Philadelphia Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends

Mount Holly Monthly Meeting was established in 1776 by Burlington Quarterly Meeting out of Burlington Monthly Meeting. In 1827, after the Hicksite Separation in Philadelphia Yearly Meeting, the Meeting split into Hicksite and Orthodox branches. The Orthodox Meeting was discontinued in 1828 ; its members were transferred to Burlington Monthly Meeting (Orthodox). Mount Holly Monthly Meeting (Hicksite), which reunited with Philadelphia Yearly Meeting (Orthodox) in 1955, was the forerunner of the current Mount Holly Monthly Meeting of Friends.

This volume contains "advices" issued by the Society of Friends for Pennsylvania and New Jersey in the late 17th and early 18th centuries. During this time, the group held yearly meetings in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Burlington, New Jersey.

Trustees of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting of Friends was a corporation formed in 1898 to hold property and execute trusts of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting (Hicksite), its subordinate members, and certain related organizations. Its members were appointed by the Yearly Meeting. Trustees continued to exist under the reunited Philadelphia Yearly Meeting until 1975, when Trustees was consolidated with Friends Fiduciary Corporation. The new body was named Fiduciary Corporation of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting of Friends.

Wilmington Monthly Meeting was established in 1750 by Chester[Concord] Quarterly Meeting out of Kennett Monthly Meeting (PA). After the Hicksite Separation of 1827, there were two monthly meetings at Wilmington. The Hicksite, or West Street, meeting merged with the Orthodox, or Harrison Street, meeting in 1945, forming a united monthly meeting under the two Concord Quarterly Meetings. Wilmington is currently an active monthly meeting.

The Associate Secretary of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting is the chief financial staff and operations person, reporting to the Financial Advisory committee. The position includes supervision of General Services, including accounting, record keeping, office operations, etc. The first Associate Secretary was Rowland K. Leonard, appointed in 1969.

A general meeting for Friends in the Delaware Valley area was first convened at Burlington in 1681. The first general meeting held in Philadelphia was in 1683. Since 1760, all Yearly Meetings have been held in Philadelphia. The area of the Yearly Meeting has diminished over time. Generally, its territory now embraces eastern Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey, Delaware, and the Eastern Shore of Maryland. A great schism among Philadelphia Friends occurred at the Yearly Meeting of 1827. From that year until the reunification of 1955 there were two Philadelphia Yearly Meetings, one of the Hicksite, the other of the Orthodox branch. Both were located in Philadelphia. Orthodox Friends retained possession of the meeting house on Arch Street, and so are often referred to as Arch Street Friends. The Hicksites are referred to as Race Street Friends since their Yearly Meeting was held at a meeting house, built in 1857, on Race Street. Through the course of the 20th century the Philadelphia Yearly Meetings began to draw back together. Organic union was finally approved in 1955. The work of the Yearly Meeting between its annual sessions is carried out by Representative or Interim Meeting. Most of its business or concerns are conducted by standing or temporary committees.

Disciplines are rules of behavior for Friends issued over time relating to all matters of church government, such as qualification, description and transfer of membership; duties of ministers; methods of filing appeals; and attitudes toward marriage. The book of disciplines is currently called Faith and Practice.

Newark Monthly Meeting (Del.) was established in 1686. It became part of Chester [Concord] Quarterly Meeting in 1693. The monthly meeting was transferred to Western Quarterly Meeting in 1758. In 1760, its name was changed to "Kennett". At the time of the Hicksite Separation of 1827, the monthly meeting split into Hicksite and Orthodox branches. Kennett Monthly Meeting (Hicksite), which reunited with Philadelphia Yearly Meeting (Orthodox) in 1955, was the forerunner of the current Kennett Monthly Meeting.

A meeting for worship was established at Poetquesink [Byberry] in 1683 by Philadelphia Quarterly Meeting; it was attached to Abington Monthly Meeting along with Tacony [Frankford] meeting. Byberry Preparative Meeting was established ca. 1701. The meeting for worship and preparative meeting were transferred to Horsham Monthly Meeting in 1782 and then to Byberry Monthly Meeting in 1810. After the schism of 1827/28, Byberry Preparative Meeting (Orthodox) was discontinued in 1828; the Hicksite preparative meeting was discontinued in 1920.

The Religious Society of Friends, also known as Quakers, was founded in England in 1652 by George Fox. Fox preached throughout England, emphasizing the need for complete and true obedience to Christ. The Quaker doctrine, which included pacifism and rejection of oaths, created conflict between Quakers and political and religious leaders in England and America. In 1656, barred from landing in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, Quakers settled in Rhode Island. William Penn, a Quaker, founded the Pennsylvania Colony in 1681 and provided refuge for English Quakers and other persecuted religious groups.

Quakers in the United States held their first General Meeting in 1681 in Burlington, New Jersey. This group merged with the Philadelphia meeting in 1685 and became the General Yearly Meeting for Friends of Pennsylvania, East Jersey, and of the Adjacent Provinces. Now known as the Philadephia Yearly Meeting, it is the oldest Quaker group in the United States.

A general meeting for Friends in the Delaware Valley area was first convened at Burlington in 1681. The first general meeting held in Philadelphia was in 1683. In 1685, the meetings in New Jersey and Pennsylvania were combined into one yearly meeting with alternate sessions at Philadelphia and Burlington. Since 1760, all yearly meetings have been held in Philadelphia. The great Separation among Philadelphia Friends occurred at the Yearly Meeting of 1827. From that year, there were two Philadelphia Yearly Meetings, one of the Orthodox, the other of the Hicksite branch. In 1955, the Philadelphia Yearly Meetings reunited to form the current Philadelphia Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends.

The area of the Yearly Meeting has diminished over time; its territory now embraces eastern Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey, Delaware, and the Eastern Shore of Maryland.

In October 1719, the Yearly Meeting of the Society of Friends for Philadelphia and the Jersies reached consensus on a "book of discipline" governing the "establishment and order of meetings." The regulations covered both the conduct of the Quarterly and Monthly Meetings and the personal comportment of individual members, refining the bureaucratic structure of the meetings and laying out the powers of Overseers and other officials. It touches upon marriage (mandating endogamy), burial, and attendance at meetings, and cautions Friends to plainness of speech and dress, drinking, smoking, backbiting, and gaming.

Among other rules, the Book of Discipline proscribed selling alcohol to Indians, "it being contrary to the care Friends have always had since the settlement of the Countries, that they might not contribute to the abuse and hurt those poor people receive by drinking thereof" and selling Indian slaves, and banned "the fetching or importing Negroe Slaves from their own Country or elsewhere," cautioning owners of slaves to be humane in their treatment.