MENNONITES, ANABAPTISTS, BAPTISTS
MENNONITES
ANABAPTISTS
BAPTISTS
Mennonites
One of many Protestant denominations like for example Quakers, Methodists, Unitarians,
Baptists, Pentecostals, Huguenots (French Protestants), Lutherans. They separated from Roman Catholic
Church in the 16th and 17th century. The chief leaders of Mennonites and Anabaptists
were the following priests: in Holland (1536) - Menno Simons - a priest
in Witmarsum (Friesian), Obbe and Dirk Philips; in Germany (1527) - Michael Sattler, Pilgram Marpeck, Thomas Müntzer, Balthasar Hubmaier; in Switzerland (1525) - Konrad Grebel, Juergen Blaurock, Felix Manz and Jacob Amman (1693); in Austria (1528) - Jacob Hutter.
Mennonites were not the only one group of believers involved
in Anabaptism. It was a religious movement which emerged from the Reformation and was opposed to the money-based and the formally organized Christianity such as: the Roman Catholic Church and the non-radical Reformation. Mennonites believed that the Bible was the exceptional source of inspiration, tradition and moral standards. They have been always apolitical because in their opinion the politics is the root of all evil and the politicians are usually hypocrytical about faith in God and moral issues. Furthermore, they used to reject the military service because they assume that the Christian Church ought to be pacifist. This assumption is in line with the New Testament theology. There is no "just wars" because war always leads to suffering, death, damage and losses on both conflicting sides. Mennonites accept only two sacraments: baptism of adults (also known as "believer's baptism" or "credobaptism") and Eucharist. Jesus Christ, like for other Protestants (Calvinists, Lutherans) is the ultimate personality and the Absolute Divinity. The Easter is the greatest celebration. The Cross is the most important spiritual symbol. They refuse to take an oath what makes them similar to Huguenots. The Mennonite Church was set up in the 16th century, mainly on the basis of the principles described in "Fondamentboek" by Menno Simons (1539). During the Reformation, Menno as well as other, former Roman Catholic priests e.g. Martin Luther, left the Roman Catholic priesthood to establish a new religious branch. Martin Luther was the most famous church reformer. Moreover, lutheranism was soon officially accepted by the authorities in Germany and in a few other Western European countries. Thus, another non-Catholic Church institution (Lutheran Church) was brought into existence. The brave new Christian Church was based on so-called Ausgsburg Confession. It was not the case in regard to mennonitism and calvinism which occurred to be actually less popular in Europe. However, Menno Simons (Dutch reformer), Ulrich Zwingli (Swiss reformer) and John Calvin were also great individuals who longed for reforming the Roman Catholic Church. As for mennonitism, the leader - Menno Simons argued that true Christian faith had nothing in common with politics, namely the state's power. Therefore, due to such a radical view on separation of church and state, Mennonites could have suffered from persecution, hardship and condemnation.
Many Mennonites as well as Baptists, Methodists, Quakers and Huguenots (French Calvinists) left The Old Continent. Most of them emigrated to the U.S.A. and Canada. As for Mennonites, they also settled in: Paraguay (South America), Ethiopia, DR Congo (Africa), Russia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine (Crimea). In the U.S.A. Mennonites established GERMANTOWN. Since 1863 it has been a bustling with activity centre of the Mennonite Church.
According to their doctrine, a person should live in compliance with
strict moral standards. Their hardline rules are not easy to practice. So-called Conservative Mennonites have not
accepted divorce, incest, abortion (human life is divine and sacred), drug and substance abuse, crime, fashion, violence and war, lust for money and casual sex. They think that parents are very important to us and should be cared for. However, nowadays, 'the neoliberal wing" of the Mennonite Church is ready to accept the believers of LGBTQ community.
The first groups of Mennonites arrived in Poland (Pomerania) in the 16th and 17th century. During World War II they were identified with Germans because the language they used to speak (Low German) was quite similar to standard German. Moreover, their physical appearance corresponded to the Aryan race (master race). Therefore, Mennonites were sometimes forced to serve in Wehrmacht. Just after The Second World War Mennonites and Germans were expelled from Poland by communists and bolsheviks (The Red Army). They emigrated to the U.S.A. and Germany. In Poland, there are not many Mennonites now. However, there is the chapel and the name of the street (ulica Menonitów) in Danzig (Gdansk) (see the pictures which I have taken during my stay in this city). Currently, the Mennonite's chapel in Danzig (Gdansk) belongs to the Pentecostal Church. Mennonites have no governing body and hierarchy. They constitute, like other Protestants, the sets of independent, small communities called congregations. Most Mennonites across the globe are Americans but more and more of them can be found in South America (Paraguay, Bolivia, Brazil), Africa, Indonesia, Europe (mainly in Germany).
ANABAPTISTS
The common label employed for the Protestants, the members of the religious movement
in the 16th century who objected to infant baptism and promoted
baptism of adults (the appropriate phrase was actually "believer's baptism" or "credobaptism"). The term itself is imprecise because a noun 'Anabaptist' may refer to diversity or variety with regard to both a perspective of theology and the effect of this Christian movement on society (social assets, norms). For example, except for Mennonites there are a few other groups of Anabaptists today.
Historically, the first Anabaptists appeared in 1525 in Switzerland.
