The Springfield Presbytery was an independent presbytery that became one of the earliest expressions of the Stone-Campbell Movement. It was composed of Presbyterian ministers who withdrew from the jurisdiction of the Presbyterian Synod of Kentucky on September 10, 1803.[1]:696 It dissolved itself on June 28, 1804, with the publication of a document titled the Last Will and Testament of The Springfield Presbytery, marking the birth of the Christian Church of the West.
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The immediate cause of withdrawal was that the Synod of Kentucky had censured the Washington Presbytery appointing one minister, Richard McNemar, after having previously examining his doctrine and condemning it as "dangerous to the souls of men, and hostile to the interests of all religion", for refusing a petition to examine the doctrine of a second minister, John Thompson, and for refusing to reexamine the doctrine of McNemar.[1]:696 Both ministers had expressed views at odds with the Westminster Confession. These two ministers and three others (Robert Marshall, John Dunlavy, and Barton W. Stone) protested the proceedings and withdrew from the jurisdiction of the Synod. Their signed protest was dated September 10, 1803.[1]:696 They gave the following reasons for withdrawing from the jurisdiction of the Synod:
Based on those reasons, they said that they chose to withdraw from the jurisdiction of the Synod rather than be prosecuted under the authority of the Confession of Faith, which they could not acknowledge.[1]:696 They said, however, that they did not desire to break from communion with the members of the Synod.[1]:697 They formed the Springfield Presbytery two days later.[1]:697 The Springfield Presbytery was a loose association of the dissenting ministers and their congregations. A sixth minister joined the Presbytery when it ordained David Purviance, whom the West Lexington Presbytery had refused to ordain.
On January 31, 1804, they published a 141-page defense of their actions, in which they opposed the use of creeds to determine who is a Christian. The defense was entitled An Apology for Renouncing the Jurisdiction of the Synod of Kentucky. To Which Is Added a Compendious View of the Gospel and a Few Remarks on the Confession of Faith.[1]:697 The Apology was written by Robert Marshall. It argued that the examination of McNemar in 1802 had been conducted without due process, which would have justified an appeal of the decision to the General Assembly. It went on to argue, though, that they had no reasonable hope of redress within the Presbyterian church as long as "human opinions", rather than scripture, were the standard of orthodoxy.[1]:697 The Compendious View of the Scripture was written by Stone. Systematically laying out the doctrines that the Washington Presbytry condemned, it represents the first theological statement from the Restoration Movement.[1]:697 The Remarks on the Confession was written by Thompson, and argued that since creeds served to divide the church, even if a perfect creed could be found, it should be rejected as the standard for Christian fellowship.[1]:697
By 1804 the Presbytery had attracted 15 congregations in Ohio and Kentucky.[1]:697 The leaders of the presbytery became concerned by its growth, because they did not want to create a new denomination or "party".[1]:697 Ultimately convinced that the Presbytery was sectarian, the six ministers dissolved it on June 28, 1804. To publicize the dissolution, they signed a document entitled The Last Will and Testament of the Springfield Presbytery.[1]:697 This tract willed that “this body die, be dissolved, and sink into union with the Body of Christ at large.” It expressed the desire for Christian union and identified the Bible as the only standard of Christian faith and practice.[1]:697 In addition to signing the Last Will and Testament, they agreed to take "no other name than christians" on the basis that it was "the name first given by divine authority to the disciples of Christ."[1]:697
The Last Will and Testament became a founding document of the Restoration Movement. While real, the act was also symbolic, based on the principle of individual autonomy for local congregations. Congregational ideals persist to this day in the Disciples of Christ and the Churches of Christ, due in no small part to this document. The actual document titled Last Will and Testament of The Springfield Presbytery was signed by Robert Marshall, John Dunlavy, and Richard McNemar on June 28, 1804 in the presence of B. W. Stone, John Thompson, and David Purviance who served as witnesses.
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