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Mennonites

January 26, 2023

Mennonites are groups of Anabaptist Christian church communities of denominations. The name is derived from the founder of the movement, Menno Simons (1496–1561) of Friesland. Through his writings about Reformed Christianity during the Radical Reformation, Simons articulated and formalized the teachings of earlier Swiss founders, with the early teachings of the Mennonites founded on the belief in both the mission and ministry of Jesus, which the original Anabaptist followers held with great conviction, despite persecution by various Roman Catholic and Mainline Protestant states. Formal Mennonite beliefs were codified in the Dordrecht Confession of Faith in 1632,[4] which affirmed "the baptism of believers only, the washing of the feet as a symbol of servanthood, church discipline, the shunning of the excommunicated, the non-swearing of oaths, marriage within the same church", strict pacifistic physical nonresistance, anti-Catholicism and in general, more emphasis on "true Christianity" involving "being Christian and obeying Christ" however they interpret it from the Holy Bible.[5]

Mennonites
Total population
2.13 million (2018)[1]
Regions with significant populations
United States500,481[1]
Ethiopia310,912[2]
India257,029[2]
Dem. Republic of the Congo225,581[2]
Canada149,422[1]
Indonesia102,761[2]
Tanzania66,350[2]
Thailand63,718[2]
Zimbabwe50,287[2]
Germany47,492[3]
Paraguay36,009[3]
Kenya35,575[2]
Mexico110,000[3]
Angola30,555[2]
Bolivia26,699[3]
Religions
Anabaptism
Scriptures
Bible

The majority of the early Mennonite followers, rather than fighting, survived by fleeing to neighboring states where ruling families were tolerant of their belief in believer's baptism. Over the years, Mennonites have become known as one of the historic peace churches, due to their commitment to pacifism.[6]

Congregations worldwide embody the full scope of Mennonite practice, from Old Order Mennonites (who practice a lifestyle without certain elements of modern technology) to Conservative Mennonites (who hold to traditional theological distinctives, wear plain dress and use modern conveniences) to mainline Mennonites (those who are indistinguishable in dress and appearance from the general population).[7] Mennonites can be found in communities in 87 countries on six continents.[8] Seven ordinances have been taught in many traditional Mennonite churches, which include "baptism, communion, footwashing, marriage, anointing with oil, the holy kiss, and the prayer covering."[5] The largest populations of Mennonites are found in Canada, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, India, and the United States.[8] There are Mennonite colonies in Argentina, Belize, Bolivia,[9] Brazil, Mexico, Peru,[10] Uruguay,[11] Paraguay,[12] and Colombia.[13] The Mennonite Church in the Netherlands still continues where Simons was born.[14]

Though Mennonites are a global denomination with church membership from Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas, certain Mennonite communities with ethno-cultural origins in Switzerland and the Netherlands bear the designation of ethnic Mennonites.[15]

History

Main article: Radical Reformation
 
Spread of the early Anabaptists, 1525–1550

The early history of the Mennonites starts with the Anabaptists in the German and Dutch-speaking regions of central Europe. The German term is Täufer or Wiedertäufer ("Again-Baptists" or "Anabaptists" using the Greek ana ["again"]).[16] These forerunners of modern Mennonites were part of the Protestant Reformation, a broad reaction against the practices and theology of the Roman Catholic Church. Its most distinguishing feature is the rejection of infant baptism, an act that had both religious and political meaning since almost every infant born in western Europe was baptized in the Roman Catholic Church. Other significant theological views of the Mennonites developed in opposition to Roman Catholic views or to the views of Protestant reformers such as Martin Luther and Huldrych Zwingli.

Some of the followers of Zwingli's Reformed church thought that requiring church membership beginning at birth was inconsistent with the New Testament example. They believed that the church should be completely removed from government (the proto–free church tradition), and that individuals should join only when willing to publicly acknowledge belief in Jesus and the desire to live in accordance with his teachings. At a small meeting in Zurich on January 21, 1525, Conrad Grebel, Felix Manz, and George Blaurock, along with twelve others, baptized each other.[17] This meeting marks the beginning of the Anabaptist movement. In the spirit of the times, other groups came to preach about reducing hierarchy, relations with the state, eschatology, and sexual license, running from utter abandon to extreme chastity. These movements are together referred to as the "Radical Reformation".

Many government and religious leaders, both Protestant and Roman Catholic, considered voluntary church membership to be dangerous—the concern of some deepened by reports of the Münster Rebellion, led by a violent sect of Anabaptists. They joined forces to fight the movement, using methods such as banishment, torture, burning, drowning or beheading.[18]: 142 

Despite strong repressive efforts of the state churches, the movement spread slowly around western Europe, primarily along the Rhine. Officials killed many of the earliest Anabaptist leaders in an attempt to purge Europe of the new sect.[18]: 142  By 1530, most of the founding leaders had been killed for refusing to renounce their beliefs. Many believed that God did not condone killing or the use of force for any reason and were, therefore, unwilling to fight for their lives. The non-resistant branches often survived by seeking refuge in neutral cities or nations, such as Strasbourg. Their safety was often tenuous, as a shift in alliances or an invasion could mean resumed persecution. Other groups of Anabaptists, such as the Batenburgers, were eventually destroyed by their willingness to fight. This played a large part in the evolution of Anabaptist theology. They believed that Jesus taught that any use of force to get back at anyone was wrong, and taught to forgive.

 
Menno Simons

In the early days of the Anabaptist movement, Menno Simons, a Catholic priest in the Low Countries, heard of the movement and started to rethink his Catholic faith. He questioned the doctrine of transubstantiation but was reluctant to leave the Roman Catholic Church. His brother, a member of an Anabaptist group, was killed when he and his companions were attacked and refused to defend themselves.[19] In 1536, at the age of 40, Simons left the Roman Catholic Church. He soon became a leader within the Anabaptist movement and was wanted by authorities for the rest of his life. His name became associated with scattered groups of nonviolent Anabaptists whom he helped to organize and consolidate.[20][21]

Fragmentation and variation

 
Evangelical Mennonite Church in Altkirch, Association of Evangelical Mennonite Churches of France.
 
Praise team at The Meeting Place in Winnipeg, Canadian Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches.

During the 16th century, the Mennonites and other Anabaptists were relentlessly persecuted. This period of persecution has had a significant impact on Mennonite identity. Martyrs Mirror, published in 1660, documents much of the persecution of Anabaptists and their predecessors, including accounts of over 4,000 burnings of individuals, and numerous stonings, imprisonments, and live burials.[22] Today, the book is still the most important book besides the Bible for many Mennonites and Amish, in particular for the Swiss-South German branch of the Mennonites. Persecution was still going on until 1710 in various parts of Switzerland.[23]

In 1693, Jakob Ammann led an effort to reform the Mennonite church in Switzerland and South Germany to include shunning, to hold communion more often, and other differences.[24] When the discussions fell through, Ammann and his followers split from the other Mennonite congregations. Ammann's followers became known as the Amish Mennonites or just Amish. In later years, other schisms among Amish resulted in such groups as the Old Order Amish, New Order Amish, Kauffman Amish Mennonite, Swartzentruber Amish, Conservative Mennonite Conference and Biblical Mennonite Alliance. For instance, near the beginning of the 20th century, some members in the Amish church wanted to begin having Sunday schools and participate in progressive Protestant-style para-church evangelism. Unable to persuade the rest of the Amish, they separated and formed a number of separate groups including the Conservative Mennonite Conference. Mennonites in Canada and other countries typically have independent denominations because of the practical considerations of distance and, in some cases, language. Many times these divisions took place along family lines, with each extended family supporting its own branch.

Political rulers often admitted the Menists or Mennonites into their states because they were honest, hardworking and peaceful. When their practices upset the powerful state churches, princes would renege on exemptions for military service, or a new monarch would take power, and the Mennonites would be forced to flee again, usually leaving everything but their families behind. Often, another monarch in another state would grant them welcome, at least for a while.

While Mennonites in Colonial America were enjoying considerable religious freedom, their counterparts in Europe continued to struggle with persecution and temporary refuge under certain ruling monarchs. They were sometimes invited to settle in areas of poor soil that no one else could farm. By contrast, in the Netherlands, the Mennonites enjoyed a relatively high degree of tolerance. Because the land still needed to be tended, the ruler would not drive out the Mennonites but would pass laws to force them to stay, while at the same time severely limiting their freedom. Mennonites had to build their churches facing onto back streets or alleys, and they were forbidden from announcing the beginning of services with the sound of a bell.

A strong emphasis on "community" was developed under these circumstances. It continues to be typical of Mennonite churches. As a result of frequently being required to give up possessions in order to retain individual freedoms, Mennonites learned to live very simply. This was reflected both in the home and at church, where their dress and their buildings were plain. The music at church, usually simple German chorales, was performed a cappella. This style of music serves as a reminder to many Mennonites of their simple lives, as well as their history as a persecuted people. Some branches of Mennonites have retained this "plain" lifestyle into modern times.

Statistics

The Mennonite World Conference was founded at the first conference in Basel, Switzerland, in 1925 to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Anabaptism.[25] In 2022, the organization would have it would have 109 member denominations in 59 countries, and 1.47 million baptized members in 10,300 churches.[26]

Beliefs and practices

Main article: Anabaptist theology

The beliefs of the movement are those of the Believers' Church.[27]

One of the earliest expressions of Mennonite Anabaptist faith was the Schleitheim Confession, adopted on February 24, 1527.[28] Its seven articles covered:

  • The Ban (excommunication)
  • Breaking of bread (Communion)
  • Separation from and shunning of the abomination (the Roman Catholic Church and other "worldly" groups and practices)
  • Believer's baptism
  • Pastors in the church
  • Renunciation of the sword (Christian pacifism)
  • Renunciation of the oath (swearing as proof of truth)

The Dordrecht Confession of Faith was adopted on April 21, 1632, by Dutch Mennonites, by Alsatian Mennonites in 1660, and by North American Mennonites in 1725. It has been followed by many Mennonite groups over the centuries.[29] With regard to salvation, Mennonites believe:[30]

When we hear the good news of the love of God, the Holy Spirit moves us to accept the gift of salvation. God brings us into right relationship without coercion. Our response includes yielding to God's grace, placing full trust in God alone, repenting of sin, turning from evil, joining the fellowship of the redeemed, and showing forth the obedience of faith in word and deed. When we who once were God's enemies are reconciled with God through Christ, we also experience reconciliation with others, especially within the church. In baptism we publicly testify to our salvation and pledge allegiance to the one true God and to the people of God, the church. As we experience grace and the new birth, we are adopted into the family of God and become more and more transformed into the image of Christ.11 We thus respond in faith to Christ and seek to walk faithfully in the way of Christ.[30]

Traditionally, Mennonites sought to continue the beliefs of early Christianity and thus practice the lovefeast (which includes footwashing, the holy kiss and communion), headcovering, nonresistance, the sharing of possessions and nonconformity to the world; these things are heavily emphasized in Old Order Mennonite and Conservative Mennonite denominations.[31][32][33]

Seven ordinances have been taught in many traditional Mennonite churches, which include "baptism, communion, footwashing, marriage, anointing with oil, the holy kiss, and the prayer covering."[5]

In 1911, the Mennonite church in the Netherlands (Doopsgezinde Kerk) was the first Dutch church to have a female pastor authorized; she was Anne Zernike.[34]

There is a wide scope of worship, doctrine and traditions among Mennonites today. This section shows the main types of Mennonites as seen from North America. It is far from a specific study of all Mennonite classifications worldwide but it does show a somewhat representative sample of the complicated classifications within the Mennonite faith worldwide.

Moderate Mennonites include the largest denominations, the Mennonite Brethren and the Mennonite Church. In most forms of worship and practice, they differ very little from many Protestant congregations. There is no special form of dress and no restrictions on use of technology. Worship styles vary greatly between different congregations. There is no formal liturgy; services typically consist of singing, scripture reading, prayer and a sermon. Some churches prefer hymns and choirs; others make use of contemporary Christian music with electronic instruments. Mennonite congregations are self-supporting and appoint their own ministers. There is no requirement for ministers to be approved by the denomination, and sometimes ministers from other denominations will be appointed. A small sum, based on membership numbers, is paid to the denomination, which is used to support central functions such as publication of newsletters and interactions with other denominations and other countries. The distinguishing characteristics of moderate Mennonite churches tend to be ones of emphasis rather than rule. There is an emphasis on peace, community and service. However, members do not live in a separate community—they participate in the general community as "salt and light" to the world (Matthew 5:13,14). The main elements of Menno Simons' doctrine are retained but in a moderated form. Banning is rarely practiced and would, in any event, have much less effect than in those denominations where the community is more tightly knit. Excommunication can occur and was notably applied by the Mennonite Brethren to members who joined the military during the Second World War. Service in the military is generally not permitted, but service in the legal profession or law enforcement is acceptable. Outreach and help to the wider community at home and abroad is encouraged. The Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) is a leader in foreign aid provision.

Traditionally, very modest dress was expected, particularly in Conservative Mennonite circles. As the Mennonite population has become urbanized and more integrated into the wider culture, this visible difference has disappeared outside of Conservative Mennonite groups.

The Reformed Mennonite Church, with members in the United States and Canada, represents the first division in the original North American Mennonite body. Called the "First Keepers of the Old Way" by author Stephen Scott, the Reformed Mennonite Church formed in the very early 19th century. Reformed Mennonites see themselves as true followers of Menno Simons' teachings and of the teachings of the New Testament. They have no church rules, but they rely solely on the Bible as their guide. They insist on strict separation from all other forms of worship and dress in conservative plain garb that preserves 18th century Mennonite details. However, they refrain from forcing their Mennonite faith on their children, allow their children to attend public schools, and have permitted the use of automobiles. They are notable for being the church of Milton S. Hershey's mother and famous for the long and bitter ban of Robert Bear, a Pennsylvania farmer who rebelled against what he saw as dishonesty and disunity in the leadership.

The Church of God in Christ, Mennonite, a group often called Holdeman Mennonites after their founder John Holdeman, was founded from a schism in 1859.[35] They emphasize Evangelical conversion and strict church discipline. They stay separate from other Mennonite groups because of their emphasis on the one-true-church doctrine and their use of avoidance toward their own excommunicated members. The Holdeman Mennonites do not believe that the use of modern technology is a sin in itself, but they discourage too intensive a use of the Internet and avoid television, cameras and radio.[36] The group had 24,400 baptized members in 2013.[37]

 
Old Order Mennonite horse and carriage

Old Order Mennonites cover several distinct groups. Some groups use horse and buggy for transportation and speak German while others drive cars and speak English. What most Old Orders share in common is conservative doctrine, dress, and traditions, common roots in 19th-century and early 20th-century schisms, and a refusal to participate in politics and other so-called "sins of the world". Most Old Order groups also school their children in Mennonite-operated schools.

