THE MENNONITES. - From the writings of M., two disciples, Hans Rys and Lubbert Giraldi, in 1580 drew up the "Waterland Confession of Faith," which contains 40 articles. In these, the transmission of original sin is denied, conditional election is affirmed, as is the Lord's death for all; oath-taking, war and any violence, and lawsuits are condemned; obedience to civil authorities is recommended, provided they do not command things contrary to the word of God, and only adult Baptism is recognized.
The Confessions of Faith of Dort (1632) and of Leiden (1664) are also accepted. During his journeys through northern Germany, M. had spread his doctrines as far as Livonia and Denmark, but the very extent of his propaganda and the difficulty of communication between the different groups caused divisions and schisms. The excesses of the early Anabaptists, the Mennonites' resistance to enlistment, and their refusal ever to swear an oath, even in cases prescribed by law, led to their being persecuted wherever they had settled. Despite the persecutions, in 1927 there were 22,000 of them in Switzerland, 5,500 in Germany, 70,000 in Holland, 4,000 in France, 2,000 in Poland, and about 100,000 in Russia. Today the Mennonites are generally peaceful people, submissive to civil authorities; they live almost separately from others, devote themselves mainly to agriculture, and wherever they settle they form flourishing colonies. Worthy of mention are the Mennonites of the United States: they number barely 100,000 and are divided into many sects, some of which have only 200 or 300 members. To the first Mennonites, called to his Pennsylvania colony by William Penn (1644-1718), others were added, especially in the 19th century, coming from Switzerland, Germany, and Russia: all brought with them their customs and traditions. Through contact with the first group established there, some merged with it, and from this merger originated the "Mennonite Church," the most numerous of all the American ones, with 34,039 members, while others remained separate. At times some of these groups attempted to gather in a kind of conference, such as the "General Conference of the Mennonite Church" and the "Conference of the Defenseless Mennonites," but since not all joined the union, a new sect resulted. Some small groups, such as the "Krimmer Brueder Gemeinde," almost entirely of Crimean origin, remained compact and united even after emigrating to the United States. The Hutterian Mennonite Brethren did the same. In the United States, moreover, new schisms arose
(phot. Vatican Library)
among them, such as the "Mennonite Church of God," the "Old Order Mennonite Church" (1870), etc. At present there are 17 divisions in the United States and Canada. The Mennonites have important missions in Christian and pagan countries.
BIBL.: sources