Mennonites

1770

Today, many traditional Russian Mennonites use Standard German in church and for reading and writing. In the 1770s Catherine the Great of the Russian Empire acquired a great deal of land north of the Black Sea (in present-day Ukraine) following the Russo-Turkish War and the takeover of the Ottoman vassal, the Crimean Khanate.

1778

The first schism in America occurred in 1778 when Bishop Christian Funk's support of the American Revolution led to his excommunication and the formation of a separate Mennonite group known as Funkites.

1785

In 1785 the Orthodox Reformed Mennonite Church was formed, and other schisms occurred into the 21st century.

1791

Starting in 1791 they established colonies in the south-west of the Russian Empire (present-day Ukraine) and beginning in 1854 also in Volga region and Orenburg Governorate (present-day Russia).

1800

In the late 1700s and early 1800s “Swiss” Mennonites from Pennsylvania settled in southern Ontario.

1812

Contributions of Mennonites during this period include the idea of separation of church and state and opposition to slavery. From 1812 to 1860, another wave of Mennonite immigrants settled farther west in Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Missouri.

1845

Like the Stauffer or Pike Mennonites (origin 1845 in Lancaster, Pennsylvania), the Groffdale Conference, and the Old Order Mennonite Conference of Ontario, they stress separation from the world, excommunication, and the wearing of plain clothes.

They were founded in 1845, following conflicts about how to discipline children and spousal abuse by a few Mennonite Church members.

1850

For more, see Amish Mennonite: Division 1850–1878. Those identifying with this group drive automobiles, have telephones and use electricity, and some may have personal computers.

1854

Starting in 1791 they established colonies in the south-west of the Russian Empire (present-day Ukraine) and beginning in 1854 also in Volga region and Orenburg Governorate (present-day Russia).

Over the years Mennonite farmers and businesses were very successful. In 1854, according to the new Russian government official invitation, Mennonites from Prussia established colonies in Russia's Volga region, and later in Orenburg Governorate (Neu Samara Colony). Between 1874 and 1880 some 16,000 Mennonites of approximately 45,000 left Russia.

1859

Hershey's mother and famous for the long and bitter ban of Robert Bear, a Pennsylvania farmer who rebelled against what he saw as dishonesty and disunity in the leadership. The Church of God in Christ, Mennonite, a group often called Holdeman Mennonites after their founder John Holdeman, was founded from a schism in 1859.

1860

Contributions of Mennonites during this period include the idea of separation of church and state and opposition to slavery. From 1812 to 1860, another wave of Mennonite immigrants settled farther west in Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Missouri.

1870

In the 1870s, a large group of “Russian” Mennonites from Ukraine moved to southern Manitoba.

1872

Most Old Order groups also school their children in Mennonite-operated schools. Horse and Buggy Old Order Mennonites came from the main series of Old Order schisms that began in 1872 and ended in 1901 in Ontario, Pennsylvania, and the U.S.

Midwest, or the Markham-Waterloo Mennonite Conference having its origins from the Old Order Mennonites of Ontario, Canada, also evolved from the main series of Old Order schisms from 1872 to 1901.

1873

Many of the modern churches are descended from those groups that abandoned traditional Mennonite practices. Larger groups of Dutch/North German Mennonites came to North America from the Russian Empire after 1873, especially to Kansas and Manitoba.

1874

Over the years Mennonite farmers and businesses were very successful. In 1854, according to the new Russian government official invitation, Mennonites from Prussia established colonies in Russia's Volga region, and later in Orenburg Governorate (Neu Samara Colony). Between 1874 and 1880 some 16,000 Mennonites of approximately 45,000 left Russia.

1880

Over the years Mennonite farmers and businesses were very successful. In 1854, according to the new Russian government official invitation, Mennonites from Prussia established colonies in Russia's Volga region, and later in Orenburg Governorate (Neu Samara Colony). Between 1874 and 1880 some 16,000 Mennonites of approximately 45,000 left Russia.

