Check.Church

Newton's company

Brethren · 1845–1847 · England

Darby withdrew from B. W. Newton's meeting at Ebrington Street, Plymouth, in October 1845 over clerisy, and breaking of bread began apart from it that December. Newton's teaching concerning the Person of Christ was exposed in 1847.

Newton's company was formed between 1845 and 1847, as a process rather than a single event. Newton's company's institutional line runs back through The Brethren movement, Church of England, Roman Catholicism to the post-apostolic church. No body on this tree is the assembly of Acts 2; where a body claims that, the claim appears in the claimed-lineage layer.

Between the post-apostolic church and Newton's company stand 4 divisions along the institutional line, counting separations and disputed forks, not mergers, renewals or national organizations.

At a glance

Formed
Between 1845 and 1847, as a process rather than a single event
Family
Brethren
Region
England
Key figures
B. W. Newton
Cause tags
Doctrine, Governance

Is Newton's Company Biblical?

Left divine ground.

1845–47. Darby withdrew from B. W. Newton's meeting at Ebrington Street, Plymouth, on October 26, 1845, and breaking of bread began apart from it on December 28, 1845. In 1847 Newton's evil doctrine concerning Christ was exposed.

Saints separated from Newton's congregation "for clerisy and then because of a system of doctrine derogatory to the Person of Christ". The separation "occurred first because of clerisy", and the doctrine came to light afterward.

Sources: R. A. Huebner, How the Leaven of Evil Mergers by the KLCs Came About (PTP, 2nd ed., 2007), pp. 1–2; R. A. Huebner, Precious Truths Revived and Defended Through J. N. Darby, vol. 2, B. W. Newton and Bethesda (PTP), pp. 21–29, 35–44; R. A. Huebner, Practicing the Truth that "There is One Body" in View of Division (PTP), p. 32.

This verdict concerns the ground of gathering, not the salvation of any individual. Whoever truly believes on the Lord Jesus Christ is a member of the one body, wherever they gather; ‘[The] Lord knows those that are his’ (2 Timothy 2:19).

What it separated from

On the tree

Newton's company and its institutional line back to the post-apostolic churchAD 33The church at Pentecost: On divine groundThe church at Pentecost: on divine groundtoday1004244314511054153418271845The post-apostolic church (The spine)The post-apostolicchurchDepartureChurch of the East (Church of the East)Church of the EastChurch of the EastThe conciliar church (The spine)The conciliar churchDepartureThe Chalcedonian church (The spine)The Chalcedonian churchDepartureOriental Orthodoxy (Oriental Orthodox)Oriental OrthodoxyOriental OrthodoxEastern Orthodoxy (Eastern Orthodox)Eastern OrthodoxyEastern OrthodoxRoman Catholicism (Catholic)Roman CatholicismNot gatheredChurch of England (Anglican)Church of EnglandAnglicanThe Brethren movement (Brethren)The Brethren movementOn divine groundNewton's company (Brethren)Newton's companyLeft divine ground

Solid lines are separations and unions; dashed lines are renewals that began inside a body; dotted gray lines are national organizations of one communion; a diamond marks a fork event where neither side is drawn as the one that left. Every line runs back to the post-apostolic church; no body descends from the assembly of Acts 2. Dashed gray boxes mark the institutional line after the apostles, shown as departure; no line of descent is drawn from Pentecost. A verdict appears on a box once its section is published.

Sources

  • R. A. Huebner, Precious Truths Revived and Defended Through J. N. Darby, vol. 2 (PTP), pp. 21-27, 35-44 — courtesy of Present Truth Publishers

Brethren division and merger chronology: R. A. Huebner, courtesy of Present Truth Publishers (free PDF).

Research compiled July 2026. Page data built 2026-10-31.