MENNONITES, a body of religionists taking their name from Menno Simons (see below), who maintain a form of Chris tianity which, discarding the sacerdotal idea, owns no authority outside the Bible and the enlightened conscience, limits bap tism to the believer, and lays stress on those precepts which vindicate the sanctity of human life and of a man's word. There was no hierarchy (as with the Familists), but "exhorters" chosen by the members, among them "elders" for administering baptism and the Lord's Supper. The place of origin of the views after wards called Mennonite was Ziirich, where in 1523 a small com munity left the state church and adopted the tenet of believers' baptism. Unlike other Reformers, they denied at once the Christian character of the existing church and of the civil author ity, though, in common with the first Christians, it was their duty to obey all lawful requirements of an alien power. By Protestants as much as by Catholics this position was not unnaturally re garded as subversive of the established foundations of society. Hence the bitter persecutions which, when the safety of toleration was not imagined, made martyrs of these humble folk, who simply wished to cultivate the religious life apart from the world. There was something in this ideal which answered to that mediaeval conception of separation from the world which had leavened all middle-class society in Europe ; and the revolt from Rome had prepared many minds to accept the further idea of separation from the church, for the pursuit of holiness in a society pledged to primitive discipline. Hence the new teaching spread rapidly from Switzerland to Germany, Holland and France. In Holland the Mennonites have always been numerous. An offshoot from them at Rhijnsburg in 1619, founded by the four brothers, farm ers, Van der Kodde, and named Collegianten from their meetings, termed collegia (thus, as not churches, escaping the penal laws), has been compared to the Plymouth Brethren, but differed in so far as they required no conformity of religious opinion, and recognized no office of teacher. With them, as Martineau notes, Spinoza had "an intense fellow-feeling." Later, the exiled Socin ians from Poland (166o) were in many cases received into mem bership. There had previously been overtures, more than once, for union with Mennonites on the part of Polish Socinians, who agreed with them in the rejection of oaths, the refusal to take human life, the consequent abstinence from military service and magisterial office, and in the Biblical basis of doctrine ; dif ferences of doctrinal interpretation precluded any fusion. (X.)
See W. J. Kiihler, art. "Mennonites" in Hastings, Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics, with reference to the sources.
The first colony of Mennonites in America settled in German town, Pa., in 1683, to escape severe persecution in Europe. They became pioneers in this and other sections, living hardy and use ful lives, and holding to freedom of conscience, opposition to war and slavery and such common practices as insurance and interest on money lent. For many years they did not think it necessary to build churches or parsonages or to provide salaries for their ministers or bishops, or special training to fit them for their call ing. Strict adherence to the languages they brought with them from Europe—Dutch, German, Russian—strictness or laxity in doctrines or discipline, including the "ban" or excommunication, caused many divisions among them, so that there are a dozen or more separate bodies of Mennonites in the United States and Canada. Among these are the "Old" or Mennonite Church, the oldest and largest division (40,00o members in 1928), who still use the "Pennsylvania Dutch" tongue; the General Conference Mennonite Church (20,000 members), which seeks to heal divi sions; the Old Order Amish (8,600 members), which still uses the hymns of the old Ausbund of 1571 and tunes which have never been printed; the Mennonite Brethren in Christ (8,600 members), also conservative. Some Mennonites have been op posed to nearly everything modern, including Sunday schools, missions and revivals, but rapid changes are taking place and not a few colleges, publishing houses and missionary enterprises are supported by them. Also there has been a remarkable increase in the number of church edifices, Sunday schools and salaried min isters. Evangelism has developed greatly in the last half century. A large number of ministers have entered upon a travelling plan, supported by $1,000,000 or more, which has been very successful. There were in 1927 about 115,cm members in America, 90,00o in the United States and about 25,000 in Canada.
Henry West, Mennonites of America (Iwo) