Editing Adventism (section)

==History==
{{See also|Millerites|Great Disappointment}}
Adventism began as an inter-denominational movement. Its most vocal leader was William Miller. Between 50,000 and 100,000 people in the United States supported Miller's predictions of Christ's return. After the "[[Great Disappointment]]" of October 22, 1844, many people in the movement gave up on Adventism. Of those remaining Adventist, the majority gave up believing in any prophetic (biblical) significance for the October 22 date, yet they remained expectant of the near Advent ([[second coming]] of Jesus).<ref name="Handbook" /><ref name="ReferenceA">George Knight, ''A Brief History of Seventh-day Adventists.''</ref>

Of those who retained the October 22 date, many maintained that Jesus had come not literally but "spiritually", and consequently were known as "spiritualizers". A small minority held that something concrete had indeed happened on October 22, but that this event had been misinterpreted. This belief later emerged and crystallized with the Seventh-day Adventist Church, the largest remaining body today.<ref name="Handbook" /><ref name="ReferenceA" /><!-- Did any continue setting dates? A small minority only? -->
[[File:Adventism-en.svg|750px|thumb|center|The development of branches of Adventism in the 19th century.]]

===Albany Conference (1845)===
The Albany Conference in 1845, attended by 61 delegates, was called to attempt to determine the future course and meaning of the Millerite movement. Following this meeting, the "Millerites" then became known as "Adventists" or "Second Adventists". However, the delegates disagreed on several theological points.  Four groups emerged from the conference: The Evangelical Adventists, The Life and Advent Union, the [[Advent Christian Church]], and the [[Seventh-day Adventist Church]].

The largest group was organized as the American Millennial Association, a portion of which was later known as the Evangelical Adventist Church.<ref name="Handbook"/> Unique among the Adventists, they believed in an eternal hell and consciousness in death. They declined in numbers, and by 1916 their name did not appear in the United States Census of Religious Bodies. It has diminished to almost non-existence today. Their main publication was the ''Advent Herald'',<ref>{{cite web |title=Partial archives |url=http://www.adventistarchives.org/documents.asp?CatID=146&SortBy=1&ShowDateOrder=True |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090905011146/http://www.adventistarchives.org/documents.asp?CatID=146&SortBy=1&ShowDateOrder=True |archive-date=2009-09-05 |access-date=2013-06-26 |publisher=Adventistarchives.org}}</ref> of which [[Sylvester Bliss]] was the editor until his death in 1863. It was later called the ''Messiah's Herald''.

The Life and Advent Union was founded by [[George Storrs]] in 1863. He had established ''The Bible Examiner'' in 1842. It merged with the Adventist Christian Church in 1964.

The [[Advent Christian Church]] officially formed in 1861 and grew rapidly at first. It declined a little during the 20th century. The Advent Christians publish the four magazines ''The Advent Christian Witness'', ''Advent Christian News'', ''Advent Christian Missions'' and ''Maranatha''. They also operate a liberal arts college at Aurora, Illinois; and a one-year Bible College in Lenox, Massachusetts, called Berkshire Institute for Christian Studies.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.berkshireinstitute.org/|title=Berkshire Institute for Christian Studies}}</ref> The Primitive Advent Christian Church later separated from a few congregations in West Virginia.

The [[Seventh-day Adventist Church]] officially formed in 1863. It believes in the sanctity of the seventh-day Sabbath as a holy day for worship.  It publishes the ''[[Adventist Review]]'', which evolved from several early church publications. Youth publications include ''KidsView'', ''[[Guide (Adventist magazine)|Guide]]'' and ''[[Insight (Adventist magazine)|Insight]]''. It has grown to a large worldwide denomination and has a significant network of medical and educational institutions.

Miller did not join any of the movements, and he spent the last few years of his life working for unity, before dying in 1849.