Mennonitism
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Mennonitism
Mennonites are a group of Anabaptist Christian communities tracing their roots to the epoch of the Radical Reformation. The name ''Mennonites'' is derived from the cleric Menno Simons (1496–1561) of Friesland, part of the Habsburg Netherlands within the Holy Roman Empire, present day Netherlands. Menno Simons became a prominent leader within the wider Anabaptist movement and was a contemporary of Martin Luther (1483–1546) and Philip Melanchthon (1497–1560). Through his writings about the Reformation Simons articulated and formalized the teachings of earlier Swiss Anabaptist founders as well as early teachings of the Mennonites founded on the belief in both the mission and ministry of Jesus. Formal Mennonite beliefs were codified in the Dordrecht Confession of Faith (1632), 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 sam ...
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Mennonite World Conference
The Mennonite World Conference (MWC) is an international Mennonite Anabaptist Christian denomination. Its headquarters are in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada. History The first ''Mennonite World Conference'' was held in Basel in 1925. Its main purpose was to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Anabaptism. An assembly is convened approximately every six or seven years. Christian Neff (1863–1946), a Mennonite minister in Germany, is often called the "father" of the Mennonite World Conference. Neff, through the Conference of Mennonites in South Germany, issued the call for the first gathering in 1925, and was president of the following meetings in 1930 and 1936. The MWC prints a quarterly news publication in three languages—Spanish (as '), English (''Courier''), and French ('.) This project began in 1986. The ''Mennonite World Conference'' considers that its mission is to (1) be a global community of faith in the Anabaptist-tradition, (2) facilitate relationships between Anabaptist-r ...
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Radical Reformation
The Radical Reformation represented a response to perceived corruption both in the Catholic Church and in the expanding Magisterial Protestant movement led by Martin Luther and many others. Starting in Germany and Switzerland in the 16th century, the Radical Reformation gave birth to many radical Protestant groups throughout Europe. The term covers Radical Reformers like Thomas Müntzer and Andreas Karlstadt, the Zwickau prophets, and Anabaptist groups like the Hutterites and the Mennonites. In Germany, Switzerland and Austria, a majority sympathized with the Radical Reformation despite intense persecution. Although the surviving proportion of the European population that rebelled against Catholic, Lutheran and Reformed Churches was small, Radical Reformers wrote profusely, and the literature on the Radical Reformation is disproportionately large, partly as a result of the proliferation of the Radical Reformation teachings in the United States. History Some early forms ...
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Mennonites In Bolivia
The Mennonites in Bolivia are among the most traditional and conservative of all Mennonite denominations in Latin America. They are mostly Russian Mennonites of Frisian, Flemish, and Prussian descent. , there were about 70,000 Mennonites living in Bolivia;Bender, Harold S., Martin W. Friesen, Menno Ediger, Isbrand Hiebert and Gerald Mumaw. "Bolivia." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. June 2013. Web. 23 Sep 2014/ref> that population has grown to around 150,000 as of 2023. History Origins In the early-to-mid 16th century, Mennonites began to move from the Low Countries to the Vistula delta region, seeking religious freedom and exemption from military service. There they gradually replaced their Dutch and Frisian languages with the Plautdietsch dialect spoken in the area, blending into it elements of their native tongues. The Mennonites of Dutch origin were joined by Mennonites from other parts of northern Europe. In 1772, most of Poland Mennonites' land in th ...
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Believer's Baptism
Believer's baptism (also called credobaptism, from the Latin word meaning "I believe") is the practice of baptizing those who are able to make a conscious profession of faith, as contrasted to the practice of Infant baptism, baptizing infants. Credobaptists believe that infants incapable of consciously believing should not be baptized. The mode of believer's baptism depends on the Christian denomination, and is done either by affusion, pouring (the normative method in Mennonite, Amish, and Hutterite churches) or immersion baptism, by immersion (the normative method practiced by Schwarzenau Brethren, River Brethren, Baptists, and the Churches of Christ, among others). Among those denominations that practice immersion, the way that it is practiced depends on the Church; the Schwarzenau Brethren and the River Brethren for example teach "trine immersion, that is, dipping three times forward in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit." Certain denominations of Methodism, ...
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Old Order Mennonite
Old Order Mennonites (Pennsylvania Dutch language, Pennsylvania German: ) form a branch of the Mennonite tradition. Old Order Movement, Old Order are those Mennonite groups of Swiss people, Swiss German and south Germans, German heritage who practice a lifestyle without some elements of modern technology, still drive a horse and Buggy (carriage)#Amish buggy, buggy rather than cars, wear very Plain dress, conservative and modest dress, and have retained the old forms of worship, baptism and communion. All Old Order Mennonites reject certain technologies (e.g., radio, television, Internet), but the extent of this rejection depends on the individual group. Old Order groups generally place great emphasis on a disciplined community instead of the individual's personal faith beliefs. The Pennsylvania Dutch language, Pennsylvania German language is spoken vigorously among all horse-and-buggy groups except the Virginia Old Order Mennonite Conference, Virginia Old Order Mennonites, who los ...
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Conservative Mennonites
Conservative Mennonites include numerous Conservative Anabaptist groups that identify with the theologically conservative element among Mennonite Anabaptist Christian fellowships, but who are not Old Order groups or mainline denominations. Conservative Mennonites adhere to Anabaptist doctrine as contained in the Schleitheim Confession and the Dordrecht Confession, with ''Doctrines of the Bible'' compiled by Mennonite bishop Daniel Kauffman being used for catechesis. Seven Ordinances are observed in Conservative Mennonite churches, which include "baptism, communion, footwashing, marriage, anointing with oil, the holy kiss, and the prayer covering." Conservative Mennonites have Sunday school, hold revival meetings, and operate their own Christian schools/ parochial schools. Additionally, Conservative Mennonite fellowships are highly engaged in evangelism and missionary work; a 1993 report showed that Conservative Anabaptist denominations (such as Conservative Mennon ...
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Dordrecht Confession Of Faith
The Dordrecht Confession of Faith is a statement of religious beliefs adopted by Dutch Mennonite leaders at a meeting in Dordrecht, the Netherlands, on 21 April 1632. Its 18 articles emphasize belief in salvation through Jesus Christ, baptism, nonviolence (non-resistance), withdrawing from, or shunning those who are excommunicated from the Church, feet washing ("a washing of the saints' feet"), and avoidance of taking oaths. It was an influential part of the Radical Reformation and remains an important religious document to many modern Anabaptist groups, such as the Amish. In 1725, Jacob Gottschalk, a Mennonite bishop, met with sixteen other ministers from southeastern Pennsylvania and adopted the Confession. They also wrote the following endorsement, which Gottschalk was the first to sign: We the hereunder written Servants of the Word of God, and Elders in the Congregation of the People, called Mennonists, in the Province of Pennsylvania, do acknowledge, and herewith make kn ...
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Menno Simons
Menno Simons (; ; 1496 – 31 January 1561) was a Roman Catholic priest from the Friesland region of the Low Countries who was excommunicated from the Catholic Church and became an influential Anabaptist religious leader. Simons was a contemporary of the Protestant Reformers and it is from his name that his followers became known as Mennonites. Biography Early life Menno Simons was born in 1496 in Witmarsum, Friesland, Holy Roman Empire. Very little is known concerning his childhood and family except that he grew up in a poor peasant environment. His father's name was Simon, Simons being a patronym, and he had a brother named Pieter.Menno Simons (1496–1561)
Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved on 20 April 2009.
Simons grew up in a disillusioned war-torn country. Friesland was ravaged ...
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Mennonites In Mexico
According to a 2022 census, there were 74,122 Mennonites living in Mexico, the vast majority of which are established in the state of Chihuahua, followed by Campeche at around 15,000, with the rest living in smaller colonies in the states of Durango, Tamaulipas, Zacatecas, San Luis Potosí and Quintana Roo. Their settlements were first established in the 1920s. In 1922, 3,000 Mennonites from the Canadian province of Manitoba established in Chihuahua. By 1927, Mennonites reached 10,000 and they were established in Chihuahua, Durango and Guanajuato. Worsening poverty, water shortages and drug-related violence across northern Mexico have provoked significant numbers of Mennonites living in Durango and Chihuahua to relocate abroad in recent years, especially to Canada, and to other regions of the Americas. Between 2012 and 2017 alone, it is estimated that at least 30,000 Mexican Mennonites emigrated to Canada. History Background The ancestors of the vast majority of Mexican Me ...
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Mennonites In Paraguay
Mennonites in Paraguay are either Plautdietsch-speakers of mostly Flemish people, Flemish, Frisians, Frisian and Prussia, Prussian ancestry or, like the majority of Paraguayans, of mixed (southern European/Amerindian) or Amerindian ancestry. Ethnic Mennonites contribute heavily to the agricultural and dairy output of Paraguay. History In the 1780s, Catherine the Great of Russia invited Vistula delta Mennonites, Mennonites from Prussia to settle north of the Black Sea in exchange for religious freedom and exemption from military service, a precondition founded in their commitment to non-violence. After Russia introduced the general conscription in 1874, many Mennonites migrated to the US and Canada. The members of the Menno Colony moved to Paraguay from Canada when universal, secular compulsory education was implemented in 1917 that required the use of the English language. More conservative Mennonites saw this as a threat to the religious basis of their community. In 1927, 1743 ...
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Plain Dress
Plain dress is a practice among some religious groups, primarily some Christianity, Christian churches in which people dress in clothes of traditional modest design, sturdy fabric, and conservative cut. It is intended to show acceptance of traditional gender roles, modesty, and readiness to work and serve, and to preserve communal identity and separation from the ever-changing fashions of the world. For men, this often takes the form of trousers secured by suspenders, while for women, plain dress usually takes the form of a cape dress along with a Christian headcovering, headcovering (normatively a kapp (headcovering), kapp or an hanging veil, opaque hanging veil). History Christian denominations that observe the wearing of plain dress, such as the Schwarzenau Brethren Anabaptists, do so because Jesus “condemned anxious thought for raiment” in and . They teach that the wearing of plain dress is scripturally commanded in , , and , in addition to being taught by the early ...
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Ordinance (Christianity)
An ordinance is a term used by certain Christian denominations for a religious ritual that was instituted by Jesus for Christians to observe. Examples of ordinances include baptism and the Lord's Supper, both of which are practiced in denominations including the Anabaptist, Churches of Christ, Pentecostal, and modern Baptist denominations. Some churches, including those of the Anabaptists, include headcovering and footwashing as ordinances. The number of ordinances depends on the Christian denomination, with Mennonite Anabaptists counting seven ordinances, while some Baptists may name two or three. Distinctions Christian traditions, including Anabaptists (such as Mennonites and Schwarzenau Brethren), some Baptists, Churches of Christ, Christian Churches/Churches of Christ, Disciples of Christ, refer to "ordinances", rather than "sacraments". While a sacrament is seen as a means of grace from God, an ordinance is a practice that rather demonstrates the participants' faith ...
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