Old Order Brethren are Old Order plain groups of the

Schwarzenau Brethren The Schwarzenau Brethren, the German Baptist Brethren, Dunkers, Dunkards, Tunkers, or sometimes simply called the German Baptists, are an Anabaptist group that dissented from Roman Catholic, Lutheran and Reformed European state churches during t ...

, as well as the

River Brethren The River Brethren are a group of historically related Anabaptist Christian denominations originating in 1770, during the Radical Pietist movement among German colonists in Pennsylvania. In the 17th century, Mennonite refugees from Switzerland ...

—both

Anabaptist Christian Anabaptism (from Neo-Latin , from the Greek : 're-' and 'baptism', german: Täufer, earlier also )Since the middle of the 20th century, the German-speaking world no longer uses the term (translation: "Re-baptizers"), considering it biased. ...

traditions. There are five of these “Old Order” groups of the Schwarzenau Brethren: *

Old German Baptist Brethren The Old German Baptist Brethren (OGBB) is a conservative Plain church which emerged from a division among the German Baptist Brethren in 1881 being part of the Old Order Movement. Like the church it emerged from, it has roots both in Anabaptism ...

, emerged 1881, with about 4,500 members the largest of these Old Order groups and more liberal than the following three groups. *

Old Brethren The history of the Old Brethren Church dates back to Germany in 1708, when the Schwarzenau Brethren were formed in Berleburg under the leadership of Alexander Mack. Soon they moved to Pennsylvania to escape religious persecution in Europe. As the ...

, emerged 1913, with about 250 members in 2000, a bit more conservative than the Old German Baptist Brethren, with decision making authority being in the local congregations rather than Annual Meeting, but in many aspects similar to the OGBB. *

Old Order German Baptist Brethren The Old Order German Baptist Brethren, also called Petitioners, are a small group of very conservative Schwarzenau Brethren. History The history of the Old Order German Baptist Brethren dates back to 1708, when the Schwarzenau Brethren were fo ...

, emerged 1921, with about 125 members in 2000, a horse and buggy group that uses tractors for field and agricultural work. *

Old Brethren German Baptist The Old Brethren German Baptists, also called Leedyites, are the most conservative group of Schwarzenau Brethren. They live in Indiana and Missouri. History Origins in Germany The history of the Old Brethren German Baptists dates back to 1708, whe ...

s, emerged 1939, with about 130 members in 2015, a horse and buggy group that also uses horses for field work, the most conservative group. *

Old German Baptist Brethren, New Conference The Old German Baptist Brethren, New Conference is a church belonging to the Schwarzenau Brethren tradition, that formed in 2009 as a result of a split among the Old German Baptist Brethren. History In 2009, a major division was a result of the ...

, emerged 2009, with about 2,800 members, a more liberal split from the Old German Baptist Brethren. The

Old Order River Brethren The Old Order River Brethren are a River Brethren denomination of Anabaptist Christianity with roots in the Radical Pietist movement. As their name indicates, they are Old Order Anabaptists. History The denomination began about 1778 in Pennsy ...

are divided into three subgroups.Simon J. Bronner: ''Encyclopedia of American Folklife'', London and New York, 2006, page 909.

References

{{Set index article Schwarzenau Brethren denominations