The founder of the extremely radical Anabaptist movement in Germany was Thomas Müntzer - a preacher
in Zwickau, a former Roman Catholic priest. Another great, founding figure was Michael Sattler who created The Schleitheim Confession of Faith - a statement on essential prinicipals of the pacifist Anabaptist doctrine. He was a Benedictine monk who left monastery, got married and left the Roman Catholic Church. Taking into account credobaptism, the substance of Sattler's confession could have been associated with a citation of Saint Mark 14, 16: 'He who believes and is baptized will be saved'. The quotation implies that baptism is only valid if it follows faith (adapted from Eoin de Bhaldraithe). Nevertheless, Sattler and other Anabaptists rejected not only infant baptism which could not follow true human faith like believer's baptism, but also the institutional, hierarchical and the unjust state-friendly foundation of the Christian church. Those facts may have caused their persecution. Importantly, Michael Sattler 'died a heroic martyrdom at Catholic hands' as a Protestant theologian - Eoin de Bhaldraithe argued.
The last but not least influential Anabaptist was Balthasar Hubmaier. Theologically, he is believed to be a unique person among Anabaptists. First, he was a highly regarded German theologian in the Catholic Church. Second, he was a highly creative writer and authored a lot of theological works before he was martyred in 1528. Balthasar Hubmaier was baptized a Roman Catholic in childhood. Later, he became a highly educated man. He studied in Freiburg and Ingolstadt. Eventually, he received his doctoral degree in Christian theology at the University of Ingolstadt. Additionally, he was the cathedral priest in Regensburg and his exceptional oratory talent was distinguishable. Hubmaier's theology encompassed various concepts: ecclesiology (Anabaptist hope for the recovery of the pre-Constantinian church, a voluntary association
of believers founded on New Testament principles); believer's baptism (requirement for a prior confession of faith); the special meaning of the ban (adapted from T.E. Johnson).
Due to extremely radical views on the Christian faith, morality and societal problems, Anabaptists were regarded as part of "The Second Reformation" or "the Radical and Spiritual Reformation". A pejorative and unclear name "Anabaptists" denoted not only their negative attitude towards infant baptism but also the second baptism of those people who were already baptized as children. They also claimed that their enemies called them "rebaptizers" or "rebaptized" being unaware of the growing controversy about baptism in Christian circles (which baptism is right and why?). Moreover, the Anabaptist approval of adult baptism could have been associated with the fact that Jesus Christ was baptized when he was the grown-up and the strongly believing person (see the picture - Baptism of Jesus Christ).
Another reason was the fact that unlike infant baptism, only baptism of adults was biblical.The Holy Bible contained numerous accounts of adults who became Christians and were baptized in the biblical Jordan river.
Thus, in accordance with their doctrine, every individual should have been baptized only when he or she was old enough to understand what he or she was doing. The last important aspect on baptism may be related to the Anabaptist belief that adults should be baptized by choice because 'infants are not punishable for sin until they become
aware of good and evil and can exercise their own free will,
repent, and accept baptism' (citation from Encyclopedia Britannica nd). This view was completely different from other Christian groups, who believed in infant baptism, and for whom adult baptism was considered a crime punishable by death. Thus, the deepest spiritual sense of adult baptism seems to be expressed by this explanation.
Historically, it can be noted that so-called 'extremely enthusiastic Anabaptists' (the radical or plebeian wing) were spreading leftist heresy around Europe. Supporting anarchy, the idea of small communities, the bunches of people helping each other, working and getting together, they were trying hard to fight against poverty, misery and unproductivity at work. In addition, they helped the weak and the neglected. Anabaptists represented a garden variety of social and cultural backgrounds. Some of them could have been German, Swiss, Austrian or Dutch religious nonconformists or anti-conformists, former Catholic priests or monks who strived to quit the Roman Catholic denomination. Many Anabaptists were German, Swiss, Austrian or Dutch common people: farmers, peasants, craftsmen. Yet, some people following the teachings of Menno Simons, Michael Sattler or Jacob Hutter may have come from noble families. Sometimes, the noblemen who were either involved in anabaptism or mennonitism could have been deprived of high social status, good reputation, ownership and wealth.
Popularity of the radical Anabaptist movement amongst the members of the underclass (peasants and beggars) brought about the uprising which took place in 1535, Münster (John from Leida). The famous leader of the German peasants revolt was Thomas Müntzer (a former Roman Catholic priest and a preacher in Zwickau). It was brutally suppressed
by the church officials. Many radical Anabaptists were imprisoned, the social spirit and sense of justice were abused. Anabaptists were simply dubbed "heretics" and "devils". They used to live in a permanent danger zone. Moreover, the Anabaptist doctrine was rejected by other official churches both Catholic and Protestant. It was believed that it had been totally false. Today, it is not the case because many other Protestants, besides Mennonites, especially those who belong to the Baptist and Pentecostal Church, appear to be grounded in the tradition of the Anabaptist movement. Nevertheless, there are both similarities and differences between Anabaptists and Baptists in various respects. The topic needs a further analysis.
Baptists
The Protestant branch which occurred in England at the beginning of the 17th century. The founders of Baptist Church (as well as Pentecostals) might have been inspired by the Anabaptist and Mennonite ideology. However, unlike Mennonites, Baptists have a positive view on military service. They accept only baptism of adults (it happens by immersion or submersion as it used to be in the biblical river "Jordan") and The Holy Bible (The Scripture) as the only source of Christian tradition, faith and moral standards. Just like Mennonites, they approve of the separation of state and church. Baptists as well as for example Jesuits are known for establishing missions in the distant areas of our world. Today, in the U.S.A. most Protestants are Baptists.
THIS IS A SMASHING
SITE ABOUT ANABAPTISTS
ANABAPTIST
MOVEMENT HISTORY SITE
A COOL SITE ABOUT
ANABAPTISTS/MENNONITES IN USA
THIS
IS ANOTHER SITE CONCERNING ANABAPTISTS
GROUPS
OF BELIEVERS CALLED "BRETHREN" SITE