Brethren churches (Assambleas de Hermanos) from across Spain gathered in the capital, Madrid, to celebrate two centuries of the movement's presence in the country.

Organised by the ‘coordinating body’ that unites them, a gathering was held on 20 and 21 March to “ focus attention, including through audiovisual media, on the emergence of this movement of the Spirit and its principles of faith: unity, mission, evangelism, the centrality of the Lord’s Table, the universal priesthood… as well as the inevitable shadows and controversies that arise along the way”.

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The main focus, however, was on “looking ahead, rejoicing in the precious mission the Lord has placed upon us”.

The guest speaker for the lectures was Duarte Casmarrinha, an elder of a church in Porto (Portugal) and general secretary of the International Brethren Conference on Mission Europe.

There was a parallel programme for young people.

Independent and horizontal movement

In Spain, the movement, which emerged in the early 19th century in the United Kingdom, Ireland and Switzerland, always sought to define itself simply as “Christians” or “evangelical Christians”, outside the more established Christian structures such as the Lutheran, Anglican or Methodist Churches.

It was other Christians who began to call them “Brethren” or “Brethren assemblies”, due to their horizontal approach which shuns strong leadership or a financially remunerated clergy.

Through Bible study, some of the characteristics that identify the Brethren include an interest in reviving New Testament practices such as gathering in a simple manner to pray, study the Bible, share and have fellowship without fixed liturgies or ordained ministers.

However, the Brethren do emphasise practices such as taking Holy Communion at every service and setting aside times for “open worship” without a set agenda, during which there are spontaneous intercessions, songs or biblical reflections not planned in advance.

Training and evangelism for the future

During this 2026 celebration, which included music and photographs to commemorate the past—including the arrival of English missionaries who helped establish the first independent assemblies—there was also discussion of the need to train new generations and not to lose sight of the priority of evangelism in Spain.