1886

Founded in 1886, it has 27 Congregations with 5,724 members and is part of the larger "Arbeitsgemeinschaft Mennonitischer Gemeinden in Deutschland" or AMG (Assembly/Council of Mennonite Churches in Germany), which claims 40,000 overall members from various groups.

1901

Most Old Order groups also school their children in Mennonite-operated schools. Horse and Buggy Old Order Mennonites came from the main series of Old Order schisms that began in 1872 and ended in 1901 in Ontario, Pennsylvania, and the U.S.

Midwest, or the Markham-Waterloo Mennonite Conference having its origins from the Old Order Mennonites of Ontario, Canada, also evolved from the main series of Old Order schisms from 1872 to 1901.

1911

However, there are structures and traditions taught as in the Confession of Faith in a Mennonite Perspective of Mennonite Church Canada and Mennonite Church USA. In 1911, the Mennonite church in the Netherlands (Doopsgezinde Kerk) was the first Dutch church to have a female pastor authorized; she was Anne Zernike. There is a wide scope of worship, doctrine and traditions among Mennonites today.

1917

After the Russian Revolution of 1917 and the Russian Civil War (1917–1921), all of these farms (whose owners were called Kulaks) and enterprises were expropriated by local peasants or the Soviet government.

1920

In the 1920s, Russian Mennonites from Canada started to migrate to Latin America (Mexico and Paraguay), soon followed by Mennonite refugees from the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.

Further waves of “Russian” Mennonites came to Canada in the 1920s and 1940s".

and Canada. Mennonite Central Committee (MCC), founded on September 27, 1920, in Chicago, Illinois, provides disaster relief around the world alongside their long-term international development programs.

These Mennonites descend from a mass migration in the 1920s of roughly 6,000 Old Colony Mennonites from the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Saskatchewan.

1921

In 1921, a Canadian Mennonite delegation arriving in Mexico received a privilegium, a promise of non-interference, from the Mexican government.

1925

Some branches of Mennonites have retained this "plain" lifestyle into modern times. The Mennonite World Conference was founded at the first conference in Basel, in Switzerland, in 1925 to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Anabaptism. == Russian Mennonites == The "Russian Mennonites" (German: "Russlandmennoniten") today are descended from Dutch Anabaptists, who came from the Netherlands and started around 1530 to settle around Danzig and in West Prussia, where they lived for about 250 years.

1927

Although this group began using cars in 1927, the cars were required to be plain and painted black.

1940

Further waves of “Russian” Mennonites came to Canada in the 1920s and 1940s".

1941

This led to a wave of Mennonite emigration to the Americas (U.S., Canada and Paraguay). When the German army invaded the Soviet Union in the summer of 1941 during World War II, many in the Mennonite community perceived them as liberators from the communist regime under which they had suffered.

From 1941 to 1947, 4,665 Mennonites, Amish and Brethren in Christ were among nearly 12,000 conscientious objectors who performed work of national importance in 152 CPS camps throughout the United States and Puerto Rico.

1943

After May 1943, as a labour shortage developed within the nation, men were shifted into agriculture, education and industry.

1947

From 1941 to 1947, 4,665 Mennonites, Amish and Brethren in Christ were among nearly 12,000 conscientious objectors who performed work of national importance in 152 CPS camps throughout the United States and Puerto Rico.

1950

"Plain" became passé as open criticisms of traditional beliefs and practices broke out in the 1950s and 1960s.

The first conservative withdrawals from the progressive group began in the 1950s.

1960

"Plain" became passé as open criticisms of traditional beliefs and practices broke out in the 1950s and 1960s.

Until approximately the 1960s or 1970s, before the more widespread urbanization of the Mennonite demographic, divorce was quite rare.

Programs were also founded in Botswana and Swaziland during the 1960s.

1970

Until approximately the 1960s or 1970s, before the more widespread urbanization of the Mennonite demographic, divorce was quite rare.

Upwards of 40,000 Mennonites emigrated from Russia to Germany starting in the 1970s. The Mennonite presence remaining in the Netherlands, Algemene Doopsgezinde Societeit or ADS (translated as General Mennonite Society), maintains a seminary, as well as organizing relief, peace, and mission work, the latter primarily in Central Java and New Guinea.

