Editing Seventh Day Baptists (section)

== History ==
English Baptists date back to the 17th century [[English Dissenters|dissent movement]], in which many saw no hope of further reforming the [[Church of England]] and withdrew to form other congregations. Among these congregations were the congregation in [[Gainsborough, Lincolnshire|Gainsborough]] whose leaders were [[John Smyth (English theologian) |John Smyth]] and [[Thomas Helwys]]. In 1607, his congregation left England and went to the Netherlands, where they were influenced by Anabaptist doctrines through the followers of Menno Simons and other similar movements. Soon Smyth concluded that children should not be baptized because there is no biblical account of children's baptisms and Jesus Christ ordered baptism only after instruction.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Torbet |first=Robert G. |title=A History of the Baptists |publisher=Judson Press |year=1950 |location=Valley Forge |page=35}}</ref> The Smyth congregation in [[Amsterdam]] founded in 1609 is considered the first Baptist church. Two years later, the church was divided, and some members returned with Helwys to England, establishing a church in [[London]]. From there, Baptist practices and teachings spread throughout the country.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=Sanford|first=Don A.|title=A Choosing People: The History of Seventh Day Baptists|publisher= Broadman Press|year=1992 |isbn= 0-8054-6055-1 |location= Nashville |pages= 127–286}}</ref> 

===Mill Yard Seventh Day Baptist Church===
The beginning of the observance of the Sabbath in England caused the occurrence of well-known debates on the subject to arise. These started in [[London]], where one of the "Seventh-Day Men", a tailor and [[Autodidacticism|self-taught]] Bible student called Hamlet Jackson, converted a Minister couple, John & Dorothy Traske, to the observance of the seventh day ([[Sabbath in seventh-day churches |Saturday]]). In 1614, [[John Traske]] ordained Hamlet and three other Seventh-Day Men to proclaim their discoveries and anoint the sick. In 1616 John and Dorothy were arrested but Hamlet's Ministry was able to establish the Mill Yard Seventh Day Baptist Church in [[London]] in 1617. 

John Traske was accused of writing two scandalous letters to the king and sentenced by the authorities to prison on 19 June 1618, for "…aspiring to be the leader of a Jewish faction". After a year in prison, John Traske recanted, was released and tried to divert his followers from this and other doctrines he preached. However, Dorothy Traske did not deny her convictions and remained in prison for 25 years.<ref>{{Cite book|last= Katz |first= David S. |title= Philo-semitism and the Readmission of the Jews to England |publisher=Clarendon Press |year= 1982|location= Oxford |pages= 18–24}}</ref> After these, other groups also kept and declared Sabbath observance, which led to retaliation by the political and ecclesiastical authorities of the time such as when [[Theophilus Brabourne]] was imprisoned for 18 months and threatened with the loss of his ears for publishing his "Discourse on the Sabbath" in 1628. 

When Christmas, Easter and Pentecost were banned in 1643/4 leading to a number of riots, a variety of "independent" churches sprang up supporting the Seventh-Day Baptists' right to dissent. Then in 1645 [[Henry Jessey]] converted into a Seventh Day Baptist arguing in 1647 that the seventh-day was "[Christ's] Sabbath which he blessed and sanctified". Subsequently the new independent churches began to be tolerated and enjoyed relative religious and political freedom from 1649 under the republican rule of the [[Commonwealth of England]]. With this newfound freedom, England's first Seventh Day Baptist Church became secure. In 1650, Brabourne's pupil, James Ockford, published in London the book ''The Doctrine of the Fourth Commandment, Deformed by Popery, Reformed & Restored to its Primitive Purity'', which was the first writings of a Baptist defending Sabbath observance. The book generated such a nuisance that the mayor of [[Salisbury]], the city where Ockford lived, asked the president of Parliament for guidance on how to handle the work; a parliamentary committee determined that all copies should be burned without giving the opportunity for James Ockford to defend them. Only one copy has escaped, kept today in a library in [[Oxford]].<ref name=":0" />
[[File:Dr. Peter Chamberlen "o terceiro".jpg|thumb|Dr. Peter Chamberlen in 1658]]

