The Churches of Christ are a network of charismatic Protestant churches that provide mutual support while accepting the differences between them. The first Tasmanian Church opened in 1865. The Church became known as the Disciples of Christ in 1885 and the Churches of Christ in 1915. The Churches of Christ ran Bethany Boys' Home.
The first Tasmanian Church of Christ was established at Northdown on the North-West coast on 30 April 1865 by RC Fairlam from the East Brighton Church in Victoria. The first Hobart Church opened in 1872 after some Calvinist Baptists refused to allow a Church leader, OC Carr, to preach to them because they disagreed with his doctrine. Originally known as 'the Christians', the congregation acquired 108 new members in its first year.
A donation of land and a cottage at Dover in southern Tasmania appears to have been the impetus for opening Bethany Boys' Home in 1947. It closed in 1978. Managing the Home fitted in with the Churches' belief in the importance of community work.
In 2013, the Churches of Christ continue to operate in Tasmania.
Sources used to compile this entry: Neville, Cecil C., History of the Collins Street Church of Christ, 1872-1991, Printing Authority of Tasmania, Hobart, 1995, 179 pp.
Prepared by: Caroline Evans
Created: 21 October 2011, Last modified: 11 March 2014
Last updated: 4 August 2023
Cite this: https://www.findandconnect.gov.au/ref/tas/biogs/TE00164b.htm
First published by the Find & Connect Web Resource Project for the Commonwealth of Australia, 2011
Except where otherwise noted, content on this site is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License