Evangelical Christian Church in Canada (Christian Disciples)

The Evangelical Christian Church in Canada (Christian Disciples), as a historic, non-denominational, mainstream religion in Canada, traces its historic roots to the formal organization of the Christian Church in 1804 in Bourbon County, Kentucky, U.S.A., and in 1810 near Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada under the leadership of Barton Warren Stone (1772-1844), a former Presbyterian minister. The Stone Movement later merged with the efforts of Thomas Campbell (1763-1854) and his son Alexander Campbell (1788-1866) to become the Restoration Movement that gave birth to the Churches of Christ (Non-Instrumental), the Christian Churches and Churches of Christ, and The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). The emphasis on freedom became strong enough that this movement avoided any ecclesiastical traditions that resulted in a movement that was "largely without dogma, form or structure," committing only to primitive Christianity. On June 28, 1804, they adopted the name "Christian" to identify their group based on its use in Acts 11:26. Thus, the remnants of the Springfield Presbytery became the "Christian Church," which is known as The Evangelical Christian Church (Christian Disciples).