Dunkard Brethren Church | |
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Classification | Anabaptist |
Orientation | Conservative Anabaptist |
Theology | Schwarzenau Brethren |
Associations | Brethren World Assembly |
Origin | 1926 |
Separations | Conservative German Baptist Brethren Church [1] |
Congregations | 26 |
Members | 1,035 |
Official website | dunkardbrethrenchurch.com |
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Schwarzenau Brethren (the German Baptists or Dunkers) |
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The Dunkard Brethren Church is a Conservative Anabaptist denomination of the Schwarzenau Brethren tradition, which organized in 1926 when they withdrew from the Church of the Brethren in the United States. [2]
The Dunkard Brethren Church observes the ordinances of baptism, feetwashing, communion, the holy kiss, headcovering, and anointing of the sick. [3]
In 2001, the Dunkard Brethren Church had approximately 1035 members in 26 congregations. [2] As with other Conservative Anabaptist fellowships, the Dunkard Brethren Church holds revival services and Sunday School, in addition to being engaged in evangelism and missionary work. [4]
The name Dunkard or Dunker is derived from the Pennsylvania German word dunke , which comes from the German word tunken, meaning "to dunk" or "to dip". This refers to their preference for the trine immersion method of baptism, in the forward position, observed by all of the various branches of Schwarzenau Brethren. [5]
The Dunkard Brethren are a branch of the Schwarzenau Brethren or Dunkards, an Anabaptist tradition that emerged during the Radical Pietist revival. [6] This movement began in 1708, when Alexander Mack and seven other believers conducted baptism of new members by immersion in the Eder river in Germany.
The Church of the Brethren represented the largest body of churches that descended from this original pietist and Anabaptist movement. For the history until 1926 see Church of the Brethren: Early history and Church of the Brethren: The Great Schism.
Early in the 20th century, some members of Church of the Brethren in the United States, the largest of the branch of the Schwarzenau Brethren, began to believe that there was a drift away from the old apostolic standards, such as the wearing of plain dress and the headcovering. [2] Benjamin Elias Kesler (1861–1952), an Elder of the Church of the Brethren in Missouri, addressed these concerns in a monthly paper. It was 20 pages and called The Bible Monitor, which he first published in October 1922. In 1923, Kesler was refused a seat at the Annual Conference. His conservative sympathizers held a separate meeting in each of the next three years.
During the Annual Conference in 1926, concerns nearly identical to those of Kesler and his sympathizers were addressed by other members, but not resolved in a way that satisfied Kesler and his followers. Subsequently the Kesler group withdrew from the Church of the Brethren and in 1926 formed the Dunkard Brethren Church. [7]
In 1719, led by Peter Becker, twenty families left Germany and immigrated to Germantown, Pennsylvania, where they settled in what was then a separate community outside Philadelphia. Alexander Mack led 200 other Brethren to the Netherlands in 1720; after living there for nine years, they found that religious conditions had deteriorated. They immigrated to Pennsylvania, joining the original Dunkard group. [8]
Dunkard Brethren practice believer's baptism, that is, reserving baptism for a person old enough to commit to belief. A believer is immersed three times to represent the Trinity: once in the name of the Father, once in the name of the Son, and once in the name of the Holy Spirit. Most of the women of the Dunkard Brethren dress in a plain manner, which has been associated with other Conservative Anabaptists, such as the Conservative Mennonites (including the Beachy Mennonites), as well as Old Order Anabaptist groups, such as the Old Order Brethren and Old Order Mennonites. Women are also expected to wear a plain white headcovering, usually in the form of a kapp. [2] Men keep their hair cut short. [2]
The Dunkard Brethren practice the holy kiss and the love feast with feetwashing. Divorce is not allowed for members of the church. They are discouraged from buying life insurance. Dunkard Brethren do not swear oaths to the state or organizations, and do not file lawsuits without permission of the church. The use of alcohol and tobacco is forbidden, as is watching television, or participating in gaming or gambling. Participation in politics, or labor unions, and membership in secret fraternal societies such as the Freemasons are seen as contrary to the Gospel and a pure heart. [9]
In 1980 there were 1,035 members in 26 congregations. [9] The Dunkard Brethren Church has 25 congregations in the United States, with approximately 900 members. The majority of the churches are located in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, California, and Ohio. They support a mission among the Navajo Indians in New Mexico, and a mission in Africa.
The church's publication, a paper that has been published monthly since October 1922, is called The Bible Monitor. [1]
Anabaptism is a Christian movement which traces its origins to the Radical Reformation.