1972

In 1972, Mennonites in Altona, Manitoba, established the MCC Thrift Shops which has grown to become a worldwide source of assistance to the needy. Since the latter part of the 20th century, some Mennonite groups have become more actively involved with peace and social justice issues, helping to found Christian Peacemaker Teams and Mennonite Conciliation Service. == Membership == In 2009, there were 1,616,126 Mennonites in 82 countries.

1975

In 1975 Victor Davies composed the Mennonite Piano Concerto and in, 1977, composer Glenn Gould featured Manitoba Mennonites in his experimental radio documentary The Quiet in the Land, part three of his Solitude Trilogy.

1977

In 1975 Victor Davies composed the Mennonite Piano Concerto and in, 1977, composer Glenn Gould featured Manitoba Mennonites in his experimental radio documentary The Quiet in the Land, part three of his Solitude Trilogy.

1980

African Mennonite churches underwent a dramatic 228% increase in membership during the 1980s and 1990s, attracting thousands of new converts in Tanzania, Kenya, and the Congo.

Europe has seen a slow and accelerating decline in Mennonite membership since about 1980. === Organization worldwide === The most basic unit of organization among Mennonites is the church.

1983

In 2016 it had fallen to 78,892 members after the withdrawal of the Lancaster Mennonite Conference. Pennsylvania remains the hub of the denomination but there are also large numbers of members in Ohio, Indiana, Kansas, and Illinois. In 1983 the General Assembly of the Mennonite Church met jointly with the General Conference Mennonite Church in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, in celebration of 300 years in the Americas.

1989

Beginning in 1989, a series of consultations, discussions, proposals, and sessions (and a vote in 1995 in favor of merger) led to the unification of these two major North American Mennonite bodies into one denomination organized on two fronts – the Mennonite Church USA and the Mennonite Church Canada.

Beginning in 1989, a series of consultations, discussions, proposals, and sessions led to the unification of two North American bodies (the Mennonite Church & General Conference Mennonite Church) and the related Canadian Conference of Mennonites in Canada into the Mennonite Church USA and the Mennonite Church Canada in 2000. The organizational structure is divided into five regional conferences.

1990

In the 1990s the governments of Kazakhstan, Russia and Ukraine gave these people the opportunity to emigrate, and the vast majority emigrated to Germany.

The Russian Mennonite immigrants in Germany from the 1990s outnumber the pre-1989 community of Mennonites by three to one. By 2015, the majority of Russian Mennonites and their descendants live in Latin America, Germany and Canada. The world's most conservative Mennonites (in terms of culture and technology) are the Mennonites affiliated with the Lower and Upper Barton Creek Colonies in Belize.

African Mennonite churches underwent a dramatic 228% increase in membership during the 1980s and 1990s, attracting thousands of new converts in Tanzania, Kenya, and the Congo.

1994

Mennonite organizations in South Africa, initially stifled under apartheid due to the Afrikaner government's distrust of foreign pacifist churches, have expanded substantially since 1994.

Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 1994.

1995

Beginning in 1989, a series of consultations, discussions, proposals, and sessions (and a vote in 1995 in favor of merger) led to the unification of these two major North American Mennonite bodies into one denomination organized on two fronts – the Mennonite Church USA and the Mennonite Church Canada.

1998

Total membership in Mennonite Church USA denominations decreased from about 133,000, before the merger in 1998, to a total membership of 120,381 in the Mennonite Church USA in 2001.

Another 78,892 of that number are from the Mennonite Church USA. Total membership in Mennonite Church USA denominations decreased from about 133,000, before the MC-GC merger in 1998, to about 114,000 after the merger in 2003.

1999

Louis, Missouri in 1999, and the Canadian branch moved quickly ahead.

The United States branch did not complete their organization until the meeting in Nashville, Tennessee in 2001, which became effective February 1, 2002. The merger of 1999–2002 at least partially fulfilled the desire of the founders of the General Conference Mennonite Church to create an organization under which all Mennonites could unite.

