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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.
The Old Brethren Church dates back to Germany in 1708, when the Schwarzenau Brethren were formed in Berleburg under the leadership of Alexander Mack. Soon they moved to Pennsylvania to escape religious persecution in Europe. As the American frontier moved west, the Schwarzenau Brethren followed to Ohio, Indiana and beyond. A schism within the Schwarzenau Brethren led to the Old Brethren splitting from the Old German Baptist Brethren in Carroll County, Indiana (Deer Creek), in 1913, and in Stanislaus County, California, in 1915.
The issue which is often given as cause for division in the early 1900s was the changes brought by quick acceptance of telephones and automobiles among the Old German Baptist Brethren. Historically the Schwarzenau Brethren groups have believed in and practiced the independent authority of each local congregation.
Annual Meetings started out gradually as a time for worship, exhortation, problem solving and unity among the first several generations of dispersed, frontier living, German speaking Brethren families. Generally, the more conservative Old Brethren originally wanted more adherence to Annual Meeting decisions. Ultimately the Old Brethren chose to uphold the older form of Annual Meeting, which was simpler, more worship and Scripture based than the legislative business model which had recently developed among the Old German Baptist Brethren. Attempts in 1929-30 to reunite the Old Brethren and Old German Baptist Brethren were not successful.
After 1930, the Old Brethren placed less stress on Annual Meeting authority than did the parent body, believing it to be a simple gathering more for edification, fellowship and teaching, rather than for legislation. Personal conviction by the Holy Spirit and moral persuasion to follow the Bible are now the basis for adherence to the church's order, rather than authoritative legislative decisions of Annual Meeting.
In 1939, those Old Brethren who wished to stress following legislative decisions of Annual Meeting and also to maintain the rejection of automobiles, telephones, electricity and tractors formed a more conservative traditional group, called the Old Brethren German Baptists. [1]
The Old Brethren do not use the German language in worship any longer, neither a German dialect in everyday life nor High German for Bible and church readings, because they had already begun giving up the everyday use of the German language when the first split of conservatives from the main body of German Baptist Brethren occurred in the 1880s. They have given up horse and buggy transportation and now accept the use of automobiles, while they have retained plain dress (including the headcovering for women) and a simple lifestyle separated from worldly fads and entertainment. [2]
The Old Brethren prefer to allow time and space for the Holy Spirit to guide a person's life. Brotherly counsel according to Matthew 18 and other Scripture is also followed. Teachings of the New Testament are interpreted and applied literally, with special focus given to the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7) as guidelines for those who are citizens of the Kingdom of God.
Old Brethren have fewer written rules than the Old German Baptist Brethren, preferring to let the Holy Spirit convict hearts and lead people to live holy lives, according to the Scriptures.
Old Brethren are more plain in dress and more conservative in lifestyle than some members of their parent group the Old German Baptist Brethren; but are similar to them in aspects such as nonresistance, using the Trine Immersion mode of baptism and the three-part communion service including feetwashing and a love feast. [3]
In 1980 the Old Brethren numbered about 230 adult members. Old Brethren membership in 2000 was 350 in five congregations with a total population of 651. [3] As of 2020 Old Brethren reside mainly near Salida, CA, Modesto, CA, Tuolumne, CA, Wakarusa, IN and Goshen, IN, between Bradford, OH, Dayton, OH, Greenville, OH, New Lebanon, OH, and Palestine OH; and near Harrison, AR and Marble Falls, AR with a total of 8 meeting houses in use. [4] There are Old Brethren private church schools at Nappanee IN, Palestine, OH and Tuolumne, CA. Those children who do not attend Christian schools are home schooled.
A weekly periodical, The Pilgrim , was started in 1870 by brothers Henry Boyer Brumbaugh and J. B. Brumbaugh in James Creek, Pennsylvania. [5] This was later changed to monthly publication and came to be affiliated with the Old Brethren Church. [6]
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.
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 Brethren Church is an Anabaptist Christian denomination with roots in and one of several groups that trace its origins back to the Schwarzenau Brethren of Germany.
The Old Order German Baptist Brethren, also called Petitioners, are a small group of very conservative Schwarzenau Brethren.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 Brethren are Old Order plain groups of the Schwarzenau Brethren, as well as the River Brethren—both Anabaptist Christian traditions. There are five of these “Old Order” groups of the Schwarzenau Brethren:
Old Order Anabaptism encompasses those groups which have preserved the old ways of Anabaptist Christian religion and lifestyle.
Samuel Kinsey was a Christian minister and leader of the reactionary wing of the German Baptist Brethren that became the Old German Baptist Brethren.
A kapp is a Christian headcovering worn by many women of certain Anabaptist Christian denominations, as well as certain Conservative Friends and Plain Catholics, in obedience to Paul the Apostle's command in 1 Corinthians 11:2–10.