  • Horse and Buggy Old Order Mennonites came from the main series of Old Order schisms that began in 1872 and ended in 1901 in Ontario, Pennsylvania, and the U.S. Midwest, as conservative Mennonites fought the radical changes that the influence of 19th century American Revivalism had on Mennonite worship. Most Horse and Buggy Old Order Mennonites allow the use of tractors for farming, although some groups insist on steel-wheeled tractors to prevent tractors from being used for road transportation. Like the Stauffer or Pike Mennonites (origin 1845 in Lancaster, Pennsylvania), the Groffdale Conference, and the Old Order Mennonite Conference of Ontario, they stress separation from the world, excommunication, and the wearing of plain clothes. Some Old Order Mennonite groups are unlike the Stauffer or Pike Mennonites in that their form of the ban is less severe because the ex-communicant is not shunned, and is therefore not excluded from the family table, shunned by their spouse, or cut off from business dealings.
  • Automobile Old Order Mennonites, also known as Weaverland Conference Mennonites (having their origins in the Weaverland District of the Lancaster Conference—also calling "Horning"), or Wisler Mennonites in the U.S. Midwest, or the Markham-Waterloo Mennonite Conference having its origins from the Old Order Mennonites of Ontario, Canada, also evolved from the main series of Old Order schisms from 1872 to 1901. They often share the same meeting houses with, and adhere to almost identical forms of Old Order worship as their Horse and Buggy Old Order brethren with whom they parted ways in the early 20th century. Although this group began using cars in 1927, the cars were required to be plain and painted black. The largest group of Automobile Old Orders are still known today as "Black Bumper" Mennonites because some members still paint their chrome bumpers black.

Stauffer Mennonites, or Pike Mennonites, represent one of the first and most conservative forms of North American Horse and Buggy Mennonites. They were founded in 1845, following conflicts about how to discipline children and spousal abuse by a few Mennonite Church members. They almost immediately began to split into separate churches themselves. Today these groups are among the most conservative of all Swiss Mennonites outside the Amish. They stress strict separation from "the world", adhere to "strict withdrawal from and shunning of apostate and separated members", forbid and limit cars and technology and wear plain clothing.

Conservative Mennonites are generally considered those Mennonites who maintain somewhat conservative dress, although carefully accepting other technology. They are not a unified group and are divided into various independent conferences and fellowships such as the Eastern Pennsylvania Mennonite Church Conference. Despite the rapid changes that precipitated the Old Order schisms in the last quarter of the 19th century, most Mennonites in the United States and Canada retained a core of traditional beliefs based on a literal interpretation of the New Testament scriptures as well as more external "plain" practices into the beginning of the 20th century. However, disagreements in the United States and Canada between conservative and progressive (i.e. less emphasis on literal interpretation of scriptures) leaders began in the first half of the 20th century and continue to some extent today. Following WWII, a conservative movement emerged from scattered separatist groups as a reaction to the Mennonite churches drifting away from their historical traditions. "Plain" became passé as open criticisms of traditional beliefs and practices broke out in the 1950s and 1960s.[citation needed] The first conservative withdrawals from the progressive group began in the 1950s. These withdrawals continue to the present day in what is now the growing Conservative Movement formed from Mennonite schisms and from combinations with progressive Amish groups. While moderate and progressive Mennonite congregations have dwindled in size, the Conservative Movement congregations continue to exhibit considerable growth.[citation needed] Other conservative Mennonite groups descended from the former Amish-Mennonite churches which split, like the Wisler Mennonites, from the Old Order Amish in the latter part of the 19th century. (The Wisler Mennonites are a grouping descended from the Old Mennonite Church.) There are also other Conservative Mennonite churches that descended from more recent groups that have left the Amish like the Beachy Amish or the Tennessee Brotherhood Churches.

In North America, there are structures and traditions taught as in the Confession of Faith in a Mennonite Perspective[38] of Mennonite Church Canada and Mennonite Church USA.

Progressive Mennonite churches allow LGBTQ+ members to worship as church members and have been banned from membership, in some cases in the moderate groups as a result. The Germantown Mennonite Church in Germantown, Pennsylvania is one example of such a progressive Mennonite church.[39]

Some progressive Mennonite Churches place a great emphasis on the Mennonite tradition's teachings on pacifism and non-violence.[40] Some progressive Mennonite Churches are part of moderate Mennonite denominations (such as the Mennonite Church USA) while others are independent congregations.

Sexuality, marriage, and family mores

Most Mennonite denominations hold a conservative position on homosexuality.[41]

The Brethren Mennonite Council for LGBT Interests was founded in 1976 in the USA and has member churches of different denominations in the USA and Canada.[42]

The Mennonite Church Canada leaves the choice to each church for same-sex marriage.[43]

The Mennonite Church in the Netherlands and the Mennonite Church USA which had 62,000 members in 2021, about 12% of American Mennonites[44], permit same-sex marriage.[45][46]

Russian Mennonites

Main article: Russian Mennonite

The "Russian Mennonites" (German: "Russlandmennoniten")[47] today are descended from Dutch Anabaptists, who came from the Netherlands and started around 1530 to settle around Danzig and in West Prussia, where they lived for about 250 years. During that time they mixed with German Mennonites from different regions. Starting in 1791 they established colonies in the south-west of the Russian Empire (present-day Ukraine) and beginning in 1854 also in Volga region and Orenburg Governorate (present-day Russia). Their ethno-language is Plautdietsch, a Germanic dialect of the East Low German group, with some Dutch admixture. Today, many traditional Russian Mennonites use Standard German in church and for reading and writing.

In the 1770s Catherine the Great of the Russian Empire acquired a great deal of land north of the Black Sea (in present-day Ukraine) following the Russo-Turkish War and the takeover of the Ottoman vassal, the Crimean Khanate. Russian government officials invited Mennonites living in the Kingdom of Prussia to farm the Ukrainian steppes depopulated by Tatar raids in exchange for religious freedom and military exemption. Over the years Mennonite farmers and businesses were very successful.

In 1854, according to the new Russian government official invitation, Mennonites from Prussia established colonies in Russia's Volga region, and later in Orenburg Governorate (Neu Samara Colony).

Between 1874 and 1880 some 16,000 Mennonites of approximately 45,000 left Russia. About nine thousand departed for the United States (mainly Kansas and Nebraska) and seven thousand for Canada (mainly Manitoba). In the 1920s, Russian Mennonites from Canada started to migrate to Latin America (Mexico and Paraguay), soon followed by Mennonite refugees from the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. Further migrations of these Mennonites led to settlements in Peru, Brazil, Uruguay, Belize, Bolivia and Argentina.

By the beginning of the 20th century, the Mennonites in Russia owned large agricultural estates and some had become successful as industrial entrepreneurs in the cities, employing wage labor. After the Russian Revolution of 1917 and the Russian Civil War (1917–1921), all of these farms (whose owners were called Kulaks) and enterprises were expropriated by local peasants or the Soviet government. Beyond expropriation, Mennonites suffered severe persecution during the course of the Civil War, at the hands of workers, the Bolsheviks and, particularly, the Anarcho-Communists of Nestor Makhno, who considered the Mennonites to be privileged foreigners of the upper class and targeted them. During expropriation, hundreds of Mennonite men, women and children were murdered in these attacks.[48] After the Ukrainian–Soviet War and the takeover of Ukraine by the Soviet Bolsheviks, people who openly practiced religion were in many cases imprisoned by the Soviet government. This led to a wave of Mennonite emigration to the Americas (U.S., Canada and Paraguay).

When the German army invaded the Soviet Union in the summer of 1941 during World War II, many in the Mennonite community perceived them as liberators from the communist regime under which they had suffered. Many Russian Mennonites actively collaborated with the Nazis, including in the rounding up and extermination of their Jewish neighbors, although some also resisted them.[49][50][51] When the tide of war turned, many of the Mennonites fled with the German army back to Germany where they were accepted as Volksdeutsche. The Soviet government believed that the Mennonites had "collectively collaborated" with the Germans. After the war, many Mennonites in the Soviet Union were forcibly relocated to Siberia and Kazakhstan. Many were sent to gulags as part of the Soviet program of mass internal deportations of various ethnic groups whose loyalty was seen as questionable. Many German-Russian Mennonites who lived to the east (not in Ukraine) were deported to Siberia before the German army's invasion and were also often placed in labor camps. In the decades that followed, as the Soviet regime became less brutal, a number of Mennonites returned to Ukraine and Western Russia where they had formerly lived. In the 1990s the governments of Kazakhstan, Russia and Ukraine gave these people the opportunity to emigrate, and the vast majority emigrated to Germany. The Russian Mennonite immigrants in Germany from the 1990s outnumber the pre-1989 community of Mennonites by three to one.

By 2015, the majority of Russian Mennonites and their descendants live in Latin America, Germany and Canada.

The world's most conservative Mennonites (in terms of culture and technology) are the Mennonites affiliated with the Lower and Upper Barton Creek Colonies in Belize. Lower Barton is inhabited by Plautdietsch speaking Russian Mennonites, whereas Upper Barton Creek is mainly inhabited by Pennsylvania Dutch language-speaking Mennonites from North America. Neither group uses motors or paint.[52]

North America

 
Germantown Mennonite Meetinghouse, built 1770
 
Ten Thousand Villages Store in New Hamburg, Ontario
 
Valparaiso Mennonite Church, in Valparaiso, Indiana in the United States.

Persecution and the search for employment forced Mennonites out of the Netherlands eastward to Germany in the 17th century. As Quaker Evangelists moved into Germany they received a sympathetic audience among the larger of these German-Mennonite congregations around Krefeld, Altona, Hamburg, Gronau and Emden.[53] It was among this group of Quakers and Mennonites, living under ongoing discrimination, that William Penn solicited settlers for his new colony. The first permanent settlement of Mennonites in the American colonies consisted of one Mennonite family and twelve Mennonite-Quaker[54] families of German extraction who arrived from Krefeld, Germany, in 1683 and settled in Germantown, Pennsylvania. Among these early settlers was William Rittenhouse, a lay minister and owner of the first American paper mill. Jacob Gottschalk was the first bishop of this Germantown congregation. This early group of Mennonites and Mennonite-Quakers wrote the first formal protest against slavery in the United States. The treatise was addressed to slave-holding Quakers in an effort to persuade them to change their ways.[55]

In the early 18th century, 100,000 Germans from the Palatinate emigrated to Pennsylvania, where they became known collectively as the Pennsylvania Dutch (from the Anglicization of Deutsch or German.) The Palatinate region had been repeatedly overrun by the French in religious wars, and Queen Anne had invited the Germans to go to the British colonies. Of these immigrants, around 2,500 were Mennonites and 500 were Amish.[56] This group settled farther west than the first group, choosing less expensive land in the Lancaster area. The oldest Mennonite meetinghouse in the United States is the Hans Herr House in West Lampeter Township.[57] A member of this second group, Christopher Dock, authored Pedagogy, the first American monograph on education. Today, Mennonites also reside in Kishacoquillas Valley (also known as Big Valley), a valley in Huntingdon and Mifflin counties in Pennsylvania.

During the Colonial period, Mennonites were distinguished from other Pennsylvania Germans in three ways:[58] their opposition to the American Revolutionary War, which other German settlers participated in on both sides; resistance to public education; and disapproval of religious revivalism. Contributions of Mennonites during this period include the idea of separation of church and state and opposition to slavery.

From 1812 to 1860, another wave of Mennonite immigrants settled farther west in Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Missouri. These Swiss-German speaking Mennonites, along with Amish, came from Switzerland and the Alsace-Lorraine area. These immigrants, along with the Amish of northern New York State, formed the nucleus of the Apostolic Christian Church in the United States.

There were also Mennonite settlements in Canada, who emigrated there chiefly from the United States (Upstate New York, Maryland, and Pennsylvania):

According to a 2017 report,[59]

"there are two basic strains of Mennonites in Canada: the Swiss-South German Mennonites came via Pennsylvania, and the Dutch-North German Mennonites came via Russia (Ukraine). In the late 1700s and early 1800s “Swiss” Mennonites from Pennsylvania settled in southern Ontario. In the 1870s, a large group of “Russian” Mennonites from Ukraine moved to southern Manitoba. Further waves of “Russian” Mennonites came to Canada in the 1920s and 1940s". In the last 50 years, Mennonites have been coming to Canada from Mexico.

During the 1880s, smaller Mennonite groups settled as far west as California, especially around the Paso Robles area.[60][61]

Old Order Mennonites and Amish are often grouped together in the popular press. This is incorrect, according to a 2017 report by Canadian Mennonite magazine:[59]

The customs of Old Order Mennonites, the Amish communities and Old Colony Mennonites have a number of similarities, but the cultural differences are significant enough so that members of one group would not feel comfortable moving to another group. The Old Order Mennonites and Amish have the same European roots and the language spoken in their homes is the same German dialect. Old Colony Mennonites use Low German, a different German dialect.

Moderate to progressive Mennonites

"Old" Mennonite Church (MC)

The Swiss-German Mennonites who immigrated to North America in the 18th and 19th centuries and settled first in Pennsylvania, then across the midwestern states (initially Ohio, Indiana, and Kansas), are the root of the former Mennonite Church denomination (MC), colloquially called the "Old Mennonite Church". This denomination had offices in Elkhart, Indiana, and was the most populous progressive Mennonite denomination before merging with the General Conference Mennonite Church (GCMC) in 2002.

Mennonite Brethren Church

Main article: Mennonite Brethren Church

The Mennonite Brethren Church was established among Plautdietsch-speaking Russian Mennonites in 1860, and has congregations in more than 20 countries, representing about 500,000 members as of 2019.

Mennonite Church USA

Main article: Mennonite Church USA

The Mennonite Church USA (MCUSA) and the Mennonite Church Canada are the resulting denominations of the 2002 merger of the (General Assembly) Mennonite Church and the General Conference Mennonite Church. Total membership in Mennonite Church USA denominations decreased from about 133,000, before the merger in 1998, to a total membership of 120,381 in the Mennonite Church USA in 2001.[62] In 2013 membership had fallen to 97,737 members in 839 congregations.[63] In 2016 it had fallen to 78,892 members after the withdrawal of the Lancaster Mennonite Conference.[64] In May 2021 the main page of their website stated a membership of about 62,000.[65]

Pennsylvania remains the hub of the denomination but there are also large numbers of members in Ohio, Indiana, Kansas, and Illinois.[66]

In 1983 the General Assembly of the Mennonite Church met jointly with the General Conference Mennonite Church in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, in celebration of 300 years in the Americas. Beginning in 1989, a series of consultations, discussions, proposals, and sessions (and a vote in 1995 in favor of merger) led to the unification of these two major North American Mennonite bodies into one denomination organized on two fronts – the Mennonite Church USA and the Mennonite Church Canada. The merger was "finalized" at a joint session in St. Louis, Missouri in 1999, and the Canadian branch moved quickly ahead. The United States branch did not complete their organization until the meeting in Nashville, Tennessee in 2001, which became effective February 1, 2002.

The merger of 1999–2002 at least partially fulfilled the desire of the founders of the General Conference Mennonite Church to create an organization under which all Mennonites could unite. Yet not all Mennonites favored the merger. The Alliance of Mennonite Evangelical Congregations represents one expression of the disappointment with the merger and the events that led up to it.

Mennonite Church Canada

Main article: Mennonite Church Canada

Mennonite Church Canada is a conference of Mennonites in Canada, with head offices in Winnipeg, Manitoba. As of 2003, the body had about 35,000 members in 235 churches. Beginning in 1989, a series of consultations, discussions, proposals, and sessions led to the unification of two North American bodies (the Mennonite Church & General Conference Mennonite Church) and the related Canadian Conference of Mennonites in Canada into the Mennonite Church USA and the Mennonite Church Canada in 2000.

The organizational structure is divided into five regional conferences. Denominational work is administered through a board elected by the delegates to the annual assembly. The MCC participates in the Canadian Council of Churches, the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada, and the Mennonite World Conference.

Conservative Mennonites

Main article: Conservative Mennonites

Conservative Mennonites include numerous groups that identify with the more conservative or traditional element among Mennonite or Anabaptist groups but not necessarily Old Order groups. The majority of Conservative Mennonite churches historically has an Amish and not a Mennonite background. They emerged mostly from the middle group between the Old Order Amish and Amish Mennonites. For more, see Amish Mennonite: Division 1850–1878.[67]

Those identifying with this group drive automobiles, have telephones and use electricity, and some may have personal computers. They also have Sunday school, hold revival meetings, and operate their own Christian schools/parochial schools.

According to a University of Waterloo report, "of the estimated 59,000 Mennonites in Ontario, only about twenty percent are members of conservative groups". The same report estimated that "there are about 175,000 Mennonites in Canada".[68]

Old Colony Mennonites

Main article: Old Colony Mennonites

Old Colony Mennonites are conservative Mennonite groups who are the majority of German speaking so-called Russian Mennonites that originated in the Chortitza Colony in Russia, including the Chortitza, Reinlander, and Sommerfelder groups, which are now most common in Latin America and Canada. There are some 400,000 Russian Mennonites in the world, including children and not yet baptized young people. They should not be confused with Old Order Mennonites with whom they have some similarities.

Old Order Mennonites

Main article: Old Order Mennonite

The Old Order Mennonite are living a lifestyle similar or a bit more liberal than the Old Order Amish. There were more than 27,000 adult, baptized members of Old Order Mennonites in North America and Belize in 2008/9. The total population of Old Order Mennonites groups including children and adults not yet baptized normally is two to three times larger than the number of baptized, adult members, which indicates that the population of Old Order Mennonites was roughly between 60,000 and 80,000 in 2008/9.

Alternative service

 
Mennonite conscientious objector Harry Lantz distributes rat poison for typhus control in Gulfport, Mississippi (1946).

During World War II, Mennonite conscientious objectors were given the options of noncombatant military service, serving in the medical or dental corps under military control, or working in parks and on roads under civilian supervision. Over 95% chose the latter and were placed in Alternative Service camps.[69] Initially the men worked on road building, forestry and firefighting projects. After May 1943, as a labour shortage developed within the nation, men were shifted into agriculture, education and industry. The 10,700 Canadian objectors were mostly Mennonites (63%) and Doukhobors (20%).[70]

In the United States, Civilian Public Service (CPS) provided an alternative to military service during World War II. From 1941 to 1947, 4,665 Mennonites, Amish and Brethren in Christ[71] were among nearly 12,000 conscientious objectors who performed work of national importance in 152 CPS camps throughout the United States and Puerto Rico. The draftees worked in areas such as soil conservation, forestry, fire fighting, agriculture, social services and mental health.

The CPS men served without wages and with minimal support from the federal government. The cost of maintaining the CPS camps and providing for the needs of the men was the responsibility of their congregations and families. Mennonite Central Committee coordinated the operation of the Mennonite camps. CPS men served longer than regular draftees, not being released until well past the end of the war. Initially skeptical of the program, government agencies learned to appreciate the men's service and requested more workers from the program. CPS made significant contributions to forest fire prevention, erosion and flood control, medical science and reform of the mental health system.

Schisms

Prior to emigration to America, Anabaptists in Europe were divided between those of Dutch/North German and Swiss/South German background. At first, the Dutch/North German group took their name from Menno Simons, who led them in their early years. Later the Swiss/South German group also adopted the name "Mennonites". A third group of early Anabaptists, mainly from south-east Germany and Austria were organized by Jakob Hutter and became the Hutterites. The vast majority of Anabaptists of Swiss/South German ancestry today lives in the US and Canada, while the largest group of Dutch/North German Anabaptists are the Russian Mennonites, who live today mostly in Latin America.

A trickle of North German Mennonites began the migration to America in 1683, followed by a much larger migration of Swiss/South German Mennonites beginning in 1707.[72] The Amish are an early split from the Swiss/South German, that occurred in 1693. Over the centuries many Amish individuals and whole churches left the Amish and became Mennonites again.

After immigration to America, many of the early Mennonites split from the main body of North American Mennonites and formed their own separate and distinct churches. The first schism in America occurred in 1778 when Bishop Christian Funk's support of the American Revolution led to his excommunication and the formation of a separate Mennonite group known as Funkites. In 1785 the Orthodox Reformed Mennonite Church was formed, and other schisms occurred into the 21st century. Many of these churches were formed as a response to deep disagreements about theology, doctrine, and church discipline as evolution both inside and outside the Mennonite faith occurred. Many of the modern churches are descended from those groups that abandoned traditional Mennonite practices.

Larger groups of Dutch/North German Mennonites came to North America from the Russian Empire after 1873, especially to Kansas and Manitoba. While the more progressive element of these Mennonites assimilated into mainstream society, the more conservative element emigrated to Latin America. Since then there has been a steady flow of Mennonite emigrants from Latin America to North America.[citation needed]

These historical schisms have had an influence on creating the distinct Mennonite denominations, sometimes using mild or severe shunning to show its disapproval of other Mennonite groups.

Some expelled congregations were affiliated both with the Mennonite Church and the General Conference Mennonite Church. The latter did not expel the same congregations. When these two Mennonite denominations formally completed their merger in 2002 to become the new Mennonite Church USA and Mennonite Church Canada denominations, it was still not clear, whether the congregations that were expelled from one denomination, yet included in the other, are considered to be "inside" or "outside" of the new merged denomination. Some Mennonite conferences have chosen to maintain such "disciplined" congregations as "associate" or "affiliate" congregations in the conferences, rather than to expel such congregations. In virtually every case, a dialogue continues between the disciplined congregations and the denomination, as well as their current or former conferences.[73]

Schools

Several Mennonite groups established schools, universities and seminaries.[74]Conservative groups, like the Holdeman, have not only their own schools, but their own curriculum and teaching staff (usually, but not exclusively, young unmarried women).

 
Mennonite teacher holding class in a one-room, eight-grade school house, Hinkletown, Pennsylvania, March 1942

Ethnic Mennonites

Though Mennonites are a global denomination with church membership from Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas, certain Mennonite communities that are descended from émigrés from Switzerland and Russia bear the designation of ethnic Mennonites.[15]

In contemporary society, Mennonites are described either as a religious denomination with members of different ethnic origins,[75][76] or as both an ethnic group and a religious denomination. There is controversy among Mennonites about this issue, with some insisting that they are simply a religious group, while others argue that they form a distinct ethnic group.[77] Historians and sociologists have increasingly started to treat Mennonites as an ethno-religious group,[78] while others have begun to challenge that perception.[79] Discussion also exists as to the term "ethnic Mennonite"; conservative Mennonite groups, who speak Pennsylvania Dutch, Plautdietsch (Low German), or Bernese German fit well into the definition of an ethnic group, while more liberal groups and converts in developing countries do not.

Controversies

As of 2007, the Quebec government imposed a standard curriculum on all schools (public and private). While private schools may add optional material to the compulsory curriculum, they may not replace it. The Quebec curriculum was unacceptable to the parents of the only Mennonite school in the province.[80] They said they would leave Quebec after the Education Ministry threatened legal actions. The province threatened to invoke youth protection services if the Mennonite children were not registered with the Education Ministry; they either had to be home-schooled using the government-approved material, or attend a "sanctioned" school. The local population and its mayor supported[81] the local Mennonites. The Evangelical Fellowship of Canada wrote that year to the Quebec government to express its concerns[82] about this situation. By September 2007, some Mennonite families had already left Quebec.[83]

In November 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic in Ontario, Canada, both the Region of Waterloo Public Health unit and Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health issued orders to close Old Order schools and places of worship in their regions and to limit social interactions. The orders were issued because of extremely high infection rates. In Waterloo Region, the orders applied to sects "including Markham, Old Colony, and David Martin Mennonite communities", according to a news report. Both agencies cited a lack of cooperation with public health requirements that were intended to minimize the spread of the virus. In an interview with the Waterloo Region Record, Bishop Peter Brubacher, ("bishop for seven Old Order Mennonite church districts" in north Waterloo Region according to another news agency),[84] made this comment:[85] "I guess to be frank and honest, a lot of people really didn't take it that serious, to isolate".[86][87]

Between 2005 and 2009, more than 100 girls and women in Manitoba Colony were raped at night in their homes by a group of colony men who sedated them with animal anesthetic.[88] Girls and women, including infants, elderly women, and relatives to the perpetrators, reported these attacks, but were at first dismissed as "wild female imagination", or else attributed to ghosts or demons. Eventually a group of colony men were caught in the act. The colony elders, deciding that the case was too difficult to handle themselves, called local police to take the perpetrators into custody in 2011.[89] The youngest victim was three years old, and the oldest was 65.[90] The offenders used a type of gas used by veterinarians to sedate animals during medical procedures. Despite long custodial sentences for the convicted men, an investigation in 2013 reported continuing cases of similar assaults and other sexual abuses. Canadian author Miriam Toews has made these crimes the center of her 2018 novel Women Talking.[91][92][93]

Service projects

The Mennonite Disaster Service, based in North America, is a volunteer network of Anabaptist churches which provide both immediate and long-term responses to hurricanes, floods, and other disasters in the U.S. and Canada.[94]

Mennonite Central Committee (MCC), founded on September 27, 1920, in Chicago, Illinois,[95] provides disaster relief around the world alongside their long-term international development programs. In 1972, Mennonites in Altona, Manitoba, established the MCC Thrift Shops[96] which has grown to become a worldwide source of assistance to the needy.[97]

Since the latter part of the 20th century, some Mennonite groups have become more actively involved with peace and social justice issues, helping to found Christian Peacemaker Teams and Mennonite Conciliation Service.[98]

Membership

Further information: List of Mennonites
 
Children in an Old Order Mennonite community selling peanuts near Lamanai in Belize

According to a 2018 census by the Mennonite World Conference, it has 107 member denominations in 58 countries, and 1.47 million baptized members.[99]

Africa has the highest membership growth rate by far, with an increase of 10% to 12% every year, particularly in Ethiopia due to new conversions. African Mennonite churches underwent a dramatic 228% increase in membership during the 1980s and 1990s, attracting thousands of new converts in Tanzania, Kenya, and the Congo.[100] Programs were also founded in Botswana and Swaziland during the 1960s.[101] Mennonite organizations in South Africa, initially stifled under apartheid due to the Afrikaner government's distrust of foreign pacifist churches, have expanded substantially since 1994.[101] In recognition of the dramatic increase in the proportion of African adherents, the Mennonite World Conference held its assembly in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, in 2003.[100]

In Latin America growth is not as high as in Africa, but strong because of the high birth rates of traditional Mennonites of German ancestry. Growth in Mennonite membership is steady and has outpaced total population growth in North America, the Asia/Pacific region and Caribbean region. Europe has seen a slow and accelerating decline in Mennonite membership since about 1980.[102][103]

Organization worldwide

 
Bethesda Mennonite Church in Henderson, Nebraska, U.S.
 
Old Order Mennonite children from San Ignacio, Paraguay.

The most basic unit of organization among Mennonites is the church. There are hundreds or thousands of Mennonite churches and groups, many of which are separate from all others. Some churches are members of regional or area conferences. And some regional or area conferences are affiliated with larger national or international conferences. There is no single world authority on among Mennonites, however there is a Mennonite World Committee (MWC) includes Mennonites from 53 countries.[104] The MWC does not make binding decisions on behalf of members but coordinates Mennonite causes aligning with the MWC's shared convictions.

For the most part, there is a host of independent Mennonite churches along with a myriad of separate conferences with no particular responsibility to any other group. Independent churches can contain as few as fifty members or as many as 20,000 members. Similar size differences occur among separate conferences. Worship, church discipline and lifestyles vary widely between progressive, moderate, conservative, Old Order and orthodox Mennonites in a vast panoply of distinct, independent, and widely dispersed classifications. There is no central authority that claims to speak for all Mennonites, as the 20th century passed, cultural distinctiveness between Mennonite groups has decreased.[105]

The twelve largest Mennonite/Anabaptist groups are:

  1. Mennonite Brethren (426,581 members on six continents worldwide)[106]
  2. Old Order Amish (300,000 in North America)
  3. Meserete Kristos Church in Ethiopia (120,600 members; 126,000 more followers attending alike churches)[107]
  4. Old Colony Mennonite Church (120,000 in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Bolivia, Paraguay, Belize and Argentina)
  5. Communauté Mennonite au Congo 87,000 members
  6. Mennonite Church USA with 78,892 members in the United States[64]
  7. Old Order Mennonites with 60,000 to 80,000 members in the U.S., Canada and Belize
  8. Kanisa La Mennonite Tanzania with 50,000 members in 240 congregations
  9. Arbeitsgemeinschaft Mennonitischer Gemeinden in Deutschland or Deutsche Mennonitengemeinden with 40,000 members in Germany[108]
  10. Mennonite Church Canada with 31,000 members in 225 congregations across Canada[109]
  11. Conservative Mennonites with 30,000 members in over 500 U.S. churches[110]
  12. Church of God in Christ, Mennonite with 24,400 members, of whom 14,804 (2013 data) were in United States, 5,081 in Canada, and the remainder being found in various countries of Africa, Asia, Central and South America, the Caribbean, and Europe.[37]

Organization: North America

 
Bethel College, North Newton Kansas

In 2015, there were 538,839 baptized members organized into 41 bodies in United States, according to the Mennonite World Conference.[8] The largest group of that number is the Old Order Amish, perhaps numbering as high as 300,000.[citation needed] The U.S. Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches comprises 34,500 members.[106] 27,000 are part of a larger group known collectively as Old Order Mennonites.[111][112] Another 78,892 of that number are from the Mennonite Church USA.[64]

Total membership in Mennonite Church USA denominations decreased from about 133,000, before the MC-GC merger in 1998, to about 114,000 after the merger in 2003. In 2016 it had fallen to under 79,000. Membership of the Mennonite Church USA is on the decline.[64][103]

Canada had 143,720 Mennonites in 16 organized bodies as of 2015.[8] Of that number, the Canadian Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches had 37,508 baptized members[106] and the Mennonite Church Canada had 31,000 members.[109]

As of 2012, there were an estimated 100,000 Old Colony Mennonites in Mexico.[113][114] These Mennonites descend from a mass migration in the 1920s of roughly 6,000 Old Colony Mennonites from the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Saskatchewan. In 1921, a Canadian Mennonite delegation arriving in Mexico received a privilegium, a promise of non-interference, from the Mexican government. This guarantee of many freedoms was the impetus that created the two original Old Colony settlements near Patos Nuevo Ideal, Durango, Cuauhtémoc, Chihuahua and La Honda, Zacatecas as well as many communities in Aguascalientes.[115]

On the other hand, the Mennonite World Conference cites only 33,881 Mennonites organized into 14 bodies in Mexico.[8]

Organization: Africa

Main article: Black Mennonites

Organization: Europe

 
Mennonite Church in Hamburg-Altona, Germany

Germany has the largest contingent of Mennonites in Europe. The Mennonite World Conference counts 47,202 baptized members within 7 organized bodies in 2015.[8] The largest group is the Bruderschaft der Christengemeinde in Deutschland (Mennonite Brethren), which had 20,000 members in 2010.[106] Another such body is the Union of German Mennonite Congregations or Vereinigung der Deutschen Mennonitengemeinden. Founded in 1886, it has 27 Congregations with 5,724 members and is part of the larger "Arbeitsgemeinschaft Mennonitischer Gemeinden in Deutschland" or AMG (Assembly/Council of Mennonite Churches in Germany),[116] which claims 40,000 overall members from various groups. Other AMG member groups include: Rußland-Deutschen Mennoniten, Mennoniten-Brüdergemeinden(Independent Mennonite Brethren congregations), WEBB-Gemeinden, and the Mennonitischen Heimatmission.[108] However, not all German Mennonites belong to this larger AMG body. Upwards of 40,000 Mennonites emigrated from Russia to Germany starting in the 1970s.[116]

The Mennonite presence remaining in the Netherlands, Algemene Doopsgezinde Societeit or ADS (translated as General Mennonite Society), maintains a seminary, as well as organizing relief, peace, and mission work, the latter primarily in Central Java and New Guinea. They have 121 congregations with 10,200 members according to the World Council of Churches,[14] although the Mennonite World Conference cites only 7680 members.[8]

Switzerland had 2350 Mennonites belonging to 14 Congregations which are part of the Konferenz der Mennoniten der Schweiz (Alttäufer), Conférence mennonite suisse (Anabaptiste) (Swiss Mennonite Conference).[117]

In 2015, there were 2078 Mennonites in France. The country's 32 autonomous Mennonite congregations have formed the Association des Églises Évangéliques Mennonites de France.[118]

While Ukraine was once home to tens of thousands of Mennonites, in 2015 the number totalled just 499. They are organized among three denominations: Association of Mennonite Brethren Churches of Ukraine, Church of God in Christ, Mennonite (Ukraine), and Evangelical Mennonite Churches of Ukraine (Beachy Amish Church – Ukraine).[119]

The U.K. had but 326 members within two organized bodies as of 2015.[8] There is the Nationwide Fellowship Churches (UK) and the larger Brethren in Christ Church United Kingdom.[120] Additionally, there is the registered charity, The Mennonite Trust (formerly known as "London Mennonite Centre"), which seeks to promote understanding of Mennonite and Anabaptist practices and values.[121]

In popular culture

Mennonites have been portrayed in many areas of popular culture, especially literature, film, and television.[122] Notable novels about or written by Mennonites include A Complicated Kindness by Miriam Toews, Peace Shall Destroy Many by Rudy Wiebe, The Salvation of Yasch Siemens by Armin Wiebe, A Year of Lesser by David Bergen, A Dream of a Woman by Casey Plett, and Once Removed by Andrew Unger.[123] Rhoda Janzen's memoir Mennonite in a Little Black Dress was a best-seller.[123] In 1975 Victor Davies composed the Mennonite Piano Concerto and in, 1977, composer Glenn Gould featured Manitoba Mennonites in his experimental radio documentary The Quiet in the Land, part three of his Solitude Trilogy.[124] In the 1990s, photographer Larry Towell documented the lives of Canadian and Mexican Mennonites, subsequently published in a volume by Phaidon Press.[125] In 2007, Mexican director Carlos Reygadas directed Silent Light, the first ever feature film in the Russian Mennonite dialect of Plautdietsch.[126] Other films depicting Mennonites include I Propose We Never See Each Other Again After Tonight, as well as All My Puny Sorrows and Women Talking, both based on Miriam Toews novels. Mennonites have also been depicted on television, including the show Pure, and in episodes of Schitt's Creek, Letterkenny[127] and The Simpsons, which was created by Matt Groening, himself of Russian Mennonite descent.[128] Andrew Unger's satirical news website The Daily Bonnet pokes fun at Mennonite culture and traditions.[129][130]

See also

References

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  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Mennonite World Conference. World Directory, 2018. p. 56.
  3. ^ a b c d Mennonite World Conference. World Directory, 2018. p. 57.
  4. ^ Kraybill, Donald B. (September 12, 2017). Eastern Mennonite University. Penn State University Press. p. 94. ISBN 9780271080581.
  5. ^ a b c Hartzler, Rachel Nafziger (April 30, 2013). No Strings Attached: Boundary Lines in Pleasant Places: A History of Warren Street / Pleasant Oaks Mennonite Church. Wipf and Stock Publishers. ISBN 978-1-62189-635-7.
  6. ^ "Historic Peace Churches". Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved January 12, 2013.
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Further reading

  • Epp, Marlene Mennonites in Ontario. Mennonite Historical Society of Ontario, 2012. ISBN 0969604637
  • Epp, Marlene Mennonite Women in Canada: A History (Winnipeg, University of Manitoba Press, 2008. xiii + 378 pp.) ISBN 9780887551826
  • Epp, Marlene Women without Men: Mennonite Refugees of the Second World War. University of Toronto Press, 2000. ISBN 0802082688
  • Epp, Maureen. Sound in the Lands: Mennonite Music Across Borders (Kitchener, ON: Pandora Press, 2011).ISBN 978-1926599199
  • Gingerich, Melvin (1949), Service for Peace, A History of Mennonite Civilian Public Service, Mennonite Central Committee.ASIN B0007DXNN6
  • Harder, Helmut and Miller, Larry, "Mennonite Engagement in International Ecumenical Conversations: Experiences, Perspectives, and Guiding Principles," Mennonite Quarterly Review 90(3) (2016), 345–71.
  • Heisey, M. J. "'Mennonite Religion was a Family Religion': A Historiography," Journal of Mennonite Studies (2005), Vol. 23 pp. 9–22.
  • Hinojosa, Felipe (2014). Latino Mennonites: Civil Rights, Faith, and Evangelical Culture. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press.ISBN 978-1421412832
  • Horsch, James E. (Ed.) (1999), Mennonite Directory, Herald Press. ISBN 0836194543
  • Kinberg, Clare. "Mennonites." om Gale Encyclopedia of Multicultural America, edited by Thomas Riggs, (3rd ed., vol. 3, Gale, 2014), pp. 171–182. Online
  • Klassen, Pamela E. Going by the Moon and the Stars: Stories of Two Russian Mennonite Women. Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 1994. ISBN 0889202443
  • Krahn, Cornelius, Gingerich, Melvin & Harms, Orlando (Eds.) (1955). The Mennonite Encyclopedia, Volume I, pp. 76–78. Mennonite Publishing House.ASIN B002Q3LGMU
  • Kraybill, D. B. Concise Encyclopedia of Amish, Brethren, Hutterites, and Mennonites (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2010).ISBN 978-0801896576
  • Mennonite & Brethren in Christ World Directory 2003. Available On-line at
  • Pannabecker, Samuel Floyd (1975), Open Doors: A History of the General Conference Mennonite Church, Faith and Life Press. ISBN 0873036360
  • Miller Shearer, Tobin (2010). Daily Demonstrators: The Civil Rights Movement in Mennonite Homes and Sanctuaries. Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 392. ISBN 978-0801897009.
  • Scott, Stephen (1995), An Introduction to Old Order and Conservative Mennonite Groups, Good Books, ISBN 1561481017
  • Smith, C. Henry (1981), Smith's Story of the Mennonites (5th ed. Faith and Life Press). ISBN 0873030605
  • Van Braght, Thielman J. (1660), Martyrs Mirror (2nd English ed. Herald Press) ISBN 083611390X

External links

  • Lancaster Mennonite Historical Society, in Pennsylvania
  • Mennonites at Curlie
  • Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online (GAMEO)
  • Global Anabaptist Wiki
  • Mennonite World Conference
  • Pilgrim Ministry: Conservative Mennonite church directory
  • "Mennonites" . Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). 1911.

January 26, 2023
mennonites, groups, anabaptist, christian, church, communities, denominations, name, derived, from, founder, movement, menno, simons, 1496, 1561, friesland, through, writings, about, reformed, christianity, during, radical, reformation, simons, articulated, fo. Mennonites are groups of Anabaptist Christian church communities of denominations The name is derived from the founder of the movement Menno Simons 1496 1561 of Friesland Through his writings about Reformed Christianity during the Radical Reformation Simons articulated and formalized the teachings of earlier Swiss founders with the early teachings of the Mennonites founded on the belief in both the mission and ministry of Jesus which the original Anabaptist followers held with great conviction despite persecution by various Roman Catholic and Mainline Protestant states Formal Mennonite beliefs were codified in the Dordrecht Confession of Faith in 1632 4 which affirmed the baptism of believers only the washing of the feet as a symbol of servanthood church discipline the shunning of the excommunicated the non swearing of oaths marriage within the same church strict pacifistic physical nonresistance anti Catholicism and in general more emphasis on true Christianity involving being Christian and obeying Christ however they interpret it from the Holy Bible 5 MennonitesEmblem of the Mennonite World ConferenceTotal population2 13 million 2018 1 Regions with significant populationsUnited States500 481 1 Ethiopia310 912 2 India257 029 2 Dem Republic of the Congo225 581 2 Canada149 422 1 Indonesia102 761 2 Tanzania66 350 2 Thailand63 718 2 Zimbabwe50 287 2 Germany47 492 3 Paraguay36 009 3 Kenya35 575 2 Mexico110 000 3 Angola30 555 2 Bolivia26 699 3 ReligionsAnabaptismScripturesBibleThe majority of the early Mennonite followers rather than fighting survived by fleeing to neighboring states where ruling families were tolerant of their belief in believer s baptism Over the years Mennonites have become known as one of the historic peace churches due to their commitment to pacifism 6 Congregations worldwide embody the full scope of Mennonite practice from Old Order Mennonites who practice a lifestyle without certain elements of modern technology to Conservative Mennonites who hold to traditional theological distinctives wear plain dress and use modern conveniences to mainline Mennonites those who are indistinguishable in dress and appearance from the general population 7 Mennonites can be found in communities in 87 countries on six continents 8 Seven ordinances have been taught in many traditional Mennonite churches which include baptism communion footwashing marriage anointing with oil the holy kiss and the prayer covering 5 The largest populations of Mennonites are found in Canada the Democratic Republic of the Congo Ethiopia India and the United States 8 There are Mennonite colonies in Argentina Belize Bolivia 9 Brazil Mexico Peru 10 Uruguay 11 Paraguay 12 and Colombia 13 The Mennonite Church in the Netherlands still continues where Simons was born 14 Though Mennonites are a global denomination with church membership from Europe Asia Africa and the Americas certain Mennonite communities with ethno cultural origins in Switzerland and the Netherlands bear the designation of ethnic Mennonites 15 Contents 1 History 1 1 Fragmentation and variation 1 2 Statistics 2 Beliefs and practices 2 1 Sexuality marriage and family mores 3 Russian Mennonites 4 North America 4 1 Moderate to progressive Mennonites 4 1 1 Old Mennonite Church MC 4 1 2 Mennonite Brethren Church 4 1 3 Mennonite Church USA 4 1 4 Mennonite Church Canada 4 2 Conservative Mennonites 4 3 Old Colony Mennonites 4 4 Old Order Mennonites 4 5 Alternative service 4 6 Schisms 5 Schools 6 Ethnic Mennonites 7 Controversies 8 Service projects 9 Membership 9 1 Organization worldwide 9 2 Organization North America 9 3 Organization Africa 9 4 Organization Europe 10 In popular culture 11 See also 12 References 13 Further reading 14 External linksHistory EditMain article Radical Reformation Spread of the early Anabaptists 1525 1550 The early history of the Mennonites starts with the Anabaptists in the German and Dutch speaking regions of central Europe The German term is Taufer or Wiedertaufer Again Baptists or Anabaptists using the Greek ana again 16 These forerunners of modern Mennonites were part of the Protestant Reformation a broad reaction against the practices and theology of the Roman Catholic Church Its most distinguishing feature is the rejection of infant baptism an act that had both religious and political meaning since almost every infant born in western Europe was baptized in the Roman Catholic Church Other significant theological views of the Mennonites developed in opposition to Roman Catholic views or to the views of Protestant reformers such as Martin Luther and Huldrych Zwingli Some of the followers of Zwingli s Reformed church thought that requiring church membership beginning at birth was inconsistent with the New Testament example They believed that the church should be completely removed from government the proto free church tradition and that individuals should join only when willing to publicly acknowledge belief in Jesus and the desire to live in accordance with his teachings At a small meeting in Zurich on January 21 1525 Conrad Grebel Felix Manz and George Blaurock along with twelve others baptized each other 17 This meeting marks the beginning of the Anabaptist movement In the spirit of the times other groups came to preach about reducing hierarchy relations with the state eschatology and sexual license running from utter abandon to extreme chastity These movements are together referred to as the Radical Reformation Many government and religious leaders both Protestant and Roman Catholic considered voluntary church membership to be dangerous the concern of some deepened by reports of the Munster Rebellion led by a violent sect of Anabaptists They joined forces to fight the movement using methods such as banishment torture burning drowning or beheading 18 142 Despite strong repressive efforts of the state churches the movement spread slowly around western Europe primarily along the Rhine Officials killed many of the earliest Anabaptist leaders in an attempt to purge Europe of the new sect 18 142 By 1530 most of the founding leaders had been killed for refusing to renounce their beliefs Many believed that God did not condone killing or the use of force for any reason and were therefore unwilling to fight for their lives The non resistant branches often survived by seeking refuge in neutral cities or nations such as Strasbourg Their safety was often tenuous as a shift in alliances or an invasion could mean resumed persecution Other groups of Anabaptists such as the Batenburgers were eventually destroyed by their willingness to fight This played a large part in the evolution of Anabaptist theology They believed that Jesus taught that any use of force to get back at anyone was wrong and taught to forgive Menno Simons In the early days of the Anabaptist movement Menno Simons a Catholic priest in the Low Countries heard of the movement and started to rethink his Catholic faith He questioned the doctrine of transubstantiation but was reluctant to leave the Roman Catholic Church His brother a member of an Anabaptist group was killed when he and his companions were attacked and refused to defend themselves 19 In 1536 at the age of 40 Simons left the Roman Catholic Church He soon became a leader within the Anabaptist movement and was wanted by authorities for the rest of his life His name became associated with scattered groups of nonviolent Anabaptists whom he helped to organize and consolidate 20 21 Fragmentation and variation Edit Evangelical Mennonite Church in Altkirch Association of Evangelical Mennonite Churches of France Praise team at The Meeting Place in Winnipeg Canadian Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches During the 16th century the Mennonites and other Anabaptists were relentlessly persecuted This period of persecution has had a significant impact on Mennonite identity Martyrs Mirror published in 1660 documents much of the persecution of Anabaptists and their predecessors including accounts of over 4 000 burnings of individuals and numerous stonings imprisonments and live burials 22 Today the book is still the most important book besides the Bible for many Mennonites and Amish in particular for the Swiss South German branch of the Mennonites Persecution was still going on until 1710 in various parts of Switzerland 23 In 1693 Jakob Ammann led an effort to reform the Mennonite church in Switzerland and South Germany to include shunning to hold communion more often and other differences 24 When the discussions fell through Ammann and his followers split from the other Mennonite congregations Ammann s followers became known as the Amish Mennonites or just Amish In later years other schisms among Amish resulted in such groups as the Old Order Amish New Order Amish Kauffman Amish Mennonite Swartzentruber Amish Conservative Mennonite Conference and Biblical Mennonite Alliance For instance near the beginning of the 20th century some members in the Amish church wanted to begin having Sunday schools and participate in progressive Protestant style para church evangelism Unable to persuade the rest of the Amish they separated and formed a number of separate groups including the Conservative Mennonite Conference Mennonites in Canada and other countries typically have independent denominations because of the practical considerations of distance and in some cases language Many times these divisions took place along family lines with each extended family supporting its own branch Political rulers often admitted the Menists or Mennonites into their states because they were honest hardworking and peaceful When their practices upset the powerful state churches princes would renege on exemptions for military service or a new monarch would take power and the Mennonites would be forced to flee again usually leaving everything but their families behind Often another monarch in another state would grant them welcome at least for a while While Mennonites in Colonial America were enjoying considerable religious freedom their counterparts in Europe continued to struggle with persecution and temporary refuge under certain ruling monarchs They were sometimes invited to settle in areas of poor soil that no one else could farm By contrast in the Netherlands the Mennonites enjoyed a relatively high degree of tolerance Because the land still needed to be tended the ruler would not drive out the Mennonites but would pass laws to force them to stay while at the same time severely limiting their freedom Mennonites had to build their churches facing onto back streets or alleys and they were forbidden from announcing the beginning of services with the sound of a bell A strong emphasis on community was developed under these circumstances It continues to be typical of Mennonite churches As a result of frequently being required to give up possessions in order to retain individual freedoms Mennonites learned to live very simply This was reflected both in the home and at church where their dress and their buildings were plain The music at church usually simple German chorales was performed a cappella This style of music serves as a reminder to many Mennonites of their simple lives as well as their history as a persecuted people Some branches of Mennonites have retained this plain lifestyle into modern times Statistics Edit The Mennonite World Conference was founded at the first conference in Basel Switzerland in 1925 to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Anabaptism 25 In 2022 the organization would have it would have 109 member denominations in 59 countries and 1 47 million baptized members in 10 300 churches 26 Beliefs and practices EditMain article Anabaptist theology The beliefs of the movement are those of the Believers Church 27 One of the earliest expressions of Mennonite Anabaptist faith was the Schleitheim Confession adopted on February 24 1527 28 Its seven articles covered The Ban excommunication Breaking of bread Communion Separation from and shunning of the abomination the Roman Catholic Church and other worldly groups and practices Believer s baptism Pastors in the church Renunciation of the sword Christian pacifism Renunciation of the oath swearing as proof of truth The Dordrecht Confession of Faith was adopted on April 21 1632 by Dutch Mennonites by Alsatian Mennonites in 1660 and by North American Mennonites in 1725 It has been followed by many Mennonite groups over the centuries 29 With regard to salvation Mennonites believe 30 When we hear the good news of the love of God the Holy Spirit moves us to accept the gift of salvation God brings us into right relationship without coercion Our response includes yielding to God s grace placing full trust in God alone repenting of sin turning from evil joining the fellowship of the redeemed and showing forth the obedience of faith in word and deed When we who once were God s enemies are reconciled with God through Christ we also experience reconciliation with others especially within the church In baptism we publicly testify to our salvation and pledge allegiance to the one true God and to the people of God the church As we experience grace and the new birth we are adopted into the family of God and become more and more transformed into the image of Christ 11 We thus respond in faith to Christ and seek to walk faithfully in the way of Christ 30 Traditionally Mennonites sought to continue the beliefs of early Christianity and thus practice the lovefeast which includes footwashing the holy kiss and communion headcovering nonresistance the sharing of possessions and nonconformity to the world these things are heavily emphasized in Old Order Mennonite and Conservative Mennonite denominations 31 32 33 Seven ordinances have been taught in many traditional Mennonite churches which include baptism communion footwashing marriage anointing with oil the holy kiss and the prayer covering 5 In 1911 the Mennonite church in the Netherlands Doopsgezinde Kerk was the first Dutch church to have a female pastor authorized she was Anne Zernike 34 There is a wide scope of worship doctrine and traditions among Mennonites today This section shows the main types of Mennonites as seen from North America It is far from a specific study of all Mennonite classifications worldwide but it does show a somewhat representative sample of the complicated classifications within the Mennonite faith worldwide Moderate Mennonites include the largest denominations the Mennonite Brethren and the Mennonite Church In most forms of worship and practice they differ very little from many Protestant congregations There is no special form of dress and no restrictions on use of technology Worship styles vary greatly between different congregations There is no formal liturgy services typically consist of singing scripture reading prayer and a sermon Some churches prefer hymns and choirs others make use of contemporary Christian music with electronic instruments Mennonite congregations are self supporting and appoint their own ministers There is no requirement for ministers to be approved by the denomination and sometimes ministers from other denominations will be appointed A small sum based on membership numbers is paid to the denomination which is used to support central functions such as publication of newsletters and interactions with other denominations and other countries The distinguishing characteristics of moderate Mennonite churches tend to be ones of emphasis rather than rule There is an emphasis on peace community and service However members do not live in a separate community they participate in the general community as salt and light to the world Matthew 5 13 14 The main elements of Menno Simons doctrine are retained but in a moderated form Banning is rarely practiced and would in any event have much less effect than in those denominations where the community is more tightly knit Excommunication can occur and was notably applied by the Mennonite Brethren to members who joined the military during the Second World War Service in the military is generally not permitted but service in the legal profession or law enforcement is acceptable Outreach and help to the wider community at home and abroad is encouraged The Mennonite Central Committee MCC is a leader in foreign aid provision Traditionally very modest dress was expected particularly in Conservative Mennonite circles As the Mennonite population has become urbanized and more integrated into the wider culture this visible difference has disappeared outside of Conservative Mennonite groups The Reformed Mennonite Church with members in the United States and Canada represents the first division in the original North American Mennonite body Called the First Keepers of the Old Way by author Stephen Scott the Reformed Mennonite Church formed in the very early 19th century Reformed Mennonites see themselves as true followers of Menno Simons teachings and of the teachings of the New Testament They have no church rules but they rely solely on the Bible as their guide They insist on strict separation from all other forms of worship and dress in conservative plain garb that preserves 18th century Mennonite details However they refrain from forcing their Mennonite faith on their children allow their children to attend public schools and have permitted the use of automobiles They are notable for being the church of Milton S Hershey s mother and famous for the long and bitter ban of Robert Bear a Pennsylvania farmer who rebelled against what he saw as dishonesty and disunity in the leadership The Church of God in Christ Mennonite a group often called Holdeman Mennonites after their founder John Holdeman was founded from a schism in 1859 35 They emphasize Evangelical conversion and strict church discipline They stay separate from other Mennonite groups because of their emphasis on the one true church doctrine and their use of avoidance toward their own excommunicated members The Holdeman Mennonites do not believe that the use of modern technology is a sin in itself but they discourage too intensive a use of the Internet and avoid television cameras and radio 36 The group had 24 400 baptized members in 2013 37 Old Order Mennonite horse and carriage Old Order Mennonites cover several distinct groups Some groups use horse and buggy for transportation and speak German while others drive cars and speak English What most Old Orders share in common is conservative doctrine dress and traditions common roots in 19th century and early 20th century schisms and a refusal to participate in politics and other so called sins of the world Most Old Order groups also school their children in Mennonite operated schools Horse and Buggy Old Order Mennonites came from the main series of Old Order schisms that began in 1872 and ended in 1901 in Ontario Pennsylvania and the U S Midwest as conservative Mennonites fought the radical changes that the influence of 19th century American Revivalism had on Mennonite worship Most Horse and Buggy Old Order Mennonites allow the use of tractors for farming although some groups insist on steel wheeled tractors to prevent tractors from being used for road transportation Like the Stauffer or Pike Mennonites origin 1845 in Lancaster Pennsylvania the Groffdale Conference and the Old Order Mennonite Conference of Ontario they stress separation from the world excommunication and the wearing of plain clothes Some Old Order Mennonite groups are unlike the Stauffer or Pike Mennonites in that their form of the ban is less severe because the ex communicant is not shunned and is therefore not excluded from the family table shunned by their spouse or cut off from business dealings Automobile Old Order Mennonites also known as Weaverland Conference Mennonites having their origins in the Weaverland District of the Lancaster Conference also calling Horning or Wisler Mennonites in the U S Midwest or the Markham Waterloo Mennonite Conference having its origins from the Old Order Mennonites of Ontario Canada also evolved from the main series of Old Order schisms from 1872 to 1901 They often share the same meeting houses with and adhere to almost identical forms of Old Order worship as their Horse and Buggy Old Order brethren with whom they parted ways in the early 20th century Although this group began using cars in 1927 the cars were required to be plain and painted black The largest group of Automobile Old Orders are still known today as Black Bumper Mennonites because some members still paint their chrome bumpers black Stauffer Mennonites or Pike Mennonites represent one of the first and most conservative forms of North American Horse and Buggy Mennonites They were founded in 1845 following conflicts about how to discipline children and spousal abuse by a few Mennonite Church members They almost immediately began to split into separate churches themselves Today these groups are among the most conservative of all Swiss Mennonites outside the Amish They stress strict separation from the world adhere to strict withdrawal from and shunning of apostate and separated members forbid and limit cars and technology and wear plain clothing Conservative Mennonites are generally considered those Mennonites who maintain somewhat conservative dress although carefully accepting other technology They are not a unified group and are divided into various independent conferences and fellowships such as the Eastern Pennsylvania Mennonite Church Conference Despite the rapid changes that precipitated the Old Order schisms in the last quarter of the 19th century most Mennonites in the United States and Canada retained a core of traditional beliefs based on a literal interpretation of the New Testament scriptures as well as more external plain practices into the beginning of the 20th century However disagreements in the United States and Canada between conservative and progressive i e less emphasis on literal interpretation of scriptures leaders began in the first half of the 20th century and continue to some extent today Following WWII a conservative movement emerged from scattered separatist groups as a reaction to the Mennonite churches drifting away from their historical traditions Plain became passe as open criticisms of traditional beliefs and practices broke out in the 1950s and 1960s citation needed The first conservative withdrawals from the progressive group began in the 1950s These withdrawals continue to the present day in what is now the growing Conservative Movement formed from Mennonite schisms and from combinations with progressive Amish groups While moderate and progressive Mennonite congregations have dwindled in size the Conservative Movement congregations continue to exhibit considerable growth citation needed Other conservative Mennonite groups descended from the former Amish Mennonite churches which split like the Wisler Mennonites from the Old Order Amish in the latter part of the 19th century The Wisler Mennonites are a grouping descended from the Old Mennonite Church There are also other Conservative Mennonite churches that descended from more recent groups that have left the Amish like the Beachy Amish or the Tennessee Brotherhood Churches In North America there are structures and traditions taught as in the Confession of Faith in a Mennonite Perspective 38 of Mennonite Church Canada and Mennonite Church USA Progressive Mennonite churches allow LGBTQ members to worship as church members and have been banned from membership in some cases in the moderate groups as a result The Germantown Mennonite Church in Germantown Pennsylvania is one example of such a progressive Mennonite church 39 Some progressive Mennonite Churches place a great emphasis on the Mennonite tradition s teachings on pacifism and non violence 40 Some progressive Mennonite Churches are part of moderate Mennonite denominations such as the Mennonite Church USA while others are independent congregations Sexuality marriage and family mores Edit Most Mennonite denominations hold a conservative position on homosexuality 41 The Brethren Mennonite Council for LGBT Interests was founded in 1976 in the USA and has member churches of different denominations in the USA and Canada 42 The Mennonite Church Canada leaves the choice to each church for same sex marriage 43 The Mennonite Church in the Netherlands and the Mennonite Church USA which had 62 000 members in 2021 about 12 of American Mennonites 44 permit same sex marriage 45 46 Russian Mennonites EditMain article Russian Mennonite This section needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed January 2022 Learn how and when to remove this template message The Russian Mennonites German Russlandmennoniten 47 today are descended from Dutch Anabaptists who came from the Netherlands and started around 1530 to settle around Danzig and in West Prussia where they lived for about 250 years During that time they mixed with German Mennonites from different regions Starting in 1791 they established colonies in the south west of the Russian Empire present day Ukraine and beginning in 1854 also in Volga region and Orenburg Governorate present day Russia Their ethno language is Plautdietsch a Germanic dialect of the East Low German group with some Dutch admixture Today many traditional Russian Mennonites use Standard German in church and for reading and writing In the 1770s Catherine the Great of the Russian Empire acquired a great deal of land north of the Black Sea in present day Ukraine following the Russo Turkish War and the takeover of the Ottoman vassal the Crimean Khanate Russian government officials invited Mennonites living in the Kingdom of Prussia to farm the Ukrainian steppes depopulated by Tatar raids in exchange for religious freedom and military exemption Over the years Mennonite farmers and businesses were very successful In 1854 according to the new Russian government official invitation Mennonites from Prussia established colonies in Russia s Volga region and later in Orenburg Governorate Neu Samara Colony Between 1874 and 1880 some 16 000 Mennonites of approximately 45 000 left Russia About nine thousand departed for the United States mainly Kansas and Nebraska and seven thousand for Canada mainly Manitoba In the 1920s Russian Mennonites from Canada started to migrate to Latin America Mexico and Paraguay soon followed by Mennonite refugees from the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics Further migrations of these Mennonites led to settlements in Peru Brazil Uruguay Belize Bolivia and Argentina By the beginning of the 20th century the Mennonites in Russia owned large agricultural estates and some had become successful as industrial entrepreneurs in the cities employing wage labor After the Russian Revolution of 1917 and the Russian Civil War 1917 1921 all of these farms whose owners were called Kulaks and enterprises were expropriated by local peasants or the Soviet government Beyond expropriation Mennonites suffered severe persecution during the course of the Civil War at the hands of workers the Bolsheviks and particularly the Anarcho Communists of Nestor Makhno who considered the Mennonites to be privileged foreigners of the upper class and targeted them During expropriation hundreds of Mennonite men women and children were murdered in these attacks 48 After the Ukrainian Soviet War and the takeover of Ukraine by the Soviet Bolsheviks people who openly practiced religion were in many cases imprisoned by the Soviet government This led to a wave of Mennonite emigration to the Americas U S Canada and Paraguay When the German army invaded the Soviet Union in the summer of 1941 during World War II many in the Mennonite community perceived them as liberators from the communist regime under which they had suffered Many Russian Mennonites actively collaborated with the Nazis including in the rounding up and extermination of their Jewish neighbors although some also resisted them 49 50 51 When the tide of war turned many of the Mennonites fled with the German army back to Germany where they were accepted as Volksdeutsche The Soviet government believed that the Mennonites had collectively collaborated with the Germans After the war many Mennonites in the Soviet Union were forcibly relocated to Siberia and Kazakhstan Many were sent to gulags as part of the Soviet program of mass internal deportations of various ethnic groups whose loyalty was seen as questionable Many German Russian Mennonites who lived to the east not in Ukraine were deported to Siberia before the German army s invasion and were also often placed in labor camps In the decades that followed as the Soviet regime became less brutal a number of Mennonites returned to Ukraine and Western Russia where they had formerly lived In the 1990s the governments of Kazakhstan Russia and Ukraine gave these people the opportunity to emigrate and the vast majority emigrated to Germany The Russian Mennonite immigrants in Germany from the 1990s outnumber the pre 1989 community of Mennonites by three to one By 2015 the majority of Russian Mennonites and their descendants live in Latin America Germany and Canada The world s most conservative Mennonites in terms of culture and technology are the Mennonites affiliated with the Lower and Upper Barton Creek Colonies in Belize Lower Barton is inhabited by Plautdietsch speaking Russian Mennonites whereas Upper Barton Creek is mainly inhabited by Pennsylvania Dutch language speaking Mennonites from North America Neither group uses motors or paint 52 North America Edit Germantown Mennonite Meetinghouse built 1770 Ten Thousand Villages Store in New Hamburg Ontario Valparaiso Mennonite Church in Valparaiso Indiana in the United States Persecution and the search for employment forced Mennonites out of the Netherlands eastward to Germany in the 17th century As Quaker Evangelists moved into Germany they received a sympathetic audience among the larger of these German Mennonite congregations around Krefeld Altona Hamburg Gronau and Emden 53 It was among this group of Quakers and Mennonites living under ongoing discrimination that William Penn solicited settlers for his new colony The first permanent settlement of Mennonites in the American colonies consisted of one Mennonite family and twelve Mennonite Quaker 54 families of German extraction who arrived from Krefeld Germany in 1683 and settled in Germantown Pennsylvania Among these early settlers was William Rittenhouse a lay minister and owner of the first American paper mill Jacob Gottschalk was the first bishop of this Germantown congregation This early group of Mennonites and Mennonite Quakers wrote the first formal protest against slavery in the United States The treatise was addressed to slave holding Quakers in an effort to persuade them to change their ways 55 In the early 18th century 100 000 Germans from the Palatinate emigrated to Pennsylvania where they became known collectively as the Pennsylvania Dutch from the Anglicization of Deutsch or German The Palatinate region had been repeatedly overrun by the French in religious wars and Queen Anne had invited the Germans to go to the British colonies Of these immigrants around 2 500 were Mennonites and 500 were Amish 56 This group settled farther west than the first group choosing less expensive land in the Lancaster area The oldest Mennonite meetinghouse in the United States is the Hans Herr House in West Lampeter Township 57 A member of this second group Christopher Dock authored Pedagogy the first American monograph on education Today Mennonites also reside in Kishacoquillas Valley also known as Big Valley a valley in Huntingdon and Mifflin counties in Pennsylvania During the Colonial period Mennonites were distinguished from other Pennsylvania Germans in three ways 58 their opposition to the American Revolutionary War which other German settlers participated in on both sides resistance to public education and disapproval of religious revivalism Contributions of Mennonites during this period include the idea of separation of church and state and opposition to slavery From 1812 to 1860 another wave of Mennonite immigrants settled farther west in Ohio Indiana Illinois and Missouri These Swiss German speaking Mennonites along with Amish came from Switzerland and the Alsace Lorraine area These immigrants along with the Amish of northern New York State formed the nucleus of the Apostolic Christian Church in the United States There were also Mennonite settlements in Canada who emigrated there chiefly from the United States Upstate New York Maryland and Pennsylvania Niagara region Bertie Willoughby and Humberstone townships Ontario c 1780s 1790s St Jacobs Ontario c 1819 Kitchener Ontario Waterloo Ontario c 1800s Cambridge Ontario c 1830s Markham Ontario c 1800 1820s Stouffville Ontario c 1803 1805According to a 2017 report 59 there are two basic strains of Mennonites in Canada the Swiss South German Mennonites came via Pennsylvania and the Dutch North German Mennonites came via Russia Ukraine In the late 1700s and early 1800s Swiss Mennonites from Pennsylvania settled in southern Ontario In the 1870s a large group of Russian Mennonites from Ukraine moved to southern Manitoba Further waves of Russian Mennonites came to Canada in the 1920s and 1940s In the last 50 years Mennonites have been coming to Canada from Mexico During the 1880s smaller Mennonite groups settled as far west as California especially around the Paso Robles area 60 61 Old Order Mennonites and Amish are often grouped together in the popular press This is incorrect according to a 2017 report by Canadian Mennonite magazine 59 The customs of Old Order Mennonites the Amish communities and Old Colony Mennonites have a number of similarities but the cultural differences are significant enough so that members of one group would not feel comfortable moving to another group The Old Order Mennonites and Amish have the same European roots and the language spoken in their homes is the same German dialect Old Colony Mennonites use Low German a different German dialect Moderate to progressive Mennonites Edit Old Mennonite Church MC Edit The Swiss German Mennonites who immigrated to North America in the 18th and 19th centuries and settled first in Pennsylvania then across the midwestern states initially Ohio Indiana and Kansas are the root of the former Mennonite Church denomination MC colloquially called the Old Mennonite Church This denomination had offices in Elkhart Indiana and was the most populous progressive Mennonite denomination before merging with the General Conference Mennonite Church GCMC in 2002 Mennonite Brethren Church Edit Main article Mennonite Brethren Church The Mennonite Brethren Church was established among Plautdietsch speaking Russian Mennonites in 1860 and has congregations in more than 20 countries representing about 500 000 members as of 2019 Mennonite Church USA Edit Main article Mennonite Church USA The Mennonite Church USA MCUSA and the Mennonite Church Canada are the resulting denominations of the 2002 merger of the General Assembly Mennonite Church and the General Conference Mennonite Church Total membership in Mennonite Church USA denominations decreased from about 133 000 before the merger in 1998 to a total membership of 120 381 in the Mennonite Church USA in 2001 62 In 2013 membership had fallen to 97 737 members in 839 congregations 63 In 2016 it had fallen to 78 892 members after the withdrawal of the Lancaster Mennonite Conference 64 In May 2021 the main page of their website stated a membership of about 62 000 65 Pennsylvania remains the hub of the denomination but there are also large numbers of members in Ohio Indiana Kansas and Illinois 66 In 1983 the General Assembly of the Mennonite Church met jointly with the General Conference Mennonite Church in Bethlehem Pennsylvania in celebration of 300 years in the Americas Beginning in 1989 a series of consultations discussions proposals and sessions and a vote in 1995 in favor of merger led to the unification of these two major North American Mennonite bodies into one denomination organized on two fronts the Mennonite Church USA and the Mennonite Church Canada The merger was finalized at a joint session in St Louis Missouri in 1999 and the Canadian branch moved quickly ahead The United States branch did not complete their organization until the meeting in Nashville Tennessee in 2001 which became effective February 1 2002 The merger of 1999 2002 at least partially fulfilled the desire of the founders of the General Conference Mennonite Church to create an organization under which all Mennonites could unite Yet not all Mennonites favored the merger The Alliance of Mennonite Evangelical Congregations represents one expression of the disappointment with the merger and the events that led up to it Mennonite Church Canada Edit Main article Mennonite Church Canada Mennonite Church Canada is a conference of Mennonites in Canada with head offices in Winnipeg Manitoba As of 2003 the body had about 35 000 members in 235 churches Beginning in 1989 a series of consultations discussions proposals and sessions led to the unification of two North American bodies the Mennonite Church amp General Conference Mennonite Church and the related Canadian Conference of Mennonites in Canada into the Mennonite Church USA and the Mennonite Church Canada in 2000 The organizational structure is divided into five regional conferences Denominational work is administered through a board elected by the delegates to the annual assembly The MCC participates in the Canadian Council of Churches the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada and the Mennonite World Conference Conservative Mennonites Edit Main article Conservative Mennonites Conservative Mennonites include numerous groups that identify with the more conservative or traditional element among Mennonite or Anabaptist groups but not necessarily Old Order groups The majority of Conservative Mennonite churches historically has an Amish and not a Mennonite background They emerged mostly from the middle group between the Old Order Amish and Amish Mennonites For more see Amish Mennonite Division 1850 1878 67 Those identifying with this group drive automobiles have telephones and use electricity and some may have personal computers They also have Sunday school hold revival meetings and operate their own Christian schools parochial schools According to a University of Waterloo report of the estimated 59 000 Mennonites in Ontario only about twenty percent are members of conservative groups The same report estimated that there are about 175 000 Mennonites in Canada 68 Old Colony Mennonites Edit Main article Old Colony Mennonites Old Colony Mennonites are conservative Mennonite groups who are the majority of German speaking so called Russian Mennonites that originated in the Chortitza Colony in Russia including the Chortitza Reinlander and Sommerfelder groups which are now most common in Latin America and Canada There are some 400 000 Russian Mennonites in the world including children and not yet baptized young people They should not be confused with Old Order Mennonites with whom they have some similarities Old Order Mennonites Edit Main article Old Order Mennonite The Old Order Mennonite are living a lifestyle similar or a bit more liberal than the Old Order Amish There were more than 27 000 adult baptized members of Old Order Mennonites in North America and Belize in 2008 9 The total population of Old Order Mennonites groups including children and adults not yet baptized normally is two to three