The Church of the Brethren is an Anabaptist Christian denomination in the Schwarzenau Brethren tradition that was organized in 1708 by Alexander Mack in Schwarzenau, Germany during the Radical Pietist revival. The denomination holds the New Testament as its only creed. Historically, the church has taken a strong stance for nonresistance or Christian pacifism—it is one of the three historic peace churches, alongside the Mennonites and Quakers. Distinctive practices include believer's baptism by forward trine immersion; a threefold love feast consisting of feet washing, a fellowship meal, and communion; anointing for healing; and the holy kiss. Its headquarters are in Elgin, Illinois, United States.
Plain people are Christian groups characterized by separation from the world and by simple living, including plain dressing in modest clothing. Many Plain people have an Anabaptist background. These denominations are largely of German, Swiss German and Dutch ancestry, though people of diverse backgrounds have been incorporated into them. Conservative Friends are traditional Quakers who are also considered plain people; they come from a variety of different ethnic backgrounds.
The Old German Baptist Brethren (OGBB) is a Schwarzenau Brethren denomination of Anabaptist Christianity.
The Schwarzenau Brethren, the German Baptist Brethren, Dunkers, Dunkards, Tunkers, or sometimes simply called the German Baptists, are an Anabaptist group that dissented from Roman Catholic, Lutheran and Reformed European state churches during the 17th and 18th centuries. German Baptist Brethren emerged in some German-speaking states in western and southwestern parts of the Holy Roman Empire as a result of the Radical Pietist revival movement of the late 17th and early 18th centuries.
The Old Order River Brethren are a River Brethren denomination of Anabaptist Christianity with roots in the Radical Pietist movement. As their name indicates, they are Old Order Anabaptists.
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 Switzerland had settled their homes near the Susquehanna River, in the Northeastern United States.
Anabaptist theology, also known as Anabaptist doctrine, is a theological tradition reflecting the doctrine of the Anabaptist Churches. The major branches of Anabaptist Christianity agree on core doctrines but have nuances in practice. While the adherence to doctrine is important in Anabaptist Christianity, living righteously is stressed to a greater degree.
The Beachy Amish Mennonites, also known as the Beachy Mennonites, are an Anabaptist group of churches in the Conservative Mennonite tradition that have Amish roots. Although they have retained the name "Amish" they are quite different from the Old Order Amish: they do not use horse and buggy for transportation, with a few exceptions they do not speak Pennsylvania Dutch anymore, nor do they have restrictions on technology except for radio and television. In the years 1946 to 1977 a majority of the Beachy Amish incorporated certain elements of revivalist practice, such as the preaching of the New Birth. The traditionalists who wanted to preserve the old Beachy Amish ways then withdrew and formed their own congregations. Today they are known as Midwest Beachy Amish Mennonites or Old Beachy Amish.
Radical Pietism are those 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 to remain within their Lutheran denominational settings. Radical Pietists distinguish between true and false Christianity and hold that the latter is represented by established churches. They separated from established churches to form their own Christian denominations.
An ordinance is a term used by certain Christian denominations for a religious ritual that was instituted by Jesus for Christians to observe.
Alexander Mack was a German clergyman and the leader and first minister of the Schwarzenau Brethren in the Schwarzenau, Wittgenstein, community of modern-day Bad Berleburg, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Mack founded the Brethren along with seven other Radical Pietists in Schwarzenau in 1708. Mack and the rest of the early Brethren emigrated to the United States in the mid-18th century, where he continued to minister to the Brethren community until his death.
Conservative Mennonites include numerous Conservative Anabaptist groups that identify with the theologically conservative element among Mennonite Anabaptist Christian fellowships, but who are not Old Order groups or mainline denominations.
The Old Brethren German Baptists, also called Leedyites, are the most conservative group of Schwarzenau Brethren. They live in Indiana and Missouri.
The Old German Baptist Brethren, New Conference is a church belonging to the Schwarzenau Brethren tradition, that formed in 2009 as a result of a split among the Old German Baptist 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, during their teen or adult years.
A Seeker is a person likely to join an Old Order Anabaptist community, like the Amish, the Old Order Mennonites, the Hutterites, the Old Order Schwarzenau Brethren or the Old Order River Brethren. Among the 500,000 members of such communities in the United States there are only an estimated 1,200 to 1,300 outsiders who have joined them.
Brethren is a name adopted by a wide range of mainly Christian religious groups throughout history. The largest movement is Anabaptist.
Old Order Anabaptism encompasses those groups which have preserved the old ways of Anabaptist Christian religion and lifestyle.
Conservative Anabaptism includes theologically conservative Anabaptist denominations, both in doctrine and practice. Conservative Anabaptists, along with Old Order Anabaptists and assimilated mainline Anabaptists, are a subset of the Anabaptist branch of Christianity.