The Peace Testimony

The corporate action of Quakers in relation to war and peace is a practical expression of the Peace Testimony of the Society of Friends. There are two major purposes to such action  - to establish the conditions in which peace may flourish and to alleviate the damage done by bringing relief to the victims of warfare. 

For more information go to The Peace Testimony on the Quaker Peace & Social Witness pages.

"Let us then try what Love will do"

William Penn, 1693

Promoting peace

From early days Quakers have been concerned not only to uphold their Peace Testimony by personal witness, but also to undertake what projects they could to promote international peace and understanding. An early example is the address Robert Barclay wrote in 1678 to the ambassadors negotiating the Peace of Nijmegen, which ended the Franco-Dutch Wars. He called it An Epistle of Love and Friendly Advice, and it was subtitled: Wherein the true cause of the present war is discovered, and the right remedy and means for a firm and settled peace is proposed.

It was the same concern for international understanding that in 1854 led a group of  Friends to Russia to present an address to the Czar, in the hopes of avoiding the outbreak of what would become known as the Crimean War. In 1918 the same concern brought about the Quaker Outposts Conference which proposed to use the contacts made in relief work during World War I to establish a continuous and extended service of fellowship. The Council of International Service, created as an official committee of British Friends, inaugurated and developed Quaker International Centres.

In 1937 the second World Conference of Friends set up the Friends World Committee for Consultation (FWCC). Designed to bring together Quakers from all nations, since 1948 it has also held consultative status with Economic and Social Council of the United Nations and is responsible for the two Quaker United Offices in Geneva and New York. In 1979 the Quaker Council for European Affairs, based in Brussels, was set up to promote Quaker values of peace and equality in a European context. 

For more information about these organisations, please see their websites:

http://www.quaker.org/fwcc/
http://www.quno.org/
http://www.quaker.org/qcea

Emblem used by FWVRC workers undertaking relief work during the Franco-Prussian War, 1870-1871

Helping the victims of war 1870-1939