Barton W. Stone

Barton W. Stone
Barton W. Stone
Born	Barton Warren Stone (1772-12-24)December 24, 1772 Port Tobacco, Maryland, United States
Died	November 9, 1844(1844-11-09) (aged 71) Hannibal, Missouri, United States
Resting place	Cane Ridge, Kentucky, United States
Nationality	American
Occupation	Evangelist/preacher
Years active	1803–1844
Known for	Leadership in the Restoration Movement

Barton Warren Stone (December 24, 1772 – November 9, 1844) was an American evangelist during the early 19th-century Second Great Awakening in the United States. First ordained a Presbyterian minister, he and four other ministers of the Washington Presbytery resigned after arguments about doctrine and enforcement of policy by the Kentucky Synod. This was in 1803, after Stone had helped lead the mammoth Cane Ridge Revival, a several-day communion season attended by nearly 20,000 persons.

Stone and the others briefly founded the Springfield Presbytery, which they dissolved the following year, resigning from the Presbyterian Church altogether. They formed what they called the Christian Church, based on scripture rather than a creed representing the opinion of man. He later became allied with Alexander Campbell, a former Presbyterian minister who was also creating an independent path, sometimes allied with Baptists, and formed the Restoration Movement. Stone's followers were first called "New Lights" and "Stoneites". Later he and Campbell brought the groups together that relied solely on the Scriptures.

Several church groups have historical roots in Stone's efforts. The three main groups are the Churches of Christ, the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), and the independent Christian churches and churches of Christ. Additionally, there are the International Churches of Christ, the International Christian Church, the Churches of Christ in Australia, the Churches of Christ in Europe, and the Evangelical Christian Church in Canada.^[1][2]