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2 Beliefs and Practices 3 Divisions 4 Brethren World Assembly 5 Unrelated Brethren 6 References 7 External links 8 The Brethren Card |
The Schwarzenau Brethren was founded in 1708 by Alexander Mack (1679-1735) of Schwarzenau, Germany, and seven of his followers. They believed that both the Lutheran and Reformed churches were taking liberties with the literal teachings of the Scriptures, and rejected infant baptism. The Brethren were compelled by persecution to take refuge in Holland. In 1719 Peter Becker brought a group to Pennsylvania. In 1720 forty Brethren families settled in Surhuisterveen in West Friesland. They settled among the Mennonites and remained there until 1729, when all but a handful emigrated to America. The first American congregation was organized at Germantown, Pennsylvania on December 25, 1723 by Peter Becker. In 1743 Christopher Sauer, an early pastor and a printer by trade, printed the first Bible published in America in a European language. In 1782 the Brethren forbade slaveholding by its members. These Brethren adopted the title German Baptist Brethren at their Annual Meeting in 1871. From Pennsylvania they spread chiefly westward, and by 1908 were most numerous in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, Kansas and North Dakota.
Alexander Mack and his followers were influenced and encouraged by Ernest Christopher Hochmann von Hochenau, a traveling pietist minister. Mack, while living in Schriesheim, invited Hochmann to come and minister there. Hochmann considered the pure church to be spiritual, and did not believe that an organized church was necessary. This was the main point of difference between Hochmann and Mack, who believed in the necessity of the visible church with clergy and ordinances.
The beliefs of the Schwarzenau Brethren include one self-existing supreme ruler of the universe; the Godhead of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit; trine baptism, which provides that the candidate kneel in water and be immersed, face first, three times in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit; the New Testament as the infallible guide in spiritual matters; communion service celebrated in the evening, accompanied by the love feast; the ceremony of the washing of feet; the salutation of the holy kiss; prayer and anointing with oil over the sick; and non-resistance. See also #The Brethren Card below.
The church officers are bishops, ministers, teachers, deacons, and deaconesses, though this may vary slightly in the various branches. Elder (or bishop) is the highest office in the church. Ministers and deacons are elected by the members of the congregation where they hold membership. Ministers preach the word, baptize, assist elders in anointing, solemnize marriages, and officiate at communion. Deacons serve the church in the capacity of stewards.
The first schism from the general body of German Baptist Brethren occurred in 1728. They became the Seventh Day Dunkers, whose distinctive principle was that the seventh day was the true Sabbath. They were founded by Johann Conrad Beissel (1690-1768). In 1732 a semi-monastic community with a convent and a monastery was established at Ephrata, in what is now Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. The monastic feature was gradually abandoned, and in 1814 the Society was incorporated as the Seventh Day German Baptist Church (which continued until 1934). A group called the Church of God or New Dunkers withdrew in 1848, and disbanded in 1962. The "Old Order" Dunkers opposed Sunday Schools and the foreign missionary work of the Brethren, and stressed the old customs of dress and worship. They formed the Old German Baptist Brethren in 1881. In 1882 the Progressives, who stressed evangelism and objected to distinctive dress and to the supremacy of the annual conferences, formed the Brethren Church. The largest body continued as German Baptist Brethren until 1908, when they adopted the title Church of the Brethren.
In 1913 the Old Brethren withdrew from the Old German Baptist Brethren and the Old Order German Baptist Brethren broke with the OGGB in 1921. Because of what some felt was a gradual drift away from apostolic standards, a small group of conservatives withdrew from the Church of the Brethren and formed the Dunkard Brethren Church in 1926. The Brethren Church experienced a schism in 1939 with the departure of those who formed the National Fellowship of Brethren Churches (now Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches). In 1992, due to doctrinal disagreements in the FGBC, the Conservative Grace Brethren Churches, International was formed (with headquarters in Mansfield, Ohio). In the 21st century there are seven or eight bodies descended from the Schwarzenau Brethren of Germany.
Six Brethren bodies presently (2003) meet together in the Brethren World Assembly - Church of the Brethren, Conservative Grace Brethren Churches, International, Dunkard Brethren, Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches, Old German Baptist Brethren, and The Brethren Church. The first Assembly was held in Pennsylvania in 1992. They met at Elizabethtown College and celebrated the 250th anniversary of the first known Brethren Annual Meeting, which gathered near Conestoga in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania in 1742. The second Assembly met in 1998 at Bridgewater College in Bridgewater, Virginia. The third Assembly was held by Grace College in Winona Lake, Indiana in 2003. This represents some 600,000 members around the world.
There are several Brethren groups that are not related to the Schwarzenau Brethren movement, such as the Plymouth Brethren that arose in England and Ireland early in the 19th century, and the United Brethren originating in 18th century Pennsylvania with William Otterbein and Martin Boehm. The River Brethren movement evidently learned the view of trine immersion from the Schwarzenau Brethren.
Brethren beliefs are commonly found in the statement of faith sometimes known as the "Brethren Card". The following Card is one belonging to the Church of the Brethren group:
History
Beliefs and Practices
Divisions
Brethren World Assembly
Unrelated Brethren
References
External links
The Brethren Card
These rites are representative of spiritual facts which obtain in the lives of true believers, and as such are essential factors in the development of the Christian life.
The teachings of the other groups are similar to this, but differ mainly in emphasis and scope. Several of the groups use as a motto the clause, "the Bible, the whole Bible, and nothing but the Bible". Significant emphasis is placed on careful exegesis of the Bible, especially in the Grace Brethren groups. Several of the groups now maintain a larger "statement of faith" (in lieu of the above Card), but only for the purpose of clarifying their Biblical position; they maintain that the Bible is the sole authority and revise their statement of faith if they perceive any difference between it and sound Biblical doctrine.