Schwarzenau Brethren

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Schwarzenau Brethren (the German Baptists or Dunkers)
Background
Christianity Protestantism Anabaptism Radical Pietism Radical Reformation
Doctrinal tenets
Non-creedalism Trine baptism Love feast Feet washing Holy kiss Free church Anointing with oil Non-resistance Pacifism The Brethren Card
People
Alexander Mack Shantilal Bhagat Louis Bauman Conrad Beissel Donald F. Durnbaugh Vernard Eller Samuel Kinsey John Kline Peter Nead Christoph Sauer
Groups
Brethren Church Church of the Brethren Conservative Grace Brethren Dunkard Brethren Grace Brethren Old Brethren Old Brethren German Baptist Old German Baptist Brethren Old German Baptist Brethren, New Conference Old Order German Baptist Brethren Defunct groups Ephrata Cloister Church of God (New Dunkers)
Related movements
Amish Bruderhof Community of True Inspiration Hutterites Mennonites River Brethren Quakers
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Anabaptism
A 1685 illustration by Jan Luyken, published in Martyrs Mirror, of Dirk Willems saving his pursuer, an act of mercy that led to his recapture, after which he was burned at the stake near Asperen in the present-day Netherlands
Background Christianity Radical Reformation Sermon on the Mount
Doctrines and practices Theology of Anabaptism Believer's baptism Lovefeast Nonconformity to the world Nonresistance Free will Freedom of religion Priesthood of all believers Separation of church and state Foot washing Holy kiss Plain dress Shunning Simple living
Documents Schleitheim Confession Dordrecht Confession Ausbund Martyrs Mirror
Key people George Blaurock Hans Denck Conrad Grebel Melchior Hoffman Balthasar Hubmaier Hans Hut Jakob Hutter Alexander Mack Felix Manz Pilgram Marpeck Melchior Rink Michael Sattler Menno Simons
Largest groups Amish Apostolic Christians Brethren in Christ Bruderhof Conservative Mennonites Hutterites Mennonite World Conference Mennonites Mennonite Brethren Old Colony Mennonites Old Order Mennonites River Brethren Russian Mennonites Schwarzenau Brethren
Related movements Schwenkfelders Baptists Pietism Radical Pietism Moravians Inspirationalists Quakers Neo-Anabaptism
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The Schwarzenau Brethren, the German Baptist Brethren, Dunkers, Dunkard Brethren, Tunkers,^[1] or sometimes simply called the German Baptists, are an Anabaptist group that dissented from Roman Catholic, Lutheran and Reformed European state churches during the 17th and 18th centuries. German Baptist Brethren emerged in some German-speaking states in western and southwestern parts of the Holy Roman Empire as a result of the Radical Pietist revival movement of the late 17th and early 18th centuries, where people began to read and study their Bibles on their own- rather than just being told what to believe and do.

Hopeful of the imminent return of Christ and desiring to follow Jesus in their daily life, the founding Brethren abandoned State churches and officially formed a new church in 1708. They thereby attempted to translate the New Testament idea of brotherly love into concrete congregational ordinances for all the members.^[2] The Brethren rejected some Radical Pietists’ focus on emotionalism and direct revelation, and emphasized early ("Apostolic" or "primitive") New Testament Christianity as the binding standard for congregational practices. Founding and early Schwarzenau Brethren were also in fellowship with other Anabaptists such as the Mennonites and the River Brethren, and influenced by their writings.

As with many other Anabaptist traditions, the Schwarzenau Brethren are divided into Old Order groups (such as the Old Brethren German Baptist) who practice a lifestyle without certain elements of modern technology, Conservative groups (such as the Dunkard Brethren Church and the Old Brethren Church) who preserve traditional theological distinctives while allowing for the usage of modern conveniences, and mainline groups (such as the Church of the Brethren and the Brethren Church) who are assimilated into popular culture and society.^[3]

In German-speaking Europe, the Brethren became known as Neue Täufer (New Baptists), in distinction from the English Baptist groups with whom they had no formal ties. In the United States, they became popularly known as "Dunkers", "Dunkard Brethren", or "Tunkers", terms that stem from the German verb tunken (Pennsylvania German: dunke), 'to dip, to immerse'.