Aviva Directory » Faith & Spirituality » World Religions » Abrahamic Religions » Christianity » Church Divisions » Anabaptist » Brethren » Dunkard Brethren Church

The Dunkard Brethren came out of the Radical Reformation that produced the Anabaptists, and from the Brethren movement, which was a blending of Anabaptism and Pietism. The Pietist movement began among the Reformed and Lutheran congregations, and was characterized by a belief in the significance of a personal conversion experience, triune baptism by immersion in the name of God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, as well as the holiness of believers. Out of this mixture came the Brethren movement. Pietism was not the only influence on the early Brethren, however. Anabaptists were active in the area. They were known to the Brethren, who also read Anabaptist writings. From the Anabaptists, the Brethren gained a desire for a return to the simplicity and purity of the New Testament Church. The Pietists and Anabaptists both denied the validity of infant baptism and, for the most part the Brethren were in agreement with the teachings of the Anabaptists. For this reason, historians generally classify Mennonites, Brethren, and Moravians as Anabaptist churches. The largest group of Brethren were known as the Schwarzenau Brethren, and it is from this group that the Dunkard Brethren came. When the Schwarzenau Brethren immigrated to the United States in the late 1700s and early 1800s, they became known as the German Baptist Brethren, which became the Church of the Brethren in 1908. In the early 20th century, some members of the Brethren became concerned that the church had drifted from the old apostolic standards. A man by the name of Benjamin Elias Kesler addressed these concerns in 1922, and was denied a seat at the annual conference because of it. During the next three years, he and his sympathizers held separate meetings, and left the Church of the Brethren to form the Dunkard Brethren Church in 1926. Like the Old Order Brethren, the Dunkards take separation from the world seriously, dressing simply, more easily noticed among the women of the Dunkard Brethren.

 

 

Recommended Resources


Search for Dunkard Brethren Church on Google or Bing