2000

Beginning in 1989, a series of consultations, discussions, proposals, and sessions led to the unification of two North American bodies (the Mennonite Church & General Conference Mennonite Church) and the related Canadian Conference of Mennonites in Canada into the Mennonite Church USA and the Mennonite Church Canada in 2000. The organizational structure is divided into five regional conferences.

University of Toronto Press, 2000.

2001

Total membership in Mennonite Church USA denominations decreased from about 133,000, before the merger in 1998, to a total membership of 120,381 in the Mennonite Church USA in 2001.

The United States branch did not complete their organization until the meeting in Nashville, Tennessee in 2001, which became effective February 1, 2002. The merger of 1999–2002 at least partially fulfilled the desire of the founders of the General Conference Mennonite Church to create an organization under which all Mennonites could unite.

2002

The United States branch did not complete their organization until the meeting in Nashville, Tennessee in 2001, which became effective February 1, 2002. The merger of 1999–2002 at least partially fulfilled the desire of the founders of the General Conference Mennonite Church to create an organization under which all Mennonites could unite.

When these two Mennonite denominations formally completed their merger in 2002 to become the new Mennonite Church USA and Mennonite Church Canada denominations, it was still not clear, whether the congregations that were expelled from one denomination, yet included in the other, are considered to be "inside" or "outside" of the new merged denomination.

2003

As of 2003, the body had about 35,000 members in 235 churches.

In recognition of the dramatic increase in the proportion of African adherents, the Mennonite World Conference held its assembly in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, in 2003. In Latin America growth is not a high as in Africa, but strong because of the high birth rates of traditional Mennonites of German ancestry.

Another 78,892 of that number are from the Mennonite Church USA. Total membership in Mennonite Church USA denominations decreased from about 133,000, before the MC-GC merger in 1998, to about 114,000 after the merger in 2003.

Concise Encyclopedia of Amish, Brethren, Hutterites, and Mennonites (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2010). Mennonite & Brethren in Christ World Directory 2003.

2007

By September 2007, some Mennonite families had already left Quebec. In November 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic in Ontario, Canada, both the Region of Waterloo Public Health unit and Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health issued orders to close Old Order schools and places of worship in their regions and to limit social interactions.

In 2007, Mexican director Carlos Reygadas directed Silent Light, the first ever feature film in the Russian Mennonite dialect of Plautdietsch.

2008

There were more than 27,000 adult, baptized members of Old Order Mennonites in North America and Belize in 2008/9.

Epp, Marlene Mennonite Women in Canada: A History (Winnipeg, University of Manitoba Press, 2008.

2009

In 1972, Mennonites in Altona, Manitoba, established the MCC Thrift Shops which has grown to become a worldwide source of assistance to the needy. Since the latter part of the 20th century, some Mennonite groups have become more actively involved with peace and social justice issues, helping to found Christian Peacemaker Teams and Mennonite Conciliation Service. == Membership == In 2009, there were 1,616,126 Mennonites in 82 countries.

2010

The largest group is the Bruderschaft der Christengemeinde in Deutschland (Mennonite Brethren), which had 20,000 members in 2010.

Concise Encyclopedia of Amish, Brethren, Hutterites, and Mennonites (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2010). Mennonite & Brethren in Christ World Directory 2003.

2011

Sound in the Lands: Mennonite Music Across Borders (Kitchener, ON: Pandora Press, 2011). Gingerich, Melvin (1949), Service for Peace, A History of Mennonite Civilian Public Service, Mennonite Central Committee. Harder, Helmut and Miller, Larry, "Mennonite Engagement in International Ecumenical Conversations: Experiences, Perspectives, and Guiding Principles," Mennonite Quarterly Review 90(3) (2016), 345–71. Heisey, M.

2012

Of that number, the Canadian Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches had 37,508 baptized members and the Mennonite Church Canada had 31,000 members. As of 2012, there were an estimated 100,000 Old Colony Mennonites in Mexico.

Mennonite Historical Society of Ontario, 2012.

