Brethren
Encyclopedia
Brethren is a name adopted by several Protestant
Christian bodies which do not necessarily share historical roots. As classified in The Pilgrim Church by EH Broadbent, the earliest primitive churches to Paulician Brethren, to Bogomil Brethren, to Anabaptist
and to Moravian Brethren were historical Brethren Movement.
movement at the time of the Protestant Reformation
(16th century).
originated in 1708 in Schwarzenau, Bad Berleburg, Germany, with Alexander Mack
. Their roots are in the Radical Pietism
movement but they were strongly influenced by Anabaptist theology. They have also been called "Dunkers" or "German Baptist
Brethren". The group split into three wings in 1881–1883:
Traditionalists
Conservatives
Progressives
bodies originated in the 1820s work of John Nelson Darby
and others in Ireland
and the United Kingdom
as well as India
:
owe their origins to the combined labors of Reformed pastor Philip William Otterbein
and Mennonite
Martin Boehm
, beginning in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania
in the latter half of the 18th century. They were also influenced by the Schwarzenau Brethren
and include (amongst others):
Protestantism
Protestantism is one of the three major groupings within Christianity. It is a movement that began in Germany in the early 16th century as a reaction against medieval Roman Catholic doctrines and practices, especially in regards to salvation, justification, and ecclesiology.The doctrines of the...
Christian bodies which do not necessarily share historical roots. As classified in The Pilgrim Church by EH Broadbent, the earliest primitive churches to Paulician Brethren, to Bogomil Brethren, to Anabaptist
Anabaptist
Anabaptists are Protestant Christians of the Radical Reformation of 16th-century Europe, and their direct descendants, particularly the Amish, Brethren, Hutterites, and Mennonites....
and to Moravian Brethren were historical Brethren Movement.
Anabaptist groups
These groups grew out of the AnabaptistAnabaptist
Anabaptists are Protestant Christians of the Radical Reformation of 16th-century Europe, and their direct descendants, particularly the Amish, Brethren, Hutterites, and Mennonites....
movement at the time of the Protestant Reformation
Protestant Reformation
The Protestant Reformation was a 16th-century split within Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin and other early Protestants. The efforts of the self-described "reformers", who objected to the doctrines, rituals and ecclesiastical structure of the Roman Catholic Church, led...
(16th century).
- The HutteriteHutteriteHutterites are a communal branch of Anabaptists who, like the Amish and Mennonites, trace their roots to the Radical Reformation of the 16th century. Since the death of their founder Jakob Hutter in 1536, the beliefs of the Hutterites, especially living in a community of goods and absolute...
s or Hutterian Brethren are descendants of German, Swiss, and Tyrolean Anabaptists led by Jacob HutterJacob HutterJacob Hutter , was a Tyrolean Anabaptist leader and founder of the Hutterites.Jacob Hutter was born in St. Lorenzen in the Puster Valley in the County of Tyrol...
, who was burned at the stake in 1536 for refusing to renounce his faith. - The Swiss BrethrenSwiss BrethrenThe Swiss Brethren are a branch of Anabaptism that started in Zürich, spread to nearby cities and towns, and then was exported to neighboring countries...
were an early Anabaptist group that later divided into the Amish and Mennonite groups (particularly the Swiss Mennonite Conference) - The Mennonite Brethren originated among Russian Mennonites in 1860.
Schwarzenau Brethren
The Schwarzenau BrethrenSchwarzenau Brethren
The Schwarzenau Brethren, originated in Germany, the outcome of the Radical Pietist ferment of the late 17th and early 18th century. Hopeful of the imminent return of Christ, the founding Brethren abandoned the established Reformed and Lutheran churches, forming a new church in 1708 when their...
originated in 1708 in Schwarzenau, Bad Berleburg, Germany, with Alexander Mack
Alexander Mack
Alexander Mack was one of the founders of the Schwarzenau Brethren.Alexander Mack may refer to:*Alexander Mack , Civil War Medal of Honor recipient*Alex Mack, American football player*Alex Mack...
. Their roots are in the Radical Pietism
Radical Pietism
Radical Pietism refers to a movement within Protestantism, lasting from the late 17th century to the mid 18th century and later, which emphasized the need for a "religion of the heart" instead of the head, and was characterized by ethical purity, inward devotion, charity, asceticism, and even...
movement but they were strongly influenced by Anabaptist theology. They have also been called "Dunkers" or "German Baptist
German Baptist
The German Baptists movement was founded as a fusion of the Anabaptist and Radical Pietist movements. German Baptists are not to be confused with Primitive, Separate, Southern, Particular, and all other mainline Baptist denominations who, although generally unified on rudimentary doctrines such as...
