Orange County Friends Meeting
Religious Society of Friends (Quakers)

Santa Ana, California

Epistle from the Elders of Balby, 1656

"Dearly beloved Friends, these things we do not lay upon you as a rule or form to walk by, but that all, with the measure of light which is pure and holy, may be guided: and so in the light walking and abiding, these may be fulfilled in the Spirit, not in the letter, for the letter killeth, but the Spirit giveth life."

This sentence appears at the end of a document said to be "the oldest church advice on Christian practice issued by any general body of Friends."

Back Welcome Search Contact Email Validate