The first official Seventh Day Baptist service in London took place at the Mill Yard Church in 1651,<ref>{{Cite book|last= Brackney|first=William H.|title=Baptists in North America: An Historical Perspective|publisher= Wiley-Blackwell|year=2006|location=USA|page =11}}</ref> led by [[Peter Chamberlen the third|Peter Chamberlen]]. M.D. "the Third". The first records of church activities were destroyed in a fire; the second record book is in possession of the Seventh Day Baptist Historical Library and Archives{{Refn | {{Citation | title = SDB History | url = https://www.sdbhistory.org/}}.}} and begins in 1673. The first pastor to be officially considered responsible for the congregation was William Saller, who among other activities, wrote eleven books and a booklet, in addition to an appeal to magistrates reporting concern over laws imposing rest on Sunday.<ref name=":0" /> The local church continues its activities to this day under the name of Mill Yard Seventh Day Baptist Church.<ref>{{cite web |title=UK SDB Churches |url=https://www.faithsdblondon.org/useful-links |website=Faith SDB Church London |access-date=8 April 2024 |archive-date=8 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240408114325/https://www.faithsdblondon.org/useful-links |url-status=live }}</ref>

There were matters among the Seventh Day Baptists that were discussed in addition to the uniform agreement of the Sabbath, among them the general [[propitiation]]. Most Baptists, as well as those of the seventh day, were "[[General Baptists]]" and believed in a general and unlimited propitiation. Certainly in 1710 when it attracted John Maulden (d. 1714) the Millyard Church was a Seventh-day [[Arminian]] Baptist Church.<ref>[https://archive.org/stream/cu31924092446297/cu31924092446297_djvu.txt W. T. WHITLEY "Minutes of the General Assembly of the General Baptist churches in England : with kindred records", LONDON MINISTERS AND MEETING-HOUSES: 1709-1719. Cornel University 1924] </ref> However, some Seventh Day Baptists were influenced by [[Calvinism|Calvinist]] doctrine and believed in [[predestination]], in which salvation is limited to the elect, the rest being predestined to condemnation, which is why they were called "private Baptists". This difference does not appear to have prevented fellowship among Seventh Day Baptists in the beginning. However, it generated greater discomfort from the 17th century onwards.<ref name=":0" /> Today, Seventh Day Baptist churches still continue to leave this issue open, with no direct mention in their declaration of faith or other official church document.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Kersten|first=Nick|date=June 14, 2016|title= Batistas do Sétimo Dia: Calvinistas ou Arminianos? | trans-title = Seventh Day Baptists: Calvinists or Arminians? |url= https://gracamaior.com.br/estudos/batistas-do-setimo-dia/608-batistas-do-setimo-dia-calvinistas-ou-arminianos.html|website=Graça Maior|language=pt}}</ref>

=== Under the Restoration ===
In 1660 with the end of the republican government and the [[Stuart Restoration|restoration of the monarchy in England]], relative religious freedom was again restricted mainly to [[English Dissenters|English dissidents]], forcing Seventh Day Baptists to increasingly unite in specific locations. Edward Stennett wrote in 1668 for Seventh Day Baptists in [[Newport, Rhode Island|Newport]] in the American [[Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations|Colony of Rhode Island]] that there were in England approximately nine or ten churches that observed the Sabbath.<ref name=":0" />

The minister and master at Oxford, [[Francis Bampfield]], and his brother [[Thomas Bampfield]],  were also prominent Seventh Day Baptists. Francis founded the Pinner's Hall Seventh Day Baptist Church in London in 1676.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Calamy|first=Edward |url= https://archive.org/details/nonconformistsm00palmgoog |title=The Nonconformist's Memorial: Being an Account of the Lives, sufferings, and Printed Works of the Two Thousand Ministers Ejected from the Church of England, chiefly by the Acts of Uniformity, Aug. 24, 1662|year= 1802 |location= London |page = 2:151}}</ref> He was one of the first to propose an association that encompassed England's seventh day Baptist churches and their colonies in North America, technical best biblical instruction for children and ministers, as well as strategies for method conversion.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Greaves|first=Richard L. |title=Saints and Rebels: Seven Nonconformists in Stuart England|publisher=Mercer University Press|year=1985|location=Macon|page =201}}</ref>