Brethren". The group split into three wings in 1881–1883:
Traditionalists
- Old German Baptist BrethrenOld German Baptist BrethrenOld German Baptist Brethren descend from a pietist movement in Schwarzenau, Germany, in 1708, when Alexander Mack founded a fellowship with seven other believers. They are one of several Brethren groups that trace themselves to that original founding body...
- Old Brethren German BaptistOld Brethren German BaptistThe Old Brethren German Baptists are a group of Schwarzenau Brethren that split off from the Old German Baptist Brethren in 1939, and differ from them by stricter adherence to traditions, such as the use of horse and buggy, rather than automobiles, as a means of transportation. There are about...
- Old Order German Baptist BrethrenOld Order German Baptist BrethrenThe Old Order German Baptist Brethren are a small group of Schwarzenau Brethren that split from the Old German Baptist Brethren in 1921, when members of the latter began to accept automobiles...
- Old Brethren German Baptist
Conservatives
- Church of the BrethrenChurch of the BrethrenThe Church of the Brethren is a Christian denomination originating from the Schwarzenau Brethren organized in 1708 by eight persons led by Alexander Mack, in Schwarzenau, Bad Berleburg, Germany. The Brethren movement began as a melding of Radical Pietist and Anabaptist ideas during the...
- Dunkard BrethrenDunkard BrethrenThe Dunkard Brethren are a small group of conservative Schwarzenau Brethren churches that withdrew from the Church of the Brethren.The Church of the Brethren represents the largest body of churches that descended from the original pietist movement began in Germany by Alexander Mack and 7 other...
- Dunkard Brethren
Progressives
- The Brethren ChurchThe Brethren ChurchThe Brethren Church is one of several groups that traces its origins back to the Schwarzenau Brethren of Germany. In the mid-19th century, the church began to struggle over modernization. Progressives stressed evangelism, objected to distinctive dress, and objected to the supremacy of the annual...
- Fellowship of Grace Brethren ChurchesFellowship of Grace Brethren ChurchesThe Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches is a theologically conservative fellowship of Brethren churches descended from the Schwarzenau Brethren movement of Alexander Mack of Germany.-History:...
- Conservative Grace Brethren Churches, InternationalConservative Grace Brethren Churches, InternationalConservative Grace Brethren Churches, International is a conservative group that separated from the Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches....
- Brethren Reformed ChurchBrethren Reformed ChurchThe Brethren Reformed Church was formed in May 2007, near Dayton, Ohio. Families previously affiliated with the Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches, the Conservative Grace Brethren Churches, International and the Southern Baptist Convention formed this new fellowship of...
- Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches
Plymouth Brethren
The various Plymouth BrethrenPlymouth Brethren
The Plymouth Brethren is a conservative, Evangelical Christian movement, whose history can be traced to Dublin, Ireland, in the late 1820s. Although the group is notable for not taking any official "church name" to itself, and not having an official clergy or liturgy, the title "The Brethren," is...
bodies originated in the 1820s work of John Nelson Darby
John Nelson Darby
John Nelson Darby was an Anglo-Irish evangelist, and an influential figure among the original Plymouth Brethren. He is considered to be the father of modern Dispensationalism. He produced a translation of the Bible based on the Hebrew and Greek texts called The Holy Scriptures: A New Translation...
and others in Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
and the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
as well as India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
:
- Exclusive BrethrenExclusive BrethrenThe Exclusive Brethren are a subset of the Christian evangelical movement generally described as the Plymouth Brethren. They are distinguished from the Open Brethren from whom they separated in 1848....
- Raven–Taylor–Hales Brethren
- Open BrethrenOpen BrethrenThe Open Brethren, sometimes called Christian Brethren or "Plymouth Brethren", are a group of Protestant Evangelical Christian churches that arose in the late 1820s as part of the Assembly Movement...
- Indian BrethrenIndian BrethrenThe Brethren are a Christian Evangelical premillennial religious movement.The "Brethren" churches or Assemblies are completely independent of each other.Local assemblies are autonomous but are often informally linked with each other....
- Kerala BrethrenKerala brethrenThe Kerala Brethren are a subgroup of the larger Christian movement known as the Plymouth Brethren. Kerala is a small state in India, where this movement started in 1898 with the baptism of four men from traditional churches...
Assembly or Verbada Sabha - Needed Truth BrethrenNeeded Truth BrethrenNeeded Truth Brethren, as they are sometimes known, call themselves, “The Churches of God in the Fellowship of the Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ". This is their official legal title, however other Christians might classify them as a very conservative form of Brethrenism, connexional in nature;...
- Indian Brethren
- Gospel Hall BrethrenGospel Hall BrethrenThe Gospel Hall Brethren are an aggregate of independent and autonomous Christian fellowships at different locations, which are networked together through a set of shared Biblical doctrines and practices...
Methodist groups
Some groups named "Brethren" have contributed to United Methodism:- Church of the United Brethren in ChristChurch of the United Brethren in ChristThe Church of the United Brethren in Christ is an evangelical Christian denomination based in Huntington, Indiana. It is a Protestant denomination of episcopal structure, Arminian theology, with roots in the Mennonite and German Reformed communities of 18th century Pennsylvania, as well as close...
- Evangelical United Brethren
- United Brethren (England)United Brethren (England)The United Brethren were a group of former Primitive Methodists in Worcestershire, Gloucestershire and Herefordshire, England that converted en masse to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in 1840....
, a group of Methodists who later joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
River Brethren
The River BrethrenRiver Brethren
The River Brethren is a name used to indicate certain Christian groups originating in 1770, during a revival movement among German colonizers in Pennsylvania....
owe their origins to the combined labors of Reformed pastor Philip William Otterbein
Philip William Otterbein
Philip William Otterbein was a U.S. clergyman. He was the founder of the United Brethren in Christ, a group that is a forerunner of today's United Methodist Church.-Biography:...
and Mennonite
Mennonite
The Mennonites are a group of Christian Anabaptist denominations named after the Frisian Menno Simons , who, through his writings, articulated and thereby formalized the teachings of earlier Swiss founders...
Martin Boehm
Martin Boehm
Martin Boehm was an American clergyman and pastor. He was the son of Jacob Boehm and Barbara Kendig who settled in Lancaster, Pennsylvania...
, beginning in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania
Lancaster County, Pennsylvania
Lancaster County, known as the Garden Spot of America or Pennsylvania Dutch Country, is a county located in the southeastern part of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, in the United States. As of 2010 the population was 519,445. Lancaster County forms the Lancaster Metropolitan Statistical Area, the...
in the latter half of the 18th century. They were also influenced by the Schwarzenau Brethren
Schwarzenau Brethren
The Schwarzenau Brethren, originated in Germany, the outcome of the Radical Pietist ferment of the late 17th and early 18th century. Hopeful of the imminent return of Christ, the founding Brethren abandoned the established Reformed and Lutheran churches, forming a new church in 1708 when their...
and include (amongst others):
- Brethren in Christ ChurchBrethren in Christ ChurchThe Brethren in Christ Church is an Anabaptist Christian denomination with roots in the Mennonite church, pietism, and Wesleyan holiness. They have also been known as River Brethren and River Mennonites.-Background:...
- Church of the United Brethren in ChristChurch of the United Brethren in ChristThe Church of the United Brethren in Christ is an evangelical Christian denomination based in Huntington, Indiana. It is a Protestant denomination of episcopal structure, Arminian theology, with roots in the Mennonite and German Reformed communities of 18th century Pennsylvania, as well as close...
- Church of the United Brethren in Christ (New Constitution)
- Church of the United Brethren in Christ (Old Constitution)Church of the United Brethren in Christ (Old Constitution)The Church of the United Brethren in Christ, Old Constitution is that part of the Church of the United Brethren in Christ which withdrew from the larger body in 1889 when the majority group adopted a new constitution...
- Old Order River BrethrenOld Order River BrethrenThe Old Order River Brethren is a small Christian denomination with roots in the Mennonite church and German pietism.This body began about 1778 in Pennsylvania. It shares an early history with the Brethren in Christ Church. A group of brethren near the Susquehanna River that had separated from the...
Medieval Catholic reformist groups
- Apostolic BrethrenApostolic BrethrenThe Apostolic Brethren were a Christian sect founded in northern Italy in the latter half of the 13th century by Gerard Segarelli, a native of Alzano in the territory of Parma. He was of low birth and without education, applied for membership in the Franciscan order at Parma, and was rejected...
, 13th-century Italians - The Brethren of the Common LifeBrethren of the Common LifeThe Brethren of the Common Life was a Roman Catholic pietist religious community founded in the 14th century by Gerard Groote, formerly a successful and worldly educator who had had a religious experience and preached a life of simple devotion to Jesus Christ...
was a Middle-Age group. - Brethren of the Free SpiritBrethren of the Free SpiritThe Brothers, or Brethren of the Free Spirit, was a lay Christian movement which flourished in northern Europe in the 13th and 14th centuries. Antinomian and individualist in outlook, it came into conflict with the Catholic Church and was declared heretical by Pope Clement V at the Council of...
