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Brethren is a plural of brother, although it is rarely used. It is in principle synonymous with "brothers". The term is mainly used within Christianity, either in (rare) reference to a fraternal order or fraternal military order, or to refer to any of several Christian groups/denominations, most of which are Anabaptist-Pietist.

The Anabaptist-Pietist Brethren, and even other Brethren bodies, share many beliefs. Individual articles contain more specific information of the doctrines of various bodies.

Contents 1 Schwarzenau Brethren groups 2 Other Brethren groups 3 See also 4 References

The Schwarzenau Brethren groups originated in 1708 in Schwarzenau, Germany, in the Palatinate. Early leaders included Alexander Mack, Peter Becker, and John Nass. The Brethren were at one time called Dunkers or German Baptist Brethren.

After enduring persecution for a time (see Anabaptist), the Brethren migrated to North America in three separate groups from 1719 to 1733. There they established themselves at Germantown, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and from there moved south and west along with other pioneers.

The Brethren Church shares its early heritage with the Church of the Brethren but was separated in 1883, being the most progressive of the three groups resulting from this split at the time of H. R. Holsinger. The most conservative of the groups (the Old Order, centered in Dayton, OH) is now known as the German Baptist church. The current Church of the Brethren was the middle (or conservative) group. This split was not really about doctrine (at the time, though the groups have drifted apart since) but over such things as the starting of Sunday Schools, the holding of revival meetings, and the use of an indoor baptistry rather than a river. The progressive group (Brethren Church) includes a denomination with headquarters in Ashland, Ohio. In 1939 the Progressives split into two denominations, with those seeking an open position to the issue of eternal security maintaining the name Brethren Church, and those seeking a firm affirmation of eternal security becoming the Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches, commonly called the Grace Brethren Church, headquartered in Winona Lake, Indiana. The Grace Brethren experienced a split in the 1990s (primarily related to the connection between water baptism and church membership), with a conservative minority of churches forming the CGBCI.

The following Brethren bodies are not related historically to the Schwarzenau groups descended from Alexander Mack.

• Anabaptist and/or Pietist
  • The Church of the United Brethren in Christ and the Brethren in Christ Church (or River Brethren) 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.
  • The Hutterites, officially known as Hutterian Brethren, are descendants of German, Swiss and Tyrolean Anabaptists led by Jacob Hutter, who was burned at the stake in 1536 for refusing to renounce his faith.
  • The Mennonite Brethren originated among Russian Mennonites in 1860. The Swiss Brethren—Anabaptists of Switzerland—became known as Mennonite after the Amish division of 1693.
  • The Moravian Brethren (also known as United Brethren or Unitas Fratum 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. Important leaders were also Jan Blahoslav and Jan Amos Comenius.
  • The Unity of the Brethren also traces its roots to the work of Hus.
• Fundamental Bible Churches
  • The various Plymouth Brethren bodies (including Open Brethren and Exclusive Brethren) originated in the 1820s work of John Nelson Darby and others in Ireland and England.
  • The Social Brethren 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.

• Other
  • The Polish Brethren, also known as Socinians, were an Antitrinitarian group, forerunners for the Unitarians.
  • The Church of the Lutheran Brethren 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.
  • The United Seventh-Day Brethren is an Adventist body.
  • The Brethren of the Common Life a Middle-Age group.
  • The Brethren cult founded by Jimmy T. Roberts.

• Christian anarchism
• Peace church
• Simple living

• Brethren Encyclopedia, Vol. I-III, Donald F. Durnbaugh, editor
• Brethren Encyclopedia, Vol. IV, Donald F. Durnbaugh and Dale V. Ulrich, editors, Carl Bowman, contributing editor
• Gathering Unto His Name, by Norman Crawford (on Plymouth Brethren)
• Encyclopedia of American Religions, J. Gordon Melton, editor
• Handbook of Denominations in the United States, by Frank S. Mead, Samuel S. Hill, and Craig D. Atwood
• Mennonite Encyclopedia, Cornelius J. Dyck, Dennis D. Martin, et al., editors
• Profiles in Belief: the Religious Bodies in the United States and Canada, by Arthur Carl Piepkorn
• Religious Congregations & Membership in the United States (2000), Glenmary Research Center