Frank Jannaway

Speaker and debater

Jannaway gave regular public lectures at the South London Ecclesia first at Westminster, from 1882 then at Islington and Clapham, and was a notable debater. His debates were not just on doctrinal subjects (e.g. 1894), but also, more unusually for Christadelphians, on the subject of Christian Socialism (1908, 1909).

Jewish Settlement in Palestine

Christadelphians had taken an active interest in not just predicting, but actually assisting in a Jewish return to Palestine since 1891 when Roberts called on the Christadelphian community to support Laurence Oliphant's appeal for funds for the Rosh Pinna settlement at Al-Ja'una in Galilee. But even among Christadelphians F.G. Jannaway expressed exceptionally strong sympathy for the return of the Jews to Palestine. His two books which deal with this Palestine and the Jews (1914) and Palestine and the Powers (2nd Ed. 1918) were summarized and referenced in an overtly Zionist appeal Palestine and the world (1907, 1922): "F.G. Jannaway has for long been known for his interest in and strong sympathy with the return of the Jews to Palestine."

F.G. Jannaway visited Palestine four times, in 1901, 1902, 1912 and 1914 in the company of Charles Curwen Walker, editor of The Christadelphian.

Conscientious Objection

The Christadelphian name itself, and to an extent the defined limits of the movement, had first arisen in 1863-1864 as a direct response to the draft in the American Civil War. As the clouds of war gathered in Europe the South London Ecclesia urged a petition for Christadelphians to obtain status as conscientious objectors in 1913, but Walker and other Birmingham brethren had not been convinced of the need. The Birmingham "Temperance Hall" Ecclesia initially took the view that work as "non-combattants", for example stretcher bearers, was acceptable, but Jannaway strongly urged that this was still participating in the war. In 1914 Jannaway undertook the compilation of a register of all brethren likely to be affected by the draft, with the objective to keep the Christadelphian body entirely outside the Army. In doing so he succeeded in obtaining signatures from 154 Christadelphian "ecclesias" across Britain, with the notable exception of Temperance Hall, which had already drafted, its own petition of 1,000 members, leaving open the issue of non-combattants, but hesitated to submit it to Parliament. On 11 February 1915 Arnold Stephenson Rowntree, the Quaker Liberal M.P. for York presented Jannaway's petition to Parliament, which was accepted and made Birmingham's petition irrelevant. However the Birmingham brethren continued to have more flexible views than South London on the subject, leading to problems which were to extend beyond the war itself.

The Christadelphian Divisions 1885-1923

In 1885, when F.G. Jannaway was 25, his older brother A.T. Jannaway, then 31, became involved in the first of a series of "controversies" which would mark, and hamper, the development of the Christadelphian movement in London. A.T. Jannaway strongly supported the position of Robert Roberts. In 1894-98 A.T and F.G. were directly involved in reaction to a second controversy which had originated in London, nominally over "resurrectional responsibility". Although the immediate problem had been resolved by the original source of the teaching, J.J. Andrew, having withdrawn himself in 1901, the Jannaway brothers were instrumental in persuading the influential Birmingham Central Ecclesia, who then met at Temperance Hall, and the then editor of The Christadelphian magazine, C.C. Walker, to take a stricter line over all those who failed to adopt the 1898 "Amendment" to their statements of faith, leading to the division of ecclesias in North America, and separation from the Unamended Christadelphians, led by Thomas Williams of Chicago. Then in 1923 F.G. Jannaway created further division when he broke with Walker, his former travelling companion in Palestine, when Birmingham failed to discipline two of their "Arranging Brethren" who had abstained on a vote to "disfellowship" two members serving as special constables. This new split led to the formation of the Berean Christadelphians with a majority of Christadelphians in London lining up behind the Jannaway brothers. This coincided with the Jannaway brothers' support for William Smallwood in North America who led the remaining Amended Christadelphians to separate for what would be a period of thirty-two years (1923-1952).

The 1923 division proved to be the last major division within the Christadelphian movement, and after the departure of Clapham the mood in the main "Central" grouping turned towards efforts for reunions, effected 1952-1957. However, in the Clapham group the doctrine of fellowship held by the Jannaway brothers, effectively guilt by association, led to further splintering. In 1926, when F.G. was 62, and his brother A.T. was 68, the brothers themselves divided over the question of the allowability of divorce in cases of adultery. A.T., who took the more lenient view and had advanced that it was allowable, had to leave Clapham, and formed the Family Journal fellowship. F.G. Jannaway also separated from another influential speaker, Viner Hall.

Publications

General:

Debate and doctrinal:

Palestine:

Conscientious objection:

Berean Christadelphian: