MENNONITE CHURCHES

Christian churches named after Menno Simons (c. 1496–1561), known first as anabaptists during the 16th century. After originating as a wing of the reformation in Switzerland in 1525, the movement spread into various countries. Melchior hofmann transplanted Anabaptism via Emden (1530) into the Low Countries, where for a few decades it became the most outstanding Reformation effort. Most significant among the leaders of the North was Menno Simons, a Roman Catholic priest who joined the movement in 1536. Through his writings and preaching, he gathered the peaceful, persecuted believers who came mostly from the Sacramentarian movement. He traveled extensively in the Low Countries and the Cologne and Vistula River areas, and he found temporary shelter near Emden and a permanent home and printshop at Oldesloe near Hamburg. Among his closest coworkers were Dirk Philips and Leenaert Bouwens.

Basic Views. For the most part Mennonitism of the North and the South had a common basis of faith. It was a wing of the Reformation with a stronger emphasis on the use of the Bible and the spiritualization of the Sacraments and the worship practices of the Catholic Church. Characterized by voluntary church membership entered into by adults only through the act of Baptism upon confession of faith, it emphasized a personally dedicated and disciplined Christian life. From the beginning, the movement had a strong sense of mission, which suffered considerably during the many decades of persistent persecution, resulting in the withdrawal of the group into isolated areas of various countries, and often leading to stagnation of the spiritual and cultural life of this church of martyrs.

Spread and Development. Basic and unique views, severe persecution, and isolation resulted in the development of peculiar characteristics among some Mennonites. They became outstanding pioneers in agriculture in Switzerland, Alsace, South Germany, the Low Countries, the Vistula area, Poland, Russia, the American prairie states and Canadian provinces of North America, as well as Mexico and South America. In the Netherlands and northwest Germany, Mennonites also made significant contributions to the fishing, silk, and cotton industries and as business people. There, their traditional isolation from the culture of the country in which they lived was overcome during the 17th and 18th centuries. The Mennonites of the Netherlands were organized in a conference (Algemeene Doopsgezinde Societeit ) in 1811. They are members of the world council of churches.

The Mennonites of Germany are not so unified as the Dutch. The urban churches (Krefeld, Emden, Hamburg, Danzig, Berlin) differ from the rural congregations of West Prussia, the Palatinate, Hesse, and particularly of Baden and Bavaria. They all sponsor publications and mission and relief work. The Vereinigung der deutschen Mennonitengemeinden is a member of the World Council of Churches. The congregations of East Germany, Poland, and Galicia were wiped out during World War II. The refugees from these countries found new homes in West Germany, Canada, and Uruguay.

Invited by Catherine the Great, Mennonites from the Vistula area migrated to the Ukraine starting in 1788. From the Chortitza and the Molotschna settlements, they spread into other parts of European and Asiatic Russia, making a significant contribution to the development of the agriculture and industry of the country. The first migration of Mennonites from Russia, Poland, and Prussia to the United States and Canada took place between 1873 and 1882. A second and third migration to Canada, Paraguay, Brazil, and Uruguay followed between 1923 and 1930 and during and after World War II. The remaining Mennonites of the Ukraine were transplanted into the northern and eastern parts of Soviet Russia; many of them perished in concentration camps at the height of communist rule.

Emigration to America. Among the early settlers of New York were some Dutch Mennonites. Cornelis Pieter Plockhoy settled at Delaware with a group of Dutch Mennonites in 1664. Thirteen Quaker-Mennonite families from Krefeld, Germany, founded German-town near Philadelphia in 1683. It became the gateway for a Swiss and Palatinate immigration spreading into Pennsylvania, Virginia, Ontario, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, etc. Among the famous pioneers was the educator Christopher Dock.

Between 1873 and 1882 the first immigrants (18,000) from Russia, Poland, and Prussia settled in the prairie states and provinces between Kansas and Manitoba. They were instrumental in introducing the hard winter wheat. After World War I, some 21,000 Mennonites from Russia went to Canada, and some 4,000 to Brazil and Paraguay, where some Mennonites from Manitoba had previously settled in the Chaco. After World War II, approximately 14,000 went from Russia, Poland, and West Prussia, to Canada, Paraguay, and Uruguay. Within the United States and Canada, the Mennonites originally followed the move from the East to the West, and in the 20th century the move from the rural to the urban and industrial areas has continued.

Organizations. The Mennonite Churches of North America have their own colleges, Christian high schools, conference headquarters, publishing houses and papers. Mission work was started in 1880 among the Native Americans and later overseas. Originally, the language in worship and home was German or a German dialect. Now, English is used almost exclusively. The American religious revivals and other factors have influenced the Mennonites and caused the introduction of Sunday schools, higher education, mission work, and the abstinence movement. Originally scattered and divided into many religious and cultural groups, they now belong to a number of ecclesial affiliations, among which the largest is the Mennonite Church, itself a merger of the Mennonite Church and the General Conference Mennonite Church in 2001. The most conservative among the various Mennonite churches are the Old Order amish churches and the Old Order (Wisler) Mennonite Church. Most of the Mennonites of all countries are members of the Mennonite World Conference.

One principal characteristic that the Mennonite Christianss share with the Quakers, the Church of the Brethren, and some other groups, is their peace witness, which led them during the two world wars to accept alternative service, and to do relief work in war-stricken and underdeveloped countries. Immediately after World War I, this aid amounted to $2,500,000, and after World War II, to $12,640,000.

See also: amish churches.

Bibliography: The Mennonites: A Brief Guide to Information (Newton, Kans.). The Mennonite Encyclopedia, ed. h. s. bender, c. krahn, et al., 4 v. (Scottdale, Pa. 1955–60). c. h. smith, The Story of the Mennonites (Newton, Kans. 1964). menno simons, Complete Writings, tr. l. verduin, ed. j. c. wenger (Scottdale, Pa.1956). d. l. gratz, Bernese Anabaptists (Scottdale, Pa. 1953). f. h. epp, Mennonite Exodus (Altona, Can. 1962). j. d. unruh, In the Name of Christ: A History of the Mennonite Central Committee and Its Service, 1920–1951 (Scottdale, Pa. 1952). f. s. mead, s. s. hill and c. d. atwood, eds., Handbook of Denominations in the United States, 11th ed (Nashville 2001).

[c. krahn/eds.]