E. H. Broadbent, The Pilgrim Church (1931)
This work occupies a unique space in Christian historiography, serving as both a meticulously researched historical survey and a passionate theological argument for the “primitive” church model.
Summary of the Book:
The core thesis of “The Pilgrim Church” is that there has always been a continuous “silver line” of faithful Christian testimony outside of the institutionalized, state-sponsored Church. Broadbent argues that while the “Great Church” (Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and later the Magisterial Protestant churches) became entangled with political power and ritualism, smaller, independent groups maintained the New Testament pattern of simple worship and local autonomy.
The book traces this “Pilgrim Church” through a series of historically marginalized groups, including:
The Paulicians and Bogomils: Early medieval groups often dismissed as heretics by state-church historians.
The Waldenses and Albigenses: Pre-Reformation movements in the Alpine valleys.
The Anabaptists: The “Radical Reformation” that sought a total return to apostolic principles.
The Stundists and Mennonites: Movements in Russia and Eastern Europe where Broadbent himself labored.
Broadbent’s work is significant for its “bottom-up” approach to history, focusing on the persecuted rather than the persecutors, and for its extensive use of primary sources from Eastern Europe that were largely unknown to Western scholars at the time.
Author Background: Edmund Hamer Broadbent (1861–1945)
Broadbent was not merely a dry academic but a “scholar-missionary” whose historical research was fueled by his own experiences on the mission field.
The Plymouth Brethren Connection: Broadbent was a leading figure within the Open Brethren movement. His theological conviction that the New Testament provides a complete and sufficient pattern for church order (without the need for centralized denominations) is the heartbeat of the book.
A Linguist and Traveler: Fluent in French and German, and capable in Russian, Broadbent spent decades traveling across “closed” regions of Europe and Central Asia. He frequently visited Russia, Poland, and Turkey, often at great personal risk, to encourage small, independent congregations of believers.
Preserving the Marginalized: His travels allowed him to meet the descendants of the very groups he wrote about. He sought to prove that these groups were not “mushroom growths” of the 19th century but were part of an ancient, unbroken tradition of “pilgrim” Christianity.
Broadbent’s work is a classic for those interested in Ecclesiology and Free Church history.
