The Christadelphians (a word created from the Greek for "Brethren in Christ"; cp. Colossians 1:2 — "brethren in Christ") are a Christian group that developed in the United Kingdom and North America in the 19th century. The name was coined by John Thomas, who was the group's founder. Christadelphians hold a view of Biblical Unitarianism. The group has often been described as a form of Messianic Judaism, as they share many of their beliefs and hopes with Judaism; notably the promises made to Abraham, Isaac and Israel whilst they also believe that the Lord Jesus Christ is the promised Messiah.
Although no official membership figures are published, the Columbia Encyclopedia gives an estimated figure of 50,000 Christadelphians, who are spread across approximately 120 countries; there are established churches (or ecclesias, as they are often called) in many of those countries, along with isolated members. Census statistics are available for some countries. Estimates for the main centres of Christadelphian population are as follows: United Kingdom (18,000), Australia (9,987), Malawi (7,000), United States (6,500), Mozambique (7,500), Canada (3,375), New Zealand (1,785), Kenya (1,700), India (1,500) and Tanzania (100). This puts the figure at around 57,000.
