The Church of the Brethren represents the largest body descending from Mack's Schwarzenau Brethren church. The German Baptist Brethren suffered major division in the early 1880s, creating the Old German Baptist Brethren, the Brethren Church, and the majority adopting the name Church of the Brethren in 1908. It had 134,000 members in about 1100 churches in 2002. There are six liberal arts colleges and one seminary (Bethany Theological Seminary in Richmond, Indiana) affiliated with the Church of the Brethren. General offices and the Brethren Press are located in Elgin, Illinois.
In 1948 the Church of the Brethren joined the World Council of Churches as a charter member, and was a forming member of the National Council of Churches in 1950.
Related groups that trace their beginnings to the Schwarzenau Brethren are:
External links
Brethren-related websites:Reference