- Kalands BrethrenKalands BrethrenThe Kalands Brethren, Kalandbrüder in German, Fratres Calendarii in Latin, were religious and charitable associations of priests and laymen, especially numerous in Northern and Central Germany, which held regular meetings for religious edification and instruction, and also to encourage works of...
, a 13th-century German charitable organization
Other religious groups
- Apostolic United BrethrenApostolic United BrethrenThe Apostolic United Brethren is a polygamous Mormon fundamentalist church within the Latter Day Saint movement. The sect is not affiliated with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints...
, a Mormon fundamentalist group. - The Brethren (Jim Roberts group), an apocalyptic Jesus people movement from the 1970s.
- Brethren of PurityBrethren of PurityThe Brethren of Purity were a secret society of Muslim philosophers in Basra, Iraq, in the 10th century CE....
, an esoteric Muslim sect. - The Church of the Lutheran Brethren of AmericaChurch of the Lutheran Brethren of AmericaThe Church of the Lutheran Brethren of America is a Lutheran denomination of Christians rooted in a spiritual awakening at the turn of the 20th century. A spiritual revival swept through a large part of the Midwestern United States in the 1890s. Lutherans who were influenced by this fervor...
is neither Anabaptist nor Pietistic, but is the result of a late 19th century spiritual awakening among Lutheran congregations in the upper Midwestern United States. They formed a separate synod in 1900. - Evangelical Church of Czech BrethrenEvangelical Church of Czech BrethrenThe Protestant Church of Czech Brethren , was formed in 1918 in Czechoslovakia through the unification of the Protestant churches of the Lutheran and Reformed confessions...
, a Czech Lutheran–Reformed Protestant church - The Moravian Brethren (also known as United Brethren or Unitas Fratrum and Bohemian Brethren) descend from the followers of Jan Hus, a Czech reformer burned at the stake in 1415 and mainly Bohemian 15th century nobleman and theologian Peter Chelcicky.
- The Polish BrethrenPolish BrethrenThe Polish Brethren were members of the Minor Reformed Church of Poland, a Nontrinitarian Protestant church that existed in Poland from 1565 to 1658...
—also known as Socinians—were an Antitrinitarian group, forerunners for the Unitarians. - The Social BrethrenSocial BrethrenThe Social Brethren is a small body of evangelical Christians located in the Midwestern United States and the Philippines.The Social Brethren originated in Saline County, Illinois in 1867. Frank Wright and Hiram T. Brannon were among those who led in the founding of this denomination...
originated in Saline County, Illinois in 1867, the result of an attempt to put the slavery issue away in favor of uniting on a common belief in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. - Studite BrethrenStudite BrethrenStudite Brethren are a religious society of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church.The Studite rule was developed at the Stoudios monastery of Constantinople, from the 5th century onward, especially by Saint Theodore the Studite . The rule was brought to Kievan Rus in the 11th century by Saint...
, a society in the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. - The United Seventh-Day BrethrenUnited Seventh-Day BrethrenThe United Seventh-Day Brethren is a small sabbatarian Adventist body.In 1947, several individuals and two independent congregations within the Church of God Adventist movement came together to form the United Seventh-Day Brethren...
is an Adventist body. - The Unity of the BrethrenUnity of the BrethrenThe Unity of the Brethren is a Christian denomination whose roots are in the pre-reformation work of priest and philosopher Jan Hus, who was martyred in 1415.-History in Bohemia:...
also traces its roots to the work of Hus.
Miscellaneous (non-religious)
- Brethren (Australian group)Brethren (Australian group)Brethren are one of the longest-serving hip hop crews in Australia, celebrating 20 years in 2009. The group comprises Matthew Peet aka “Mistery” and Claude Rodriguez aka Wizdm....
, an Australian hip hop group. - Brethren of the CoastBrethren of the CoastThe Brethren or Brethren of the Coast were a loose coalition of pirates and privateers commonly known as buccaneers and active in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries in the Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico....
, a loose coalition of Caribbean pirates. - Brethren of the Croatian DragonBrethren of the Croatian DragonThe Brethren of the Croatian Dragon is a Croatian historical and cultural society established in 1905.In 1907, the Brethren claimed to have found the remains of Petar Zrinski and Fran Krsto Frankopan, and by 1919 those were moved to the Zagreb Cathedral. During the Independent State of Croatia,...
, a Croatian historical society.