Brethren is a name adopted by a wide range of mainly Christian religious groups throughout history. The largest movement is

Anabaptist Anabaptism (from Neo-Latin , from the Greek language, Greek : 're-' and 'baptism'; , earlier also )Since the middle of the 20th century, the German-speaking world no longer uses the term (translation: "Re-baptizers"), considering it biased. ...

Groups from the Middle Ages

* Apostolic Brethren (13th century), mendicant order similar to the Franciscans * Kalands Brethren (13th century), German charitable organization * Brethren of the Free Spirit (13th century), mystical reform movement *The

Brethren of the Common Life The Brethren of the Common Life (, FVC) was a Roman Catholic pietist religious community founded in the Netherlands in the 14th century by Gerard Groote, formerly a successful and worldly educator who had had a religious experience and preached a ...

(14th century), intentional communities dedicated to service

Anabaptist groups

These groups grew out of the

movement at the time of the

Protestant Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the papacy and ...

(16th century). *The

Hutterite Hutterites (; ), also called Hutterian Brethren (German: ), are a communal ethnoreligious branch of Anabaptists, who, like the Amish and Mennonites, trace their roots to the Radical Reformation of the early 16th century and have formed intent ...

s, also known as Hutterian Brethren, originated from German, Swiss, and Tyrolean Anabaptists led by Jacob Hutter in the 1520s *The Swiss Brethren, the name Swiss Anabaptists used from 1525 until their split into Amish and Mennonite groups in 1693 *The

Mennonite Brethren The Mennonite Brethren Church is an evangelical Mennonite Anabaptist movement with Wiktionary:congregation, congregations. History The conference was established among Plautdietsch language, Plautdietsch-speaking Russian Mennonites in 1860. Durin ...

, originated among Russian Mennonites in 1860

Schwarzenau Brethren

The

Schwarzenau Brethren The Schwarzenau Brethren, the German Baptist Brethren, Dunkers, Dunkard Brethren, Tunkers, or sometimes simply called the German Baptists, are an Anabaptist group that dissented from Roman Catholic, Lutheran and Reformed European state churches ...

originated in 1708 in Schwarzenau, Bad Berleburg, Germany, with

Alexander Mack Alexander Mack ( 27 July 1679 – 19 January 1735) was a German clergyman and the leader and first Minister (Christianity), minister of the Schwarzenau Brethren (or Schwarzenau Brethren, German Baptists) in the Schwarzenau, Kreis Siegen-Wi ...

. Their roots are in the

Radical Pietism Radical Pietism are those Ecclesiastical separatism, Christian churches who decided to break with denominational Lutheranism in order to emphasize certain teachings regarding holy living. Radical Pietists contrast with Church Pietists, who chose t ...

movement but they were strongly influenced by Anabaptist theology. They have also been called "Dunkers" or "German Baptist Brethren". The group split into three wings in 1881–1883:

Traditionalists

* Old German Baptist Brethren, part of the Old Order Movement **

Old Brethren The Old Brethren Church is a Schwarzenau Brethren denomination in the Anabaptist tradition of Christianity. They are a believer's church made up of those who voluntarily choose to follow Jesus as His disciples, and are baptized at this time, durin ...

, a denomination that split from the Old German Baptist Brethren in 1913 and 1915 *** Old Brethren German Baptist, also known as Leedyites, the most conservative denomination of Schwarzenau Brethren. They live in Indiana and Missouri **

Old Order German Baptist Brethren The Old Order German Baptist Brethren, also called Petitioners, are a small group of very conservative Schwarzenau Brethren. History The history of the Old Order German Baptist Brethren dates back to 1708, when the Schwarzenau Brethren were fo ...

, a small very conservative denomination **

Old German Baptist Brethren, New Conference The Old German Baptist Brethren, New Conference is a church belonging to the Schwarzenau Brethren tradition of Anabaptist Christianity. It formed in 2009 as a result of a split among the Old German Baptist Brethren. History In 2009, a major di ...

, formed in 2009 as a result of a split among the Old German Baptist Brethren

Conservatives

Church of the Brethren The Church of the Brethren is an Anabaptist Christian denomination in the Schwarzenau Brethren tradition ( "Schwarzenau New Baptists") that was organized in 1708 by Alexander Mack in Schwarzenau, Germany during the Radical Pietist revival. ...

, based in Elgin, Illinois ** Dunkard Brethren, a small conservative denomination that withdrew from the Church of the Brethren in 1926

Progressives

The Brethren Church The Brethren Church is an Anabaptist Christian denomination with roots in and one of several groups that trace its origins back to the Schwarzenau Brethren of Germany, and is a member of the National Association of Evangelicals. Background ...

, based in Ashland, Ohio **Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches, former name of Charis Fellowship, a theologically conservative denomination that split from the Brethren Church in 1939 ** Conservative Grace Brethren Churches, International, a conservative denomination that separated from the Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches

River Brethren

The

River Brethren The River Brethren are a group of historically related Anabaptist Christian denominations originating in 1770, during the Radical Pietist movement among German colonists in Pennsylvania. In the 17th century, Mennonite refugees from Switzerl ...

have their origins in the ministries of

Mennonite Mennonites are a group of Anabaptism, Anabaptist Christianity, 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 ...

Bishop

Jacob Engle Jacob Engle, born Jacob Engel (1753–1854), was the most important leader of the River Brethren in the time of their emergence. Engle was born in Switzerland as the fourth son of Ulrich Engel and Anna née Brächbühl. As an infant he emigrate ...

and

Pastor Martin Boehm, beginning in

Lancaster County, Pennsylvania Lancaster County (; ), sometimes nicknamed the Garden Spot of America or Pennsylvania Dutch Country, is a County (United States), county in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 United States ...

in the latter half of the 18th century. They were also influenced by the

and include (amongst others): * Brethren in Christ Church, an Anabaptist Christian denomination with roots in the Mennonite church, pietism, and Wesleyan holiness. They have also been known as River Brethren and River Mennonites *

Church of the United Brethren in Christ The Church of the United Brethren in Christ is an evangelical Christian denomination with churches in 17 countries. It is Protestant, with an episcopal structure and Arminian theology, with roots in the Mennonite and German Reformed communities ...

, an evangelical denomination based in Huntington, Indiana. *

Old Order River Brethren The Old Order River Brethren, formerly sometimes known as York Brethren or Yorkers, are a River Brethren denomination of Anabaptist Christianity with roots in the Radical Pietist movement. As their name indicates, they are Old Order Anabaptis ...

United Zion Church The United Zion Church is a River Brethren Christian denomination with roots in the Mennonite Church and the Radical Pietistic movement. A body that became known as ''River Brethren'' began about 1778 in Pennsylvania. They were a group of breth ...

Moravian Brethren

Moravian Church The Moravian Church, or the Moravian Brethren ( or ), formally the (Latin: "Unity of the Brethren"), is one of the oldest Protestant denominations in Christianity, dating back to the Bohemian Reformation of the 15th century and the original ...

, also known as United Brethren, Unitas Fratrum, and Bohemian Brethren, descend from the followers of Jan Hus, a Czech reformer burned at the stake in 1415 and Bohemian 15th-century nobleman and theologian Petr Chelčický * Unity of the Brethren, a conservative Moravian denomination that also traces its roots to the work of Hus and Chelčický

Plymouth Brethren

The

Plymouth Brethren The Plymouth Brethren or Assemblies of Brethren are a low church and Nonconformist (Protestantism), Nonconformist Christian movement whose history can be traced back to Dublin, Ireland, in the mid to late 1820s, where it originated from Anglica ...

originated in the 1820s work of

John Nelson Darby John Nelson Darby (18 November 1800 – 29 April 1882) was an Anglo-Irish Bible teacher, one of the influential figures among the original Plymouth Brethren and the founder of the Exclusive Brethren. He is considered to be the father of modern ...

and others in Ireland, the United Kingdom, and India. Plymouth Brethren divided into two branches in 1848: *

Exclusive Brethren The Exclusive Brethren are a subset of the Christian evangelical movement generally described as the Plymouth Brethren. They are distinguished from the Open Brethren from whom they separated in 1848. The Exclusive Brethren are now spread int ...

