A sleeping preacher, also called trance-preacher, is a Christian, most often

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

person who preaches, prophesies or addresses a public audience while "sleeping," that is, in a state of

trance Trance is a state of semi-consciousness in which a person is not self-aware and is either altogether unresponsive to external stimuli (but nevertheless capable of pursuing and realizing an aim) or is selectively responsive in following the dir ...

History

The first reports of sporadic trance preachers, often children, are from the 16th and 17th century in Germany. Immediately after the revocation of the

Edict of Nantes The Edict of Nantes () was signed in April 1598 by King Henry IV and granted the Calvinist Protestants of France, also known as Huguenots, substantial rights in the nation, which was in essence completely Catholic. In the edict, Henry aimed pr ...

in 1685, a resistance movement broke out among the persecuted

French Protestants Protestantism in France has existed in its various forms, starting with Calvinism and Lutheranism since the Protestant Reformation. John Calvin was a Frenchman, as were numerous other Protestant Reformers including William Farel, Pierre Viret and ...

of the Cevennes in Southern France. This movement, in which trance preaching was relatively widespread, is known as the "prophet movement", the "French Prophets" or eventually as the "

Camisard Camisards were Huguenots (French Protestants) of the rugged and isolated Cévennes region and the neighbouring Vaunage in southern France. In the early 1700s, they raised a resistance against the persecutions which followed Louis XIV's Revocation ...

s". It spread to England in 1706 and to Germany and Switzerland in 1711 where its adherents took the name , that is, 'True

Inspirationalists The Community of True Inspiration, also known as the True Inspiration Congregations, Inspirationalists, and the Amana Church Society) is a Radical Pietist group of Christians descending from settlers of German, Swiss, and Austrian descent who settl ...

Amish The Amish (; pdc, Amisch; german: link=no, Amische), formally the Old Order Amish, are a group of traditionalist Anabaptist Christian church fellowships with Swiss German and Alsatian origins. They are closely related to Mennonite churches ...

sleeping preacher

Noah Troyer Noah Troyer (February 18, 1831 – March 2, 1886), was an Amish Mennonite farmer who preached while being in a state of trance and who was seen as a "sleeping preacher". Noah Troyer was born in Ohio in 1831. He married Fannie Mast of Holmes County ...

lived three miles north of

Kalona Kalona is a city in Washington County, Iowa. It is part of the Iowa City metropolitan area. The population was 2,630 at the time of the 2020 census. Kalona is the second-largest city in Washington County. History Amish settlement in what is now ...

in Washington County, Iowa, which immediately adjoins Iowa County, where the

Amana Colonies The Amana Colonies are seven villages on located in Iowa County in east-central Iowa, United States: Amana (or Main Amana, German: ''Haupt-Amana''), East Amana, High Amana, Middle Amana, South Amana, West Amana, and Homestead. The villages ...

are situated, at the time the principal American establishment of the religious community of the Inspirationalists, also known as the Community of True Inspiration, who had brought trance preaching to North America. An article of the ''

Herald of Truth The ''Herald of Truth'' was a religious newspaper founded by John F. Funk in 1864. It was the first periodical of the "Old" Mennonite Church (MC) and was also published in German as the ''Herold der Wahrheit''. Funk published the ''Herald'' throug ...

'' reported on 15 May 1882 that Noah Troyer had preached together with

John D. Kauffman John D. Kauffman (7 July 1847 – 22 October 1913) was an Amish Mennonite minister and later bishop who preached while being in a state of trance and who was seen as a "sleeping preacher". The Kauffman Amish Mennonites, a group with about 3,500 mem ...

(1847–1913), who was also an Amish "sleeping preacher", both in an "unconscious state", Kauffman after Troyer, each for about two hours.

Today

The Kauffman Amish Mennonites, also called Sleeping Preacher Churches or Tampico Amish Mennonite Churches, are the only existing church that goes back to a sleeping preacher, namely

(1847–1913). They are a

Plain In geography, a plain is a flat expanse of land that generally does not change much in elevation, and is primarily treeless. Plains occur as lowlands along valleys or at the base of mountains, as coastal plains, and as plateaus or uplands ...

, car-driving branch of the Amish Mennonites. In 2017, the Kauffman Amish Mennonites had some 2,000 baptized members and lived mainly in

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

and

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...

. In contrast to other Amish Mennonites, they have largely retained the

Pennsylvania German language Pennsylvania Dutch (, or ), referred to as Pennsylvania German in scholarly literature, is a variety of Palatine German, also known as Palatine Dutch, spoken by the Old Order Amish, Old Order Mennonites, Fancy Dutch, and other descendants of G ...

and other traditions from the late 1800s.''Sleeping Preacher Churches''
at

Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online The Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online (GAMEO) is an online encyclopedia of topics relating to Mennonites and Anabaptism. The mission of the project is to provide free, reliable, English-language information on Anabaptist-related top ...

Examples

* Johann Friedrich Rock (1678–1749) from Germany *

Anna Rogel Anna Rågel or Anna Rogel (4 December 1751 in Merikarvia – 5 July 1784) was a Finnish preacher. She is regarded as the most notable woman within the religious revival movement in Satakunta and Ostrobothnia during the 18th century. She was also ...

(1751–1784) from Finland * Constantine Blackmon Sanders (1831–1887), a Presbyterian from the U.S. *

(1831–1886), an Amish man from the U.S. *

(1847–1913), an Amish man from the U.S. *

Helena Konttinen Helena Konttinen (18 June 1871 in Uukuniemi (today's Parikkala and part of Russia), Finland – 24 April 1916 in Uukuniemi, Finland) was a Finnish Christian prophet, a "sleeping preacher", whose religious activities were between the years 1893 ...

(1871–1916) from Finland *

Edgar Cayce Edgar Cayce (; 18 March 1877 – 3 January 1945) was an American clairvoyant who claimed to channel his higher self while in a trance-like state. His words were recorded by his friend, Al Layne; his wife, Gertrude Evans, and later by his s ...

(1877–1945) from the U.S. * Amanda Matilda Reunanen (1894–1965) from Finland *

Maria Åkerblom Ida Maria Åkerblom (September 14, 1898 – February 25, 1981) was the leader of the Finnish Åkerblom Movement, an evangelical movement sometimes called a "cult". She had also served some time in prison. Her movement deemed her a prophet and bega ...

(1898–1981) from Finland

References

{{reflist

Literature

* Clarke Garrett: ''Spirit Possession and Popular Religion: From the Camisards to the Shakers'', Baltimore, 1987. * Aarni Voipio: ''Sleeping Preachers: a Study in Ecstatic Religiosity'', Helsinki, 1951.
Harry H. Hiller: ''The Sleeping Preacher: An Historical Study of the Role of Charisma in Amish Society''
in Pennsylvania Folklife 18 (Winter 1968/69), pages 19-31.
Don Yoder: ''Trance-Preaching in the United States''
in Pennsylvania Folklife 18 (Winter 1968/69), pages 12-18. Camisards Christian sermons Prophets in Christianity Hypnosis de:Schlafprediger