Seventh Day Baptist individuals and groups continue to appear in Britain; however, they did not achieve much growth compared to North America. Between the mid-17th century and 1910, Don A. Sanford lists between five and sixteen congregations that existed in the United Kingdom: three in London, one in [[Colchester]] and [[Braintree, Essex |Braintree]] and others that existed from [[Norfolk]] to [[Dorset]]shire and [[Gloucestershire]].<ref name= ":0" /> The UK currently has very few Seventh Day Baptist Churches, largely the result of missionary work at the [[Jamaica]] Seventh Day Baptist Conference.<ref name= ":0" />

=== United States ===
The first immigration to the [[British colonization of the Americas|British colonies in North America]] occurred for political, religious, economic and social reasons. The organization of the [[Thirteen Colonies|American colonies]] conferred more religious freedom than in the territory of the [[British Isles]], which provided the development and solidification of different Protestant groups and churches. The first to be recognized as a Seventh Day Baptist in the Americas was Stephen Mumford and his wife Anne, who were from the Baptist Church of [[Tewkesbury]] and observed the Sabbath. The Mumfords emigrated to the American colonies in 1664, but little is known about their lives in England.<ref name=":0" />
[[File:Igreja Batista do Sétimo Dia em Newport - Rhode Island.jpg|thumb|[[Newport, Rhode Island|Newport]]'s Old Seventh Day Baptist Church on 1730 Barney Street]]
After some adamant opposition by some Baptists to the Sabbath rest of the First Baptist Church of the Colony of Rhode Island (located in Newport), about five to fifty Baptists who kept the Sabbath left the church, united with the Mumford couple and instituted on 3 January 1672, Newport, Rhode Island Seventh Day Baptist Church, which was the first Seventh Day Baptist church in the Americas.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Chute |first1=Anthony L. |title=The Baptist Story: From English Sect to Global Movement |last2=Finn |first2=Nathan A. |last3=Haykin |first3=Michael A.G. |publisher=B&H Publishing Group |year=2015 |isbn=978-1-4336-7375-7 |location=Nashville}}</ref> The services took place in a building in Green End (address) but it grew small with the growth of the church, land was then purchased on Barney Street and the new temple built in 1730.<ref>{{Cite web|publisher=Newport Historical Society|title=Seventh Day Baptist Meeting House|url=https://newporthistory.org/properties/7th-day-baptist-meeting-house/|access-date=January 21, 2021|archive-date=January 29, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210129222203/https://newporthistory.org/properties/7th-day-baptist-meeting-house/|url-status=live}}</ref> With this, Newport became a center in which they expanded to other American colonies. A few years later two other important churches were established in the early 18th century, in [[Philadelphia]], Pennsylvania, and [[Piscataway, New Jersey]].  By 1776, there were a few hundred members and twelve churches established in the Americas, including two governors of the Colony Rhode Island: [[Richard Ward (governor)|Richard Ward]] and [[Samuel Ward (Rhode Island politician)|Samuel Ward]]. Over time, the seventh day Baptists expanded, following the development of the colonies.<ref name=":0" />

