TUNKERS. – Derogatory name given to the German Baptists, also called Dunkers.
I. HISTORY. - This branch of the Baptists was founded at Marienborn (Wetterau) in 1708 by Alessandro Mack, who emigrated to America in 1719, where the sect developed. Another branch of the Baptists was founded by Giovanni Gerardo Oncken in Germany in 1834 and spread in small groups in Denmark, Sweden, Switzerland, Austria, and Russia.
In America, a sect derived from that of Mack founded, through the work of Giovanni Beissel in 1732, the Brothers of Zion, who established a kind of monastery at «Ephrata» in the Cocalico territory (Pennsylvania). This community devoted itself chiefly to printing, for the dissemination of the Bible. The Tunkers founded missions in India, China, and Japan, and also in Liberia in 1821; in 1930 their number amounted to 156,768 adults, divided among 1,327 churches.
II. DOCTRINE AND WORSHIP. - The t. are distinguished from other Baptists chiefly by the baptismal rite. It should be noted, on the other hand, that among Baptists in general, the slightest divergence in doctrine and worship has contributed to the origin of a new sect. The baptismal rite of the t. is as follows: the neophyte kneels in the baptismal basin (not standing, as in the other Baptist sects), and is then completely immersed. The t. recognize as Sacraments, in addition to Baptism and the Lord’s Supper, the washing of the feet and Holy Anointing performed with oil. For the rest, they accept almost all the articles of the Baptists, namely: 1) particular Churches are completely autonomous and sovereign in their local affairs; 2) there must be a clear separation between Church and State; 3) religious liberty is a natural right inherent in the human spirit; 4) a Church is an organism formed by the regenerate, who have been baptized following a personal profession of faith and attachment to the Gospel; 5) the baptism of children is not only contrary to Scripture, but also harmful to the spiritual life of the Church; 6) the necessary rite of Baptism is immersion in water; 7) according to Scripture, the ministers of the Church are pastors and deacons; 8) the Lord’s Supper must be observed in remembrance of the sufferings and death of Jesus Christ (v. BATTISTI). The t. reject the use of oaths, condemn military service, and teach universal apocatastasis (v.), whereby all spirits, human and demonic, will ultimately be saved.