The pioneers of the Convergence Movement were seeking to restore a primitive form of Christianity different from what the Restoration Movement taught. It was inspired by the spiritual pilgrimages of modern Protestant writers like Thomas Howard, Robert E. Webber, Peter E. Gillquist, and ancient Christian writers such as the Church Fathers and their communities. These men, along with theologians, scripture scholars, and pastors in a number of Protestant denominational traditions, were calling Christians back to what they saw as their roots in the early Church prior to the Great Schism and rise of the state church of the Roman Empire. Since the advent of Convergence Protestantism, numerous denominations and organizations have sought or claimed apostolic succession.