The course of expanding the Seventh Day Baptist churches and increasing the territorial distance between them culminated in the organization of a General Conference. At the end of the 18th century and the beginning of the following century, annual meetings and assemblies were taking place between some churches to share unity and the Lord's Supper. On 11 September 1801, at an annual meeting of some churches in [[Hopkinton, Rhode Island]], Henry Clarke of [[Brookfield, New York]], proposed "the union in an institution with the purpose of propagating our religion in different parts of the United States, sending missionaries from various churches, at their own expense".<ref>{{Cite book|last= Sanford|first= Don A. |title= Conscience taken captive: A short history of Seventh Day Baptists|publisher= Seventh Day Baptist Historical Society|date= January 1, 1991}}</ref> In September 1802, the majority of the eight Seventh Day Baptist churches voted in favor of the proposal, with the result that the General Conference was founded. The service conference for carrying out missionary works, promoting unity and a great growth in the number of members and locations.<ref name=":0" /> It continues its activities until today, obtained the union with the seventh day Baptist churches of [[Canada]], passing the nomination to the [https://www.seventhdaybaptist.org/ Seventh Day Baptist General Conference of USA and Canada]. Undertook most of the mission fields of the Seventh Day Baptists and through these they were instituting and spreading the churches and conferences in several other countries of the world. Currently, the conference is member of the [[Baptist World Alliance]]. 

The church was committed to education, but they encountered many difficulties. As the church grew, they managed to found some educational institutions. [[Alfred University]] started as a college in 1836 in [[Alfred, New York]], by the Seventh Day Baptists, being elevated to the academy in 1842. Motivated to organize a theological seminary, they worked to obtain a university license. In 1857 they finally obtained a license and the Department of Theology was created at the then Alfred University.<ref name=":0" /> 

In 1857 the Seventh Day Baptist Church finally obtained a license and the Department of Theology was created at the then Alfred University. The former [[Milton College]] began operating as a school in 1844, being incorporated into the Wisconsin legislature in 1848 as Academy DuLac, offering high school courses concurrently with Higher Education. The academy progressed to the point of becoming a college in 1867. The college had clear connections with the USA's Seventh Day Baptist Church that offered operational support.<ref name= ":0" />

A school was founded in [[Salem, West Virginia]], after the Eastern Seventh Day Baptist Association decided to build an academy in the area. The state granted a permit in December 1888 to build what was called the Academy of Salem, specifying that the institution was subject to the regulations and decisions of the Society of Seventh Day Baptist Education.  The charter required the institution to make a college as soon as possible, which occurred in 1890. Until 1992, a close relationship between Seventh Day Baptists and the [[Salem University]] still existed.<ref name=":0" />

It is not the case that the Seventh-day Adventists (SDAs), established in 1863, are a "splinter group" of the Seventh Day Baptist, at least not in the sense that they broke away from their church and formed the SDAs. But there was a connection and an influence. [[Rachel Oakes Preston]] (1809–1868) a Seventh Day Baptist from [[Verona, New York]], brought Seventh Day teaching to a small [[Millerism |Millerite]] group that became the SDAs in [[Washington, New Hampshire]]. Through her influence, [[History of the Seventh-day Adventist Church#Sabbath observance develops and unites|Frederick Wheeler]] became the first SDA preacher. One family, the Cottrells, looked favorably upon [[William Miller (preacher)|William Miller's]] [[Second Coming |Second Advent]] message but did not join the movement prior to 1844 because it did not acknowledge the seventh-day Sabbath. After a group of Adventists accepted the Sabbath, the Cottrells joined them. Later on, in the 1860s and '70s, the leadership of the two organizations associated with each other. They recognized their common interest in promoting Sabbath observance. Adventist pioneer [[James Springer White]] went so far as to advise Adventist preachers not to conduct evangelistic campaigns in the small towns with a Seventh Day Baptist presence.

By 2017, Seventh Day Baptists had 81 churches including those located in the U.S. and Canada. Seventh Day Baptist churches are present in all [[List of regions of the United States|regions of the United States]], with a greater presence in the [[Northeastern United States|Northeast]] and [[Southern United States|Southern]] regions of the United States.<ref>{{Citation | publisher = Seventh day baptists | url = https://www.seventhdaybaptist.org/find-a-church/ | title = Find a church | access-date = 2021-02-18 | archive-date = 2021-01-28 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210128112017/https://www.seventhdaybaptist.org/find-a-church/ | url-status = live }}</ref><ref name=":1" />