Brethren
The term Brethren ( German brothers, siblings) or Brethren Church played in the English-speaking several Protestant churches and faith communities in the name. From the similarity of names can not be concluded on common historical roots. Roughly speaking, we can identify three directions among the Brethren Churches.
Anabaptist Brethren
Schwarzenau Brethren
The largest group of Brethren Churches refers to the movement of the Tunker (English Dunkards ). The Anabaptist- Mennonite approaches Tunker combined with the ideas of radical Pietism. In North America, this pietistic Anabaptist churches are mainly known under the name Schwarzenau Brethren, reminiscent of their origin Schwarzenau. From Schwarzenau and other places in Germany emigrated in the 18th century, many of them as religious refugees to Pennsylvania from, from which spread the movement of Schwarzenau Brethren as a Church of the Brethren. To delineate the native of Germany movement of the Baptists, it was sometimes also referred to as German Baptists.
Most Schwarzenau Brethren are close to the Mennonites and practice believers' baptism, they perform like the Baptists by immersion (immersion). Emerged directly from the Schwarzenau Brethren churches are as follows:
- Brethren Reformed Church
- Church of the Brethren
- Conservative Grace Brethren Churches, International
- Dunkard Brethren
- Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches
- The Brethren Church
River Brethren / Mennonites River
Influenced by the Schwarzenau Brethren emerged from 1780 in most Mennonite settlements along the Susquehanna River in Pennsylvania, the River Brethren or Mennonites River. The River Brethren are now among the Brethren in Christ Church, Calvary Holiness Church, the Old Order River Brethren and the United Zion Church. The Brethren in Christ took later on also Methodist approaches.
Hutterian Brethren
The Hutterian Brethren first ( Hutterite brothers ) came to North America in 1874, where they still live in their own settlements.
Mennonite Brethren
As the Hutterites settled on the end of the 19th century, the first Mennonite Brethren ( Mennonite Brethren ) to North America.
Plymouth Brethren
- See: main article Brethren movement
The Plymouth Brethren originated in the 19th century in Ireland and England. In German-speaking countries they or individual groups of them under different names are known: Christian Assembly, meetings of the Brethren, Brethren, Brethren assemblies, Darbysten. To generalize, they are also known as the Brethren movement.
The Brethren movement goes back among other things, John Nelson Darby, George Muller and Carl Brockhaus. It is part of the revival movement of the 19th century. Since 1848, it is divided into two main streams: the "Open " and " Closed Brethren " (Open Brethren and Exclusive Brethren ).
Moravian Brethren
- See: main article Moravians
The Moravians are in the English language as the Moravian Church ( Moravian Church ) called, reminiscent of its historical roots in the Czech Hussites. Officially they are called Fratrum (German unit of the brothers ) in English Unitas. There is also another church, the Unity of the Brethren officially called by the Bohemian Brethren.
Other
The Arminian Church of the United Brethren in Christ was the end of the 18th century as a relatively loose movement among German - Americans in Pennsylvania, Virginia, Maryland, and Ohio. It goes back to the Mennonite preacher Martin Boehm and the Reformed pastor Philip William Otterbein. The first conference was held in 1800, in which both elected bishops and the fledgling church was named in United Brethren in Christ. After the Second World War, the majority of the United Brethren in Christ teamed up with the American Methodists to the United Methodist Church. The remaining Church of the United Brethren in Christ is understood as a separate denomination.
In the 20th century came under the influence of revivalism, the Lutheran Church of the Lutheran Brethren of America. Also in the 20th century did the Adventist United Seventh-Day Brethren. The Apostolic United Brethren Church is a fundamentalist Mormon community.