for discussing business issues is the monthly meeting, which is attended by Quakers from various congregations, or communities, within a small region. Believers are convinced that meetings for discussing business issues are under divine auspices, as are worship meetings. At business meetings, they do not vote, but wait until a consensus, or "the meaning of the meeting" is reached. The monthly meetings address the membership and appointment of elders, and they also care about the mental health of the community of believers. The monthly meeting group in the larger region (England within the county) meets four times a year at quarterly meetings. Quakers in even larger regionssuch as a state in the United States or the country as a whole, organize annual meetings. Quakers hold a world conference every 15 years.
History of origin
The Religious Society of Friends arose in England around the middle of the 17th century, founded by the itinerant preacher George Fox (1624-1691). At the very beginning, it was an offshoot of the separatist movement directed against the dominant Church of England in the early 16th century. Like other disaffected English Protestants, the Quakers initially refused to attend or pay taxes on state church maintenance. In addition, they demanded freedom of speech and assembly, recognized the equality of men and women, and refused to take the oath and to fight. In 1650, a judge called upon by Fox to “tremble at the Word of the Lord” mocked his followers as “Quakers” (“flutters”); this name took root. In 1665 the term "Religious Society" was first used.
In the 17th century. the Quakers suffered the most persecution, yet their ranks grew considerably. In England, they were beaten, imprisoned and even executed, so in 1656 they began emigrating to America, where they acquired many converts in the territories south of New England to North and South Carolina. In 1681, W. Penn (1644-1718) in the colony he founded of Pennsylvania initiated a "holy experiment" based on the principles of Quakerism.
During the war between the British and the French and Indians (1754-1763), they refused to support military expeditions against their Indian brothers. Some "fighting Quakers" served in the American Revolutionary Army. Many Quakers in the American colonies, under the influence of the itinerant preacher and reformer J. Woolman, set free their slaves and campaigned for their universal liberation.
Splits and further development
In the 19th century. American Quakers were split twice. The first occurred in 1827. The splinter group was named the Hixites after the farmer and preacher E. Hicks (1748–1830), who was influenced by the liberal ideas of the Enlightenment and the principles of freedom. The second division began in 1845, when the orthodox Quaker split into Hernites and Wilburites. The first wing is associated with J. Gurney (1778-1846), an English Protestant who preached the exclusive authority of the Bible, the second - with J. Wilbur (1774-1856), a New England conservative who believed that Gurney undermined the principle of the sovereignty of "inner light" … The Guernites abandoned Quaker meetings without an established order of worship and introduced paid preaching positions. Some Guernites have adopted the more ecclesiastical name "Church of Friends". Quakers were in no hurry to join the missionary movement of the 19th century, but, having begun missionary activity in the 1860s, they expanded it on all continents. Most of the Quaker groups that emerged from this missionary activity later organized independent annual meetings.
In the 19th century. The Religious Society of Friends mainly solved its internal problems, but some Quakers took an active part in the social reforms of their time. In the United States, Lucrezia Mott (1793–1880) became famous for her struggle against slavery and for her advocacy for women's equality. Members of the community continued to help Indians, former slaves who were freed after the Civil War, participated in the prohibition movement and the pacifist movement. In England, Quakers such as J. Rountree (1836-1925) contributed to the development of adult education and the improvement of working conditions for workers. By the end of the 19th century. many members of the Society of Friends began to take an increased interest in social issues.
In 1937, the World Friends Advisory Committee was formed at the World Conference of Quakers.
American Quakers are also members of the National Council of Churches and the World Council of Churches.
The main structural unit of the Society of Friends is regional meetings (monthly meetings until 2007). This name comes from the tradition of holding community meetings once a month, at which business issues are resolved (so-called business meetings). It is the monthly meeting that decides the issue of membership in the Religious Society of Friends. As a rule, monthly meetings are organized on a territorial basis. The number of members of the monthly meeting can be from ten to several hundred people. Monthly meeting functions also include weddings and funerals, the appointment of those who visit prisons, hospitals, and the selection of representatives to other organizations. If the size of the monthly meeting is large enough, then it can be structurally divided into district assemblies (preparatory meetings until 2007).
Each congregation has a regularly re-elected clerk. The congregation clerk usually reads announcements of any kind after the meeting for worship is over. He also presides over the business meeting, acting as secretary. Most congregations also have elders (responsible for the spiritual life of the community), overseers (or trustees) who provide pastoral care, and a treasurer. Some congregations have abandoned the formal assignment of such services altogether, since the responsibilities of elders and overseers are assumed to be the responsibility of all congregation members.
Typically, monthly meetings are combined into an annual meeting, which, as the name suggests, convenes annually and discusses church affairs and social issues that require a corporate solution. Examples of issues that the annual meeting may consider: international relations, the conscious refusal of military taxes, concern for the planet's natural resources, the spiritual life of the Society of Friends, the role of youth in the Society. Annual meetings can form temporary or permanent committees to solve any particular problem. On the eve of the main session of the Annual Meeting, there are smaller meetings devoted to the special issues and concerns of Quaker groups.
Some issues require a more prompt decision, and those are referred to the executive committee, whose members meet several times a year.
Business community meetings are resolved in a prayer spirit. Typically, these meetings take place after the service on Sundays or at some other convenient time during the week. Friends do not have a vote - decisions are discussed until a general agreement is reached.
Nearly all annual meetings take part in the Friends of the World of Consultation (FWCC), which functions to “promote the best understanding among Friends around the world, especially to support joint conferences and visitor exchanges to collect and disseminate information about Quaker literature and other activities in this direction. The office of the committee is located in London.
The Friends World Consultation Committee includes several sections: the European and Middle East section, the Americas section, the African section, and the Asia and Pacific West Coast section. The FWCC holds various international meetings and helps organize triennials every three years. The Quaker Mission to the United Nations (QUNO) has offices in New York and Geneva.
There are a number of international Quaker organizations with annual gatherings of different traditions: Friends General Conference (FGC), Friends United Meeting (FUM) and Friends Evangelicals International (EFI).
The Organization of Young Friends of Europe and the Middle East (EMEYF) aims to provide spiritual support and connections between young Friends of this region of the planet.
The FWCC's International Membership Committee (IMC) cares for about one hundred Friends living in remote corners of the earth, several monthly meetings and prayer groups located far from the annual meetings.
Some interesting historical facts:
Peter I met English Quakers in 1697. They tried to draw his attention to the conditions in which the serfs were, drew his attention to the need to open schools for ordinary people.
At the request of Alexander I, Quaker Daniel Wheeler came to St. Petersburg with his family. He was involved in draining the swamps around the city.
Three English Quakers visited Russia in 1854 and paid a visit to Nicholas I, trying to prevent the Crimean War with their mission.
At the beginning of the 20th century, Friends from Great Britain and the United States worked with refugees, victims of World War I, starving in the Volga region (Buzuluk). Quakers opened food outlets, hospitals, orphanages, schools, handicraft workshops.
In Moscow in 1921-1931 there was a Quaker office, which was closed during Stalin's times by the last of the foreign religious representations.
American Quakers and politics
Quakers have always been active in the political and social scene. Political activity was considered by the early Friends to be one of the ways of doing God's will, so when they came to North America, they took an active part in the government of the colonies.
So in the colony of Rhode Island, they were in the local government for over a hundred years, from 1663 to 1774, and during this time they served as governor thirty-six times. Quaker Stephen Hopkins became Governor of Rhode Island five times. It was during his governorship that the colony refused to comply with the Stamp Act. In addition, he represented Rhode Island at the Continental Congress and signed the Declaration of Independence.
Quakers also took an active part in the political life of North and South Carolina, Western and Eastern New Jersey. However, when the last two colonies were united, the influence of the Quakers there weakened. The Quaker principles were most fully embodied in Pennsylvania. Penn himself was little in the colony (from 1682 to 1684 and from 1699 to 1701), he ruled it through his representatives, the Anglican William Markham and the Quaker-Scotsman James Logan.
After the American Revolution, the US Constitution (Article 2, Section 1) provided for two forms of taking the oath for the President: I solemnly swear (or promise) … For other civil servants, the US Constitution (Article 6) also provides for the swearing of an oath or solemn declaration for support for the US Constitution. Thus, Quaker President Herbert Hoover, upon taking office on March 4, 1929, with his hand on the Bible, made a solemn declaration instead of an oath.
As Burstin D said: "Those who attach excessive importance to dogma and are not inclined to be guided in their daily activities by a mutually enriching exchange of ideas and practical experience, most often fail either in the first or in the second." In our opinion, this expression defines the position of the Quakers in the first half of the 18th century.
America has prepared a new test for the Quakers, which they have failed. As early as 1689, when the “War of King William” began, as well as during the “War of Queen Anne” and “War of King George,” the Quakers, true to their pacifist credo, repeatedly refused to enact wartime laws. All this was accompanied each time by a struggle between the Nequaker governor and the dogmatic Quakers. And in 1748. The Quaker Assembly denied the appropriation for the defense of Philadelphia, but provided the Indians with the necessary funds to deepen friendly ties with the Indians, who then, incited by the French, would raid Western Pennsylvania. At the beginning of 1756. Quakers, less than a quarter of Pennsylvania's population, held twenty-eight of the thirty-six seats in the Pennsylvania Assembly and were therefore very influential.
In the middle of the XVIII century. history presented the Pennsylvanian Quakers with a dilemma: to retain power, sacrificing their dogma, or to leave government. They chose moral principles and in 1756 finally relinquished power.
Since then, Friends' influence in Pennsylvania has declined sharply and has never been renewed. In the years that followed, American Quakers began to avoid direct involvement in politics for fear of making political decisions incompatible with Quaker beliefs. Such views dominated for a long time among the Quakers, however, from time to time, some Friends still continued to engage in political activities, holding elected positions at the state level, and soon at the national level. Several have sat in the US Senate and House of Representatives, including Senator Paul Douglas of Chicago; several Friends were governors; and two members of the Society of Friends, Herbert Hoover and Richard Nixon, served as President of the United States.
One of the ways Friends got involved in political life was through their continuous appeals to Congressmen. Their continued efforts to influence government policies on gender and race have been known to be successful.
In 1943, the Committee of Friends on State Law (FCNL) was formed, a Quaker lobby in Washington that advocates for peace, social and economic justice and good governance, helping tens of thousands of people of different religions and nationalities. This committee played an important role in the passage of the Civil Rights Act in 1964, and facilitated the creation of the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency in 1965. Today, the actions of the Friends of the Committee on State Law are aimed at promoting global security through peaceful cooperation, active diplomacy, peaceful resolution of conflicts, ensuring universal equality and justice, as well as against the American military intervention in Iraq. As the American Quaker researcher W. Cooper correctly noted,The Friends of the State Legislation Committee is, in a way, an institution that embodies centuries of Quaker practice.
Thus, immediately after the founding of the Quaker colonies, Friends began to appear in the public arena and gained political weight. However, Britain's war with the French and Indians presented the Quakers with the problem of their own defense. It was resolved by the departure of the Quaker majority from the legislature, thereby initiating the habit of abandoning public service, but not stopping the most active friends from actively participating in the public sphere through informal organizations, committees, and associations.
The Quaker's contribution to US political culture was greater than one would expect from a group of people not seeking government.