Brethren (religious group)


Brethren is a name adopted by a wide range of mainly Christian religious groups throughout history. The largest movement is Anabaptist.

Groups from the Middle Ages

  • Apostolic Brethren, mendicant order similar to the Franciscans
  • Kalands Brethren, German charitable organization
  • Brethren of the Free Spirit, mystical reform movement
  • The Brethren of the Common Life, intentional communities dedicated to service

    Anabaptist groups

These groups grew out of the Anabaptist movement at the time of the Protestant Reformation.
  • The Hutterites, also known as Hutterian Brethren, originated from German, Swiss, and Tyrolean Anabaptists led by Jacob Hutter in the 1520s
  • The Swiss Brethren, the name Swiss Anabaptists used from 1525 until their split into Amish and Mennonite groups in 1693
  • The Mennonite Brethren, originated among Russian Mennonites in 1860

    Schwarzenau Brethren

The Schwarzenau Brethren 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

  • Old German Baptist Brethren, part of the Old Order Movement
  • *Old Brethren, a denomination that split from the Old German Baptist Brethren in 1913 and 1915
  • **Old Brethren German Baptist, also known as Leedyites, the most conservative denomination of Schwarzenau Brethren. They live in Indiana and Missouri
  • *Old Order German Baptist Brethren, a small very conservative denomination
  • *Old German Baptist Brethren, New Conference, formed in 2009 as a result of a split among the Old German Baptist Brethren

    Conservatives

  • Church of the Brethren, based in Elgin, Illinois
  • *Dunkard Brethren, a small conservative denomination that withdrew from the Church of the Brethren in 1926

    Progressives

  • The Brethren Church, based in Ashland, Ohio
  • *Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches, former name of Charis Fellowship, a theologically conservative denomination that split from the Brethren Church in 1939
  • *Conservative Grace Brethren Churches, International, a conservative denomination that separated from the Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches

    River Brethren

The River Brethren have their origins in the ministries of Mennonite Bishop Jacob Engle and Mennonite Pastor 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 :
  • Brethren in Christ Church, 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
  • Church of the United Brethren in Christ, an evangelical denomination based in Huntington, Indiana.
  • Old Order River Brethren
  • United Zion Church

    Moravian Brethren

  • Moravian Church, also known as United Brethren, Unitas Fratrum, and Bohemian Brethren, descend from the followers of Jan Hus, a Czech reformer burned at the stake in 1415 and Bohemian 15th-century nobleman and theologian Petr Chelčický
  • Unity of the Brethren, a conservative Moravian denomination that also traces its roots to the work of Hus and Chelčický

    Plymouth Brethren

The Plymouth Brethren originated in the 1820s work of John Nelson Darby and others in Ireland, the United Kingdom, and India. Plymouth Brethren divided into two branches in 1848:
  • Exclusive Brethren
  • *Plymouth Brethren Christian Church, also known as Raven-Taylor-Hales Brethren
  • *Local churches, also known as Church Assembly Hall
  • Open Brethren
  • *Gospel Hall Brethren, also known as Gospel Hall Assemblies
  • *Needed Truth Brethren, also known as Churches of God
  • *Indian Brethren, an Evangelical premillennial religious movement
  • *Kerala Brethren, Assembly, also known as Verbada Sabha

    Albright Brethren

  • Evangelical Church
  • Evangelical Congregational Church

    United Brethren

  • Church of the United Brethren in Christ, which traces its roots to the 1800s work of Martin Boehm and Philip William Otterbein
  • Evangelical Church, also traces its roots to the work of Martin Boehm and Philip William Otterbein

    Former United Brethren

They merged with a large group of Methodists to become the United Methodist Church in 1968: