The River Brethren are a group of historically related

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. ...

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

denominations originating in 1770, during the Radical Pietist movement among German colonists in

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

. In the 17th century,

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 ...

refugees from

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

had settled their homes near the

Susquehanna River The Susquehanna River ( ; Unami language, Lenape: ) is a major river located in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, crossing three lower Northeastern United States, Northeast states (New York, Pennsylvani ...

in the northeastern United States. Their religious guides, Jacob and John Engle, joined with the revival, and their followers were often known by their locality: a group of brethren from north of Marietta, Pennsylvania, on the east side of the

came to be known as the ''River Brethren''. The initial spiritual leader of the ''brethren'' was Martin Boehm, evangelical preacher, who was excluded from the Mennonite Church. He later became bishop of the Church of the United Brethren in Christ.
The ''River Brethren'' distanced themselves from Boehm and the United Brethren movement. Influenced by the Schwarzenau Brethren (named ''Dunkers''), the River Brethren developed a conviction that trine (triple, in allusion to the Trinity) immersion, foot washing, adherence to

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 trad ...

, the wearing of a headcovering by women and teetotalism was the scriptural form of

religion Religion is a range of social system, social-cultural systems, including designated religious behaviour, behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, religious text, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics in religion, ethics, or ...

. They oppose war,

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tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...

, and worldly pleasures. Nevertheless, they maintained their identity and did not join the Dunker movement. Jacob Engle is one of the early leaders who promoted trine immersion. The first confessional statement of this group was formulated around 1780. As of 2010, there were four bodies of River Brethren in about 300 congregations: * Brethren in Christ Church * Calvary Holiness Church * Old Order River Brethren (also called Yorker Brethren) * United Zion Church Common to the Radical Piestic tradition, the River Brethren hold experience meetings, in which "members re seentestifying of God's work in their lives in bringing them to salvation and daily living." When a member has a conversion experience, he or she begins taking part in the experience meeting and then requests

baptism Baptism (from ) is a Christians, Christian sacrament of initiation almost invariably with the use of water. It may be performed by aspersion, sprinkling or affusion, pouring water on the head, or by immersion baptism, immersing in water eit ...

. The Old Order River Brethren continue the practice of

. Several factions of the River Brethren withdrew in the middle of the 19th century, including the Yorker Brethren and the United Zion Church, while the main body took the name Brethren in Christ, by which a group of Mennonites is also known. There were about 11,000 members in the United States and Canada in 1992. They carry out missionary work in Asia and Africa.

References

{{Anabaptist German-American culture in Pennsylvania Swiss-American culture in Pennsylvania Mennonite denominations Radical Pietism Peace churches Christian denominations founded in the United States