2013

In 2013 membership had fallen to 97,737 members in 839 congregations.

The group had 24,400 baptized members in 2013. Old Order Mennonites cover several distinct groups.

2014

3, Gale, 2014), pp. 171–182.

2015

The Russian Mennonite immigrants in Germany from the 1990s outnumber the pre-1989 community of Mennonites by three to one. By 2015, the majority of Russian Mennonites and their descendants live in Latin America, Germany and Canada. The world's most conservative Mennonites (in terms of culture and technology) are the Mennonites affiliated with the Lower and Upper Barton Creek Colonies in Belize.

In recent times, divorce is more common, and also carries less stigma, particularly in cases where abuse was known. Mennonite Church USA continues to discuss homosexuality, and member churches hold many stances; a 2015 denominational resolution calls for "grace and forbearance among churches with different views on same-sex unions." Outside of the US, Mennonites in the Netherlands are fully inclusive of gay individuals, while other Mennonites around the world condemn homosexuality outright.

The member churches of Mennonite World Conference include the Mennonite Brethren, the Mennonite Church USA, and the Mennonite Church Canada, with a combined total membership of at least 400,000, or about 30% of Mennonites worldwide. === Organization: North America === In 2015, there were 538,839 baptized members organized into 41 bodies in United States, according to the Mennonite World Conference.

Membership of the Mennonite Church USA is on the decline. Canada had 143,720 Mennonites in 16 organized bodies as of 2015.

The Mennonite World Conference counts 47,202 baptized members within 7 organized bodies in 2015.

They have 121 congregations with 10,200 members according to the World Council of Churches, although the Mennonite World Conference cites only 7680 members. Switzerland had 2350 Mennonites belonging to 14 Congregations which are part of the Konferenz der Mennoniten der Schweiz (Alttäufer), Conférence mennonite suisse (Anabaptiste) (Swiss Mennonite Conference). In 2015, there were 2078 Mennonites in France.

The country's 32 autonomous Mennonite congregations have formed the Association des Églises Évangéliques Mennonites de France. Once home to tens of thousands of Mennonites, the number of Mennonites in Ukraine in 2015 totaled just 499.

had but 326 members within two organized bodies as of 2015.

2016

In 2016 it had fallen to 78,892 members after the withdrawal of the Lancaster Mennonite Conference. Pennsylvania remains the hub of the denomination but there are also large numbers of members in Ohio, Indiana, Kansas, and Illinois. In 1983 the General Assembly of the Mennonite Church met jointly with the General Conference Mennonite Church in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, in celebration of 300 years in the Americas.

Most recently, the Mountain States Mennonite Conference ordained openly gay pastors in December 2016 and February 2019, and has called into ministerial service and credentialed two openly LGBTQ pastors. == Service projects == The Mennonite Disaster Service, based in North America, is a volunteer network of Anabaptist churches which provide both immediate and long-term responses to hurricanes, floods, and other disasters in the U.S.

In 2016 it had fallen to under 79,000.

2017

1803–1805 According to a 2017 report, "there are two basic strains of Mennonites in Canada: the Swiss-South German Mennonites came via Pennsylvania, and the Dutch-North German Mennonites came via Russia (Ukraine).

This is incorrect, according to a 2017 report by Canadian Mennonite magazine: The customs of Old Order Mennonites, the Amish communities and Old Colony Mennonites have a number of similarities, but the cultural differences are significant enough so that members of one group would not feel comfortable moving to another group.

2019

Most recently, the Mountain States Mennonite Conference ordained openly gay pastors in December 2016 and February 2019, and has called into ministerial service and credentialed two openly LGBTQ pastors. == Service projects == The Mennonite Disaster Service, based in North America, is a volunteer network of Anabaptist churches which provide both immediate and long-term responses to hurricanes, floods, and other disasters in the U.S.

2020

By September 2007, some Mennonite families had already left Quebec. In November 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic in Ontario, Canada, both the Region of Waterloo Public Health unit and Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health issued orders to close Old Order schools and places of worship in their regions and to limit social interactions.




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