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The Brethren Church is an Anabaptist Christian denomination with roots in and one of several groups that traces its origins back to the Schwarzenau Brethren of Germany. ==Background== The Brethren church tradition traces its roots back over 300 years to 1708. Eighteenth-century Europe was a time of strong governmental control of the church and low tolerance for religious diversity. Nevertheless, there were religious dissenters who lived their faith in spite of the threat of persecution. Some of these dissenters found refuge in the town of Schwarzenau, Germany. Among them was Alexander Mack, a miller who had been influenced by both Pietism and Anabaptism. Religious persecution drove the Brethren to take refuge in Surhuisterveen, Friesland, in the Netherlands. They settled among the Mennonites and remained there until 1729, when all but a handful emigrated to America, in three separate groups from 1719 to 1733. Because of growing persecution and economic hardship, Brethren began emigrating to Pennsylvania under the leadership of Peter Becker. Most Brethren left Europe by 1740, including Mack, who brought a group over in 1729. The first congregation in the New World was organized at Germantown, Pa., in 1723. Soon after its formation, the Germantown congregation sent missionaries to rural areas around Philadelphia. These missionaries preached, baptized, and started new congregations. In 1781 these Brethren adopted the title German Baptist Brethren at their Annual Meeting, and in 1782 the Brethren forbade slaveholding by its members. The group continued to expand and from Pennsylvania, they migrated chiefly westward. By 1908 they were most numerous in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, Kansas and North Dakota. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「The Brethren Church」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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