Declaration and address
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Declaration and Address, Published December 1809
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 Location of the first publishing of the Declaration and Address in Washington, Pennsylvania
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| Coordinates | 40°10′09″N 80°14′41″W / 40.16908°N 80.2448°WCoordinates: 40°10′09″N 80°14′41″W / 40.16908°N 80.2448°W |
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| PA marker dedicated | June 19, 1994 |
The Declaration and Address was written by Thomas Campbell in 1809. It was first published in Washington, Pennsylvania in 1809. It was the founding document for the Christian Association of Washington, a short lived religious movement of the 19th century. The Christian Association ultimately led to what is now known as the Restoration Movement. In many ways, Thomas Campbell was before his time. He had an ecumenical spirit long before the ecumenical movement began. The Declaration and Address is a testimony to his appeal for Christian unity.
Thomas Campbell (1763–1854) began his career as a Presbyterian minister. After serving in Ireland for a while, he migrated to the American frontier in 1807. A number of his associates from Ireland lived in Pennsylvania, and the Presbyterian church accepted his request to be stationed in Pennsylvania. He had high expectations for the American frontier; he felt it represented a new life and a new era for the church. As such, he was often seen as an unorthodox minister. His position as a minister under the Presbyterian Synod of Pennsylvania only lasted 2 years. He was reprimanded for certain "irregularities," including offering communion to Presbyterians outside of his Synod's jurisdiction.
Campbell continued his ministerial practices despite the Synod's disciplinary actions. Both his conflict with the Presbyterians and his desire for a united church led him to organize the Christian Association of Washington. This organization's main purpose was promoting "simple evangelical christianity, free from all mixture of human opinions and inventions of men." It was Campbell's understanding that the Christian Association of Washington would instigate a religious reformation. In this, Campbell was only partially correct.
The Christian Association of Washington consisted of Thomas Campbell and 21 of his associates. During their second meeting, the committee decided that a document should be drafted outlining the purpose and function of the Association. The Declaration and Address was drafted by Campbell and read at a special meeting in September 1809. Ideally, this association, which promoted "simple evangelical Christianity," would also create similar associations elsewhere. The founders' vision was that a grassroots movement would spring up and spread from the Eastern states to the vast expanses of the Western frontier, ushering in a brand new age for the church.
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