times larger than the number of baptized adult members which indicates that the population of Old Order Mennonites was roughly between 60 000 and 80 000 in 2008 9 Alternative service Edit Mennonite conscientious objector Harry Lantz distributes rat poison for typhus control in Gulfport Mississippi 1946 During World War II Mennonite conscientious objectors were given the options of noncombatant military service serving in the medical or dental corps under military control or working in parks and on roads under civilian supervision Over 95 chose the latter and were placed in Alternative Service camps 69 Initially the men worked on road building forestry and firefighting projects After May 1943 as a labour shortage developed within the nation men were shifted into agriculture education and industry The 10 700 Canadian objectors were mostly Mennonites 63 and Doukhobors 20 70 In the United States Civilian Public Service CPS provided an alternative to military service during World War II From 1941 to 1947 4 665 Mennonites Amish and Brethren in Christ 71 were among nearly 12 000 conscientious objectors who performed work of national importance in 152 CPS camps throughout the United States and Puerto Rico The draftees worked in areas such as soil conservation forestry fire fighting agriculture social services and mental health The CPS men served without wages and with minimal support from the federal government The cost of maintaining the CPS camps and providing for the needs of the men was the responsibility of their congregations and families Mennonite Central Committee coordinated the operation of the Mennonite camps CPS men served longer than regular draftees not being released until well past the end of the war Initially skeptical of the program government agencies learned to appreciate the men s service and requested more workers from the program CPS made significant contributions to forest fire prevention erosion and flood control medical science and reform of the mental health system Schisms Edit Prior to emigration to America Anabaptists in Europe were divided between those of Dutch North German and Swiss South German background At first the Dutch North German group took their name from Menno Simons who led them in their early years Later the Swiss South German group also adopted the name Mennonites A third group of early Anabaptists mainly from south east Germany and Austria were organized by Jakob Hutter and became the Hutterites The vast majority of Anabaptists of Swiss South German ancestry today lives in the US and Canada while the largest group of Dutch North German Anabaptists are the Russian Mennonites who live today mostly in Latin America A trickle of North German Mennonites began the migration to America in 1683 followed by a much larger migration of Swiss South German Mennonites beginning in 1707 72 The Amish are an early split from the Swiss South German that occurred in 1693 Over the centuries many Amish individuals and whole churches left the Amish and became Mennonites again After immigration to America many of the early Mennonites split from the main body of North American Mennonites and formed their own separate and distinct churches The first schism in America occurred in 1778 when Bishop Christian Funk s support of the American Revolution led to his excommunication and the formation of a separate Mennonite group known as Funkites In 1785 the Orthodox Reformed Mennonite Church was formed and other schisms occurred into the 21st century Many of these churches were formed as a response to deep disagreements about theology doctrine and church discipline as evolution both inside and outside the Mennonite faith occurred Many of the modern churches are descended from those groups that abandoned traditional Mennonite practices Larger groups of Dutch North German Mennonites came to North America from the Russian Empire after 1873 especially to Kansas and Manitoba While the more progressive element of these Mennonites assimilated into mainstream society the more conservative element emigrated to Latin America Since then there has been a steady flow of Mennonite emigrants from Latin America to North America citation needed These historical schisms have had an influence on creating the distinct Mennonite denominations sometimes using mild or severe shunning to show its disapproval of other Mennonite groups Some expelled congregations were affiliated both with the Mennonite Church and the General Conference Mennonite Church The latter did not expel the same congregations When these two Mennonite denominations formally completed their merger in 2002 to become the new Mennonite Church USA and Mennonite Church Canada denominations it was still not clear whether the congregations that were expelled from one denomination yet included in the other are considered to be inside or outside of the new merged denomination Some Mennonite conferences have chosen to maintain such disciplined congregations as associate or affiliate congregations in the conferences rather than to expel such congregations In virtually every case a dialogue continues between the disciplined congregations and the denomination as well as their current or former conferences 73 Schools Edit The Goshen College Music Center in Goshen Indiana Mennonite Church USA Several Mennonite groups established schools universities and seminaries 74 Conservative groups like the Holdeman have not only their own schools but their own curriculum and teaching staff usually but not exclusively young unmarried women Mennonite teacher holding class in a one room eight grade school house Hinkletown Pennsylvania March 1942Ethnic Mennonites EditThough Mennonites are a global denomination with church membership from Europe Asia Africa and the Americas certain Mennonite communities that are descended from emigres from Switzerland and Russia bear the designation of ethnic Mennonites 15 In contemporary society Mennonites are described either as a religious denomination with members of different ethnic origins 75 76 or as both an ethnic group and a religious denomination There is controversy among Mennonites about this issue with some insisting that they are simply a religious group while others argue that they form a distinct ethnic group 77 Historians and sociologists have increasingly started to treat Mennonites as an ethno religious group 78 while others have begun to challenge that perception 79 Discussion also exists as to the term ethnic Mennonite conservative Mennonite groups who speak Pennsylvania Dutch Plautdietsch Low German or Bernese German fit well into the definition of an ethnic group while more liberal groups and converts in developing countries do not Controversies EditAs of 2007 the Quebec government imposed a standard curriculum on all schools public and private While private schools may add optional material to the compulsory curriculum they may not replace it The Quebec curriculum was unacceptable to the parents of the only Mennonite school in the province 80 They said they would leave Quebec after the Education Ministry threatened legal actions The province threatened to invoke youth protection services if the Mennonite children were not registered with the Education Ministry they either had to be home schooled using the government approved material or attend a sanctioned school The local population and its mayor supported 81 the local Mennonites The Evangelical Fellowship of Canada wrote that year to the Quebec government to express its concerns 82 about this situation By September 2007 some Mennonite families had already left Quebec 83 In November 2020 during the COVID 19 pandemic in Ontario Canada both the Region of Waterloo Public Health unit and Wellington Dufferin Guelph Public Health issued orders to close Old Order schools and places of worship in their regions and to limit social interactions The orders were issued because of extremely high infection rates In Waterloo Region the orders applied to sects including Markham Old Colony and David Martin Mennonite communities according to a news report Both agencies cited a lack of cooperation with public health requirements that were intended to minimize the spread of the virus In an interview with the Waterloo Region Record Bishop Peter Brubacher bishop for seven Old Order Mennonite church districts in north Waterloo Region according to another news agency 84 made this comment 85 I guess to be frank and honest a lot of people really didn t take it that serious to isolate 86 87 Between 2005 and 2009 more than 100 girls and women in Manitoba Colony were raped at night in their homes by a group of colony men who sedated them with animal anesthetic 88 Girls and women including infants elderly women and relatives to the perpetrators reported these attacks but were at first dismissed as wild female imagination or else attributed to ghosts or demons Eventually a group of colony men were caught in the act The colony elders deciding that the case was too difficult to handle themselves called local police to take the perpetrators into custody in 2011 89 The youngest victim was three years old and the oldest was 65 90 The offenders used a type of gas used by veterinarians to sedate animals during medical procedures Despite long custodial sentences for the convicted men an investigation in 2013 reported continuing cases of similar assaults and other sexual abuses Canadian author Miriam Toews has made these crimes the center of her 2018 novel Women Talking 91 92 93 Service projects EditThe Mennonite Disaster Service based in North America is a volunteer network of Anabaptist churches which provide both immediate and long term responses to hurricanes floods and other disasters in the U S and Canada 94 Mennonite Central Committee MCC founded on September 27 1920 in Chicago Illinois 95 provides disaster relief around the world alongside their long term international development programs In 1972 Mennonites in Altona Manitoba established the MCC Thrift Shops 96 which has grown to become a worldwide source of assistance to the needy 97 Since the latter part of the 20th century some Mennonite groups have become more actively involved with peace and social justice issues helping to found Christian Peacemaker Teams and Mennonite Conciliation Service 98 Membership EditFurther information List of Mennonites Children in an Old Order Mennonite community selling peanuts near Lamanai in Belize According to a 2018 census by the Mennonite World Conference it has 107 member denominations in 58 countries and 1 47 million baptized members 99 Africa has the highest membership growth rate by far with an increase of 10 to 12 every year particularly in Ethiopia due to new conversions African Mennonite churches underwent a dramatic 228 increase in membership during the 1980s and 1990s attracting thousands of new converts in Tanzania Kenya and the Congo 100 Programs were also founded in Botswana and Swaziland during the 1960s 101 Mennonite organizations in South Africa initially stifled under apartheid due to the Afrikaner government s distrust of foreign pacifist churches have expanded substantially since 1994 101 In recognition of the dramatic increase in the proportion of African adherents the Mennonite World Conference held its assembly in Bulawayo Zimbabwe in 2003 100 In Latin America growth is not as high as in Africa but strong because of the high birth rates of traditional Mennonites of German ancestry Growth in Mennonite membership is steady and has outpaced total population growth in North America the Asia Pacific region and Caribbean region Europe has seen a slow and accelerating decline in Mennonite membership since about 1980 102 103 Organization worldwide Edit Bethesda Mennonite Church in Henderson Nebraska U S Old Order Mennonite children from San Ignacio Paraguay The most basic unit of organization among Mennonites is the church There are hundreds or thousands of Mennonite churches and groups many of which are separate from all others Some churches are members of regional or area conferences And some regional or area conferences are affiliated with larger national or international conferences There is no single world authority on among Mennonites however there is a Mennonite World Committee MWC includes Mennonites from 53 countries 104 The MWC does not make binding decisions on behalf of members but coordinates Mennonite causes aligning with the MWC s shared convictions For the most part there is a host of independent Mennonite churches along with a myriad of separate conferences with no particular responsibility to any other group Independent churches can contain as few as fifty members or as many as 20 000 members Similar size differences occur among separate conferences Worship church discipline and lifestyles vary widely between progressive moderate conservative Old Order and orthodox Mennonites in a vast panoply of distinct independent and widely dispersed classifications There is no central authority that claims to speak for all Mennonites as the 20th century passed cultural distinctiveness between Mennonite groups has decreased 105 The twelve largest Mennonite Anabaptist groups are Mennonite Brethren 426 581 members on six continents worldwide 106 Old Order Amish 300 000 in North America Meserete Kristos Church in Ethiopia 120 600 members 126 000 more followers attending alike churches 107 Old Colony Mennonite Church 120 000 in the U S Canada Mexico Bolivia Paraguay Belize and Argentina Communaute Mennonite au Congo 87 000 members Mennonite Church USA with 78 892 members in the United States 64 Old Order Mennonites with 60 000 to 80 000 members in the U S Canada and Belize Kanisa La Mennonite Tanzania with 50 000 members in 240 congregations Arbeitsgemeinschaft Mennonitischer Gemeinden in Deutschland or Deutsche Mennonitengemeinden with 40 000 members in Germany 108 Mennonite Church Canada with 31 000 members in 225 congregations across Canada 109 Conservative Mennonites with 30 000 members in over 500 U S churches 110 Church of God in Christ Mennonite with 24 400 members of whom 14 804 2013 data were in United States 5 081 in Canada and the remainder being found in various countries of Africa Asia Central and South America the Caribbean and Europe 37 Organization North America Edit Alexanderwohl Mennonite Church in rural Goessel Kansas Bethel College North Newton Kansas In 2015 there were 538 839 baptized members organized into 41 bodies in United States according to the Mennonite World Conference 8 The largest group of that number is the Old Order Amish perhaps numbering as high as 300 000 citation needed The U S Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches comprises 34 500 members 106 27 000 are part of a larger group known collectively as Old Order Mennonites 111 112 Another 78 892 of that number are from the Mennonite Church USA 64 Total membership in Mennonite Church USA denominations decreased from about 133 000 before the MC GC merger in 1998 to about 114 000 after the merger in 2003 In 2016 it had fallen to under 79 000 Membership of the Mennonite Church USA is on the decline 64 103 Canada had 143 720 Mennonites in 16 organized bodies as of 2015 8 Of that number the Canadian Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches had 37 508 baptized members 106 and the Mennonite Church Canada had 31 000 members 109 As of 2012 there were an estimated 100 000 Old Colony Mennonites in Mexico 113 114 These Mennonites descend from a mass migration in the 1920s of roughly 6 000 Old Colony Mennonites from the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Saskatchewan In 1921 a Canadian Mennonite delegation arriving in Mexico received a privilegium a promise of non interference from the Mexican government This guarantee of many freedoms was the impetus that created the two original Old Colony settlements near Patos Nuevo Ideal Durango Cuauhtemoc Chihuahua and La Honda Zacatecas as well as many communities in Aguascalientes 115 On the other hand the Mennonite World Conference cites only 33 881 Mennonites organized into 14 bodies in Mexico 8 Organization Africa Edit Main article Black Mennonites Organization Europe Edit Mennonite Church in Hamburg Altona Germany Germany has the largest contingent of Mennonites in Europe The Mennonite World Conference counts 47 202 baptized members within 7 organized bodies in 2015 8 The largest group is the Bruderschaft der Christengemeinde in Deutschland Mennonite Brethren which had 20 000 members in 2010 106 Another such body is the Union of German Mennonite Congregations or Vereinigung der Deutschen Mennonitengemeinden Founded in 1886 it has 27 Congregations with 5 724 members and is part of the larger Arbeitsgemeinschaft Mennonitischer Gemeinden in Deutschland or AMG Assembly Council of Mennonite Churches in Germany 116 which claims 40 000 overall members from various groups Other AMG member groups include Russland Deutschen Mennoniten Mennoniten Brudergemeinden Independent Mennonite Brethren congregations WEBB Gemeinden and the Mennonitischen Heimatmission 108 However not all German Mennonites belong to this larger AMG body Upwards of 40 000 Mennonites emigrated from Russia to Germany starting in the 1970s 116 The Mennonite presence remaining in the Netherlands Algemene Doopsgezinde Societeit or ADS translated as General Mennonite Society maintains a seminary as well as organizing relief peace and mission work the latter primarily in Central Java and New Guinea They have 121 congregations with 10 200 members according to the World Council of Churches 14 although the Mennonite World Conference cites only 7680 members 8 Switzerland had 2350 Mennonites belonging to 14 Congregations which are part of the Konferenz der Mennoniten der Schweiz Alttaufer Conference mennonite suisse Anabaptiste Swiss Mennonite Conference 117 In 2015 there were 2078 Mennonites in France The country s 32 autonomous Mennonite congregations have formed the Association des Eglises Evangeliques Mennonites de France 118 While Ukraine was once home to tens of thousands of Mennonites in 2015 the number totalled just 499 They are organized among three denominations Association of Mennonite Brethren Churches of Ukraine Church of God in Christ Mennonite Ukraine and Evangelical Mennonite Churches of Ukraine Beachy Amish Church Ukraine 119 The U K had but 326 members within two organized bodies as of 2015 8 There is the Nationwide Fellowship Churches UK and the larger Brethren in Christ Church United Kingdom 120 Additionally there is the registered charity The Mennonite Trust formerly known as London Mennonite Centre which seeks to promote understanding of Mennonite and Anabaptist practices and values 121 In popular culture EditMennonites have been portrayed in many areas of popular culture especially literature film and television 122 Notable novels about or written by Mennonites include A Complicated Kindness by Miriam Toews Peace Shall Destroy Many by Rudy Wiebe The Salvation of Yasch Siemens by Armin Wiebe A Year of Lesser by David Bergen A Dream of a Woman by Casey Plett and Once Removed by Andrew Unger 123 Rhoda Janzen s memoir Mennonite in a Little Black Dress was a best seller 123 In 1975 Victor Davies composed the Mennonite Piano Concerto and in 1977 composer Glenn Gould featured Manitoba Mennonites in his experimental radio documentary The Quiet in the Land part three of his Solitude Trilogy 124 In the 1990s photographer Larry Towell documented the lives of Canadian and Mexican Mennonites subsequently published in a volume by Phaidon Press 125 In 2007 Mexican director Carlos Reygadas directed Silent Light the first ever feature film in the Russian Mennonite dialect of Plautdietsch 126 Other films depicting Mennonites include I Propose We Never See Each Other Again After Tonight as well as All My Puny Sorrows and Women Talking both based on Miriam Toews novels Mennonites have also been depicted on television including the show Pure and in episodes of Schitt s Creek Letterkenny 127 and The Simpsons which was created by Matt Groening himself of Russian Mennonite descent 128 Andrew Unger s satirical news website The Daily Bonnet pokes fun at Mennonite culture and traditions 129 130 See also Edit Christianity portalBible Mennonite Fellowship Bruderhof Communities Church of God in Christ Mennonite Eastern Mennonite Missions Vincent Harding Guy Hershberger List of Mennonites Mennonite Church USA Archives Mennonite cuisine Mennonite denominations Mennonites in Argentina Mennonites in Belize Mennonites in Bolivia Mennonites in Mexico Mennonites in Paraguay Mennonite literature Mennonite settlements of Altai More with Less Cookbook Simple living Virginia Mennonite MissionsReferences Edit a b c Mennonite World Conference World Directory 2018 p 58 a b c d e f g h i Mennonite World Conference World Directory 2018 p 56 a b c d Mennonite World Conference World Directory 2018 p 57 Kraybill Donald B September 12 2017 Eastern Mennonite University Penn State University Press p 94 ISBN 9780271080581 a b c Hartzler Rachel Nafziger April 30 2013 No Strings Attached Boundary Lines in Pleasant Places A History of Warren Street Pleasant Oaks Mennonite Church Wipf and Stock Publishers ISBN 978 1 62189 635 7 Historic Peace Churches Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online Retrieved January 12 2013 Smucker Donovan E January 1 2006 The Sociology of Mennonites Hutterites and Amish A Bibliography with Annotations Volume II 1977 1990 Wilfrid Laurier Univ Press pp xviii xix ISBN 978 0 88920 605 2 There are educated professionalized affluent Mennonites conservative Mennonites who still wear plain clothes restrain education but drive cars and tractors and use electricity and there are Old Order Mennonites who differ from the Amish only by the absence of beards and the use of plain austere church buildings instead of the Amish house church Transportation is by horse and buggy a b c d e f g h Statistics PDF Mennonite World Conference MWC CMM org Retrieved September 21 2016 Romero Simon December 21 2006 Bolivian Reforms Raise Anxiety on Mennonite Frontier The New York Times Retrieved April 5 2015 Nuevos alemanes en la selva de Peru Los Menonitas llegaron a colonizar la selva Reportaje YouTube Aus Montevideo Galizische Mennoniten in Uruguay Mennonites from Galitzia in Uruguay Galizien org November 1 2012 Archived from the original on August 1 2012 Retrieved November 6 2012 De La Cova Antonio December 28 1999 Paraguay s Mennonites resent fast buck outsiders Latinamericanstudies org Retrieved October 29 2011 Menonitas en Colombia asi vive la misteriosa comunidad religiosa en los Llanos Orientales Caracol TV August 15 2021 Retrieved August 21 2021 a b Member Churches Mennonite Church in the Netherlands World Council of Churches World Council of Churches Retrieved September 21 2016 a b Dueck Jonathan April 28 2017 Congregational Music Conflict and Community Routledge ISBN 978 1 134 78605 3 But Mennonites are from many places and diverse in terms of belief drawing historically on European diasporic histories and at present negotiating a much broader variety of diasporic histories perhaps especially in Asia Indonesia for example Latin America Colombia Brazil Mexico among others and Africa Congo for example A subset of these groups of Mennonites Swiss Mennonites and Russian Mennonites sometimes identify or are identified as ethnic Mennonites Donald B Kraybill Concise Encyclopedia of Amish Brethren Hutterites and Mennonites JHU Press US 2010 p 12 Strasser Rolf Christoph 2006 Die Zurcher Taufer 1525 The Zurich Anabaptists 1525 PDF in German EFB Verlag Wetzikon p 30 Retrieved January 28 2012 a b Murray Stuart 2010 The Naked Anabaptist The Bare Essentials of a Radical Faith Herald Press ISBN 978 0 8361 9517 0 Carey Patrick W 2000 Menno Simons Biography Reference Bank Menno Simons Dutch priest Encyclopaedia Britannica Retrieved February 1 2019 Mark Juergensmeyer Wade Clark Roof Encyclopedia of Global Religion Volume 1 Sage 2012 p 129 ISBN missing Hostetler John A 1955 Mennonite Life Scottsdale Pennsylvania Herald Press p 4 Herbermann Charles ed 1913 Mennonites Catholic Encyclopedia New York Robert Appleton Company Donald B Kraybill Concise Encyclopedia of Amish Brethren Hutterites and Mennonites JHU Press US 2010 p 13 J Gordon Melton Martin Baumann Religions of the World A Comprehensive Encyclopedia of Beliefs and Practices ABC CLIO US 2010 p 1859 Mennonite World Conference About MWC mwc cmm org Canada retrieved November 5 2022 Donald B Kraybill Concise Encyclopedia of Amish Brethren Hutterites and Mennonites JHU Press USA 2010 p 25 J Philip Wogaman Douglas M Strong Readings in Christian Ethics A Historical Sourcebook Westminster John Knox Press US 1996 p 141 Kraybill Donald B May 1 2003 The Riddle of Amish Culture JHU Press ISBN 978 0 8018 7631 8 a b Article 8 Salvation Mennonite Church USA Retrieved May 6 2022 Kurian George 1999 Encyclopedia of Religion in American Politics Greenwood Publishing Group p 160 ISBN 978 1 57356 130 3 Eicher Jerry S February 1 2013 My Amish Childhood A True Story of Faith Family and the Simple Life Harvest House Publishers p 214 ISBN 978 0 7369 5007 7 Scott Stephen January 1 1996 Introduction to Old Order and Conservative Mennonite Groups People s Place Book No 12 Simon and Schuster ISBN 978 1 68099 243 4 Mankes Zernike Anna 1887 1972 gameo org Retrieved April 10 2016 Hiebert P G 1955 Church of God in Christ Mennonite CGC Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online GAMEO Retrieved September 15 2015 Holdeman Mennonites discuss challenges of entertainment Mennonite World Review December 14 2015 Retrieved May 26 2020 a b Where we are Church of God in Christ Mennonite Church of God in Christ Mennonite Archived from the original on September 16 2016 Retrieved September 15 2016 Confession of Faith in a Mennonite Perspective Archived from the original on May 29 2007 Retrieved May 30 2007 CNN Mennonite church expelled for accepting gays Nov 5 1997 CNN Archived from the original on December 6 2008 Retrieved January 25 2006 Confessions of a modern day pacifist The Mennonite A Publication of Mennonite Church USA Providing Anabaptist Content February 1 2011 Archived from the original on April 17 2017 Retrieved May 28 2019 Donald B Kraybill Concise Encyclopedia of Amish Brethren Hutterites and Mennonites JHU Press USA 2010 p 108 Donald B Kraybill Concise Encyclopedia of Amish Brethren Hutterites and Mennonites JHU Press USA 2010 p 108 Dan Dyck et Dick Benner Delegates vote to allow space for differences canadianmennonite org Canada July 20 2016 mennoniteusa org Susan M Shaw Women and Religion Global Lives in Focus ABC CLIO USA 2021 p 96 Paul Schrag Delegates repeal Membership Guidelines pass LGBTQ affirming resolution anabaptistworld org USA May 29 2022 Ukrainian Mennonite General Conference GAMEO Gameo org October 8 1926 Retrieved November 13 2012 Rempel John G 1957 Makhno Nestor 1888 1934 Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online Retrieved November 1 2010 Two hundred forty names appear on a list of November 1919 of those murdered in Zagradovka In Borzenkovo in the village of Ebenfeld alone 63 persons were murdered and in Steinbach of the same settlement 58 persons Jantzen Mark Thiesen John D 2020 European Mennonites and the Holocaust Toronto University of Toronto Press ISBN 9781487537241 Goossen Ben November 17 2020 The Real History of the Mennonites and the Holocaust Tablet Retrieved January 4 2022 Schroeder Steve Spring 2003 Mennonite Nazi Collaboration and Coming to Terms With the Past European Mennonites and the MCC 1945 1950 Conrad Grebel Review 6 16 Retrieved January 4 2022 Altkolonier Mennoniten in Belize Taeufergeschichte net Archived from the original on September 24 2015 Retrieved October 4 2014 Smith p 139 Smith p 360 Smith uses Mennonite Quaker to refer to Quakers who were formerly Mennonite and retained distinctive Mennonite beliefs and practices First Protest Against Slavery 1688 Qhpress org Retrieved April 5 2015 Pannabecker p 7 National Historic Landmarks amp National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania CRGIS Cultural Resources Geographic Information System Archived from the original Searchable database on July 21 2007 Retrieved February 20 2012 Note This includes J Michael Sausman August 1970 National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form Hans Herr House PDF Archived from the original PDF on November 14 2012 Retrieved February 18 2012 Pannabecker p 12 a b 10 things to know about Mennonites in Canada Canadian Mennonite January 12 2017 Retrieved December 6 2020 it is in many ways an option of last resort and it s something we only do when we think we have a critical threat to the community s safety and we need immediate action Paso Robles First Mennonite Church Paso Robles California USA gameo org San Marcos Mennonite Church Paso Robles California USA gameo org North America PDF Mennonite World Conference 2006 Archived from the original PDF on June 6 2011 Retrieved December 3 2009 Bender Harold S Stauffer Hostetler Beulah January 2013 Mennonite Church MC Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online Retrieved May 2 2015 a b c d Huber Tim January 26 2016 Lancaster s distancing shrinks roll A few churches want to stay with MC USA others are dropped from denomination s membership number Mennonite World Review Retrieved August 31 2016 MC USA s new lower membership total is based on only 1 091 members from LMC Lancaster Mennonite Conference Main Page at mennoniteusa org 2000 Religious Congregations and Membership Study Glenmary Research Center Retrieved December 16 2009 An Introduction to Old Order and Conservative Mennonite Groups Intercourse PA 1996 pages 122 123 Who Are the Mennonites Conrad Grebel College November 15 2017 Retrieved December 6 2020 Gingerich p 420 Krahn pp 76 78 Gingerich p 452 Sydney E Ahlstrom A Religious History of the American People Garden City NY Doubleday 1975 I 292 293 Homosexual and bisexual orientation among Mennonites Religioustolerance org Retrieved April 5 2015 Donald B Kraybill Concise Encyclopedia of Amish Brethren Hutterites and Mennonites JHU Press USA 2010 p 104 Who are the Mennonites Third Way Cafe Archived from the original on January 30 2013 Retrieved January 12 2013 Did you know Mennonite Historical Society of Canada Retrieved January 12 2013 The Mennonite Game Mennonite Historical Society of Canada Retrieved January 12 2013 Multicultural Canada Mennonites Multiculturalcanada ca Archived from the original on May 16 2007 Retrieved September 13 2016 Ethnicity Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online Retrieved January 12 2013 Mennonites leaving Quebec after government closes school CBC News August 16 2007 Retrieved August 30 2019 Townsfolk sad to see Mennonites move away The Gazette Canada com August 16 2007 Archived from the original on November 9 2012 Retrieved October 29 2011 Hutchinson Don September 8 2007 Faith Based Education May Result in Loss of House and Home in Quebec christianity ca Archived from the original on September 8 2007 Retrieved October 29 2011 1 dead link Old Order Mennonites church groups find ways to adapt to COVID 19 Flamborough Review March 27 2020 Retrieved December 6 2020 Waterloo Region COVID surges in old order Mennonite communities Waterloo Region Record November 27 2020 Retrieved December 6 2020 In hindsight it s so contagious and spreads so easily by the time you re aware that there s an outbreak you ve got a lot of people affected Public health intervenes to limit COVID 19 surge among old order Mennonites Waterloo Region Record November 30 2020 Retrieved December 6 2020 Infection rates in rural Mennonite areas are the highest in the region Unfortunately we have encountered insufficient co operation among a number of individuals with public health requirements Critical threat to Old Order Mennonite community forced order by Public Health Guelph Today November 15 2020 Retrieved December 6 2020 it is in many ways an option of last resort and it s something we only do when we think we have a critical threat to the community s safety and we need immediate action Mennonite Community of Manitoba Bolivia Insider Friedman Rudovsky Jean August 26 2011 A Verdict in Bolivia s Shocking Case of the Mennonite Rapes Time Magazine The Ghost Rapes of Bolivia www vice com Retrieved December 15 2022 Schwartz Alexandra 28 March 2019 A Beloved Canadian Novelist Reckons with Her Mennonite Past The New Yorker Retrieved 11 April 2020 Friedman Rudovsky Jean December 28 2013 The Ghost Rapes of Bolivia Vice Retrieved January 6 2014 Pressly Linda May 16 2019 The rapes haunting a community that shuns 21st Century BBC News Retrieved May 16 2019 Mennonite Disaster Service Archived from the original on June 1 2007 Retrieved May 30 2007 Gingerich Melvin Service for Peace A History of Mennonite Civilian Public Service Mennonite Central Committee 1949 p 16 MCC Thrift Shops Thrift mcc org Retrieved September 13 2016 CBC The World at Six March 17 2012 Mennonite Conciliation Service Archived from the original on May 13 2007 Retrieved May 30 2007 Mennonite World Conference About MWC mwc cmm org Canada retrieved December 5 2020 a b B Kraybill Donald 2010 Concise Encyclopedia of Amish Brethren Hutterites and Mennonites Johns Hopkins University Press pp 3 4 a b Robert Herr and Judy Zimmermann Herr Building peace in South Africa A case study in the Mennonite program in From the Ground Up Mennonite Contributions to International Peacebuilding Oxford U Press 2000 edited by Cynthia Sampson and John Paul Lederach pp 59 69 2018 Mennonite Church Membership Statistics a b Mennonite Church Membership Statistics Mcusa archives org Archived from the original on January 8 2015 Retrieved April 5 2015 About MWC Mennonite World Conference July 29 2019 Retrieved March 9 2021 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint url status link Mennonite North America Encyclopedia Britannica Retrieved March 9 2021 a b c d Lohrenz John H April 2011 Mennonite Brethren Church Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online GAMEO Retrieved October 11 2016 2 Archived October 13 2007 at the Wayback Machine a b Mennoniten in Deutschland Mennoniten de Archived from the original on April 28 2012 Retrieved November 6 2012 a b About Mennonite Church Canada Mennonite Church Canada Mennonite Church Canada Retrieved October 11 2016 2008 CLP church directory Stephen Scott An Introduction to Old Order and Conservative Mennonite Groups Intercourse PA 1996 B Kraybill Donald 2010 Concise Encyclopedia of Amish Brethren Hutterites and Mennonites Johns Hopkins University Press pp 251 258 Cascante Manuel M August 8 2012 Los menonitas dejan Mexico ABC in Spanish Retrieved February 19 2013 Los cien mil miembros de esta comunidad anabaptista establecida en Chihuahua desde 1922 se plantean emigrar a la republica rusa de Tartaristan que se ofrece a acogerlos The Mennonite Old Colony Vision Under siege in Mexico and the Canadian Connection PDF Archived from the original PDF on April 4 2013 Retrieved September 10 2014 3 Archived September 27 2007 at the Wayback Machine a b Member Churches Mennonite Church in Germany World Council of Churches World Council of Churches Retrieved September 21 2016 Switzerland MWC CMM org Archived from the original on September 27 2016 Retrieved September 21 2016 France MWC CMM org Archived from the original on September 27 2016 Retrieved September 21 2016 Ukraine MWC CMM org Archived from the original on September 27 2016 Retrieved September 21 2016 United Kingdom MWC CMM org Archived from the original on September 27 2016 Retrieved September 21 2016 The Mennonite Trust Menno org Archived from the original on October 3 2016 Retrieved September 21 2016 Carpenter Steven P 2015 Mennonites and Media Mentioned in it Maligned by it and Makers of It Wipf and Stock Publishers a b Literature North American Mennonite 1960s 2010s Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online Retrieved November 26 2018 Magdalene Redekop 2020 Making Believe Questions About Mennonites and Art University of Manitoba Press The 19 Best Photobooks of 2014 Mother Jones Retrieved July 1 2022 Motion Pictures and Amish Hutterites and Mennonites Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online Retrieved November 26 2018 Tierney Jacob December 25 2018 Dyck s Slip Out Comedy Jared Keeso Nathan Dales Michelle Mylett K Trevor Wilson retrieved February 21 2021 The Groenings the Simpsons and the Mennonites The Mennonites August 28 2007 Archived from the original on November 29 2018 Retrieved November 26 2018 Downey Sawatzky Beth August 24 2016 Familiarity breeds good content The Canadian Mennonite Retrieved November 26 2018 Huber Tim July 4 2016 Satire news site pokes fun at Mennonite quirks Mennonite World Review Retrieved November 26 2018 Further reading EditEpp Marlene Mennonites in Ontario Mennonite Historical Society of Ontario 2012 ISBN 0969604637 Epp Marlene Mennonite Women in Canada A History Winnipeg University of Manitoba Press 2008 xiii 378 pp ISBN 9780887551826 Epp Marlene Women without Men Mennonite Refugees of the Second World War University of Toronto Press 2000 ISBN 0802082688 Epp Maureen Sound in the Lands Mennonite Music Across Borders Kitchener ON Pandora Press 2011 ISBN 978 1926599199 Gingerich Melvin 1949 Service for Peace A History of Mennonite Civilian Public Service Mennonite Central Committee ASIN B0007DXNN6 Harder Helmut and Miller Larry Mennonite Engagement in International Ecumenical Conversations Experiences Perspectives and Guiding Principles Mennonite Quarterly Review 90 3 2016 345 71 Heisey M J Mennonite Religion was a Family Religion A Historiography Journal of Mennonite Studies 2005 Vol 23 pp 9 22 Hinojosa Felipe 2014 Latino Mennonites Civil Rights Faith and Evangelical Culture Baltimore MD Johns Hopkins University Press ISBN 978 1421412832 Horsch James E Ed 1999 Mennonite Directory Herald Press ISBN 0836194543 Kinberg Clare Mennonites om Gale Encyclopedia of Multicultural America edited by Thomas Riggs 3rd ed vol 3 Gale 2014 pp 171 182 Online Klassen Pamela E Going by the Moon and the Stars Stories of Two Russian Mennonite Women Wilfrid Laurier University Press 1994 ISBN 0889202443 Krahn Cornelius Gingerich Melvin amp Harms Orlando Eds 1955 The Mennonite Encyclopedia Volume I pp 76 78 Mennonite Publishing House ASIN B002Q3LGMU Kraybill D B Concise Encyclopedia of Amish Brethren Hutterites and Mennonites Johns Hopkins University Press 2010 ISBN 978 0801896576 Mennonite amp Brethren in Christ World Directory 2003 Available On line at MWC World Directory Pannabecker Samuel Floyd 1975 Open Doors A History of the General Conference Mennonite Church Faith and Life Press ISBN 0873036360 Miller Shearer Tobin 2010 Daily Demonstrators The Civil Rights Movement in Mennonite Homes and Sanctuaries Johns Hopkins University Press p 392 ISBN 978 0801897009 Scott Stephen 1995 An Introduction to Old Order and Conservative Mennonite Groups Good Books ISBN 1561481017 Smith C Henry 1981 Smith s Story of the Mennonites 5th ed Faith and Life Press ISBN 0873030605 Van Braght Thielman J 1660 Martyrs Mirror 2nd English ed Herald Press ISBN 083611390XExternal links EditMennonites at Wikipedia s sister projects Definitions from Wiktionary Media from Commons Texts from Wikisource Data from Wikidata Lancaster Mennonite Historical Society in Pennsylvania Mennonites at Curlie Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online GAMEO Global Anabaptist Wiki Mennonite World Conference Pilgrim Ministry Conservative Mennonite church directory The Swiss Mennonite Cultural and Historical Association Mennonites Encyclopaedia Britannica 11th ed 1911 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Mennonites amp oldid 1135254365, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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