Plymouth Brethren Christian Church The Plymouth Brethren Christian Church (PBCC) (an Australian Public Company Limited by Guarantee, ACN: 158 542 075) also known as Raven Brethren or Taylorites is a Christian denomination currently led by Australian businessman Bruce Hales. The g ...

, also known as Raven-Taylor-Hales Brethren ** Local churches (affiliation), also known as Church Assembly Hall *

Open Brethren The Open Brethren, sometimes called Christian Brethren, are a group of Evangelicalism, Evangelical Christianity, Christian churches that arose in the late 1820s as part of the Assembly Movement within the Plymouth Brethren tradition. They origi ...

** Gospel Hall Brethren, also known as Gospel Hall Assemblies ** Needed Truth Brethren, also known as Churches of God **

Indian Brethren The Indian Brethren are a Christian Evangelical premillennial religious movement. Although they have some distinct characteristics, they have a lot in common, in both doctrine and practice, with the international Open Brethren movement, with ...

, an Evangelical premillennial religious movement ** Kerala Brethren, Assembly, also known as Verbada Sabha

Albright Brethren

* Evangelical Church (ECNA) * Evangelical Congregational Church

United Brethren

, which traces its roots to the 1800s work of Martin Boehm and

Philip William Otterbein Philip William Otterbein (June 3, 1726 – November 17, 1813) was an American clergyman. He was the founder of the United Brethren in Christ, which merged with the Evangelical Church in 1946 to form the Evangelical United Brethren Church. That ...

* Evangelical Church (ECNA), also traces its roots to the work of Martin Boehm and

Former United Brethren

They merged with a large group of Methodists to become the

United Methodist Church The United Methodist Church (UMC) is a worldwide mainline Protestant Christian denomination, denomination based in the United States, and a major part of Methodism. In the 19th century, its main predecessor, the Methodist Episcopal Church, was ...

in 1968: * Church of the United Brethren in Christ (New Constitution) *

Evangelical United Brethren The Evangelical United Brethren Church (EUB) was a North American Protestant denomination from 1946 to 1968 with Arminian theology, roots in the Mennonite and German Reformed communities, and close ties to Methodism. It was formed by the merg ...

Other religious groups

Apostolic United Brethren The Apostolic United Brethren (AUB) is a Mormon fundamentalist group that practices polygamy and is no longer associated in any way with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. The AUB has had a temple in Mexico since the 1990s, an en ...

, a Mormon fundamentalist group * The Brethren (Jim Roberts group), an apocalyptic Jesus people movement from the 1970s *

Brethren of Purity The Brethren of Purity (; also The Brethren of Sincerity) were a secret society of Muslim philosophers in Basra, Iraq, in the 9th or 10th century CE. The structure of the organization and the identities of its members have never been clear."Ha ...

, a secret society of Muslim philosophers in the 8th or 10th century CE *The Church of the Lutheran Brethren of America is a Pietistic Lutheran denomination that emerged during 19th-century spiritual awakening among Lutheran congregations in the upper Midwestern United States. They formed a separate synod in 1900. * Evangelical Church of Czech Brethren, a Czech Lutheran–Reformed Protestant church *The Polish Brethren, also known as Socinians, were an Anti-trinitarian group, forerunners for the Unitarians *The Social Brethren originated in Saline County, Illinois in 1867, the result of an attempt to put the slavery issue away in favor of uniting on a common belief in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ *

Studite Brethren The Ukrainian Studites (), formally the Monks of the Studite Rule (; ; abbreviated MSU) are a monastic order of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. History The Studite rule was developed at the Stoudios monastery of Constantinople, from the 5 ...

, a society in the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church * United Brethren, a group of Methodists who later joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints *The United Seventh-Day Brethren, an Adventist body *"The Brethren", a collective name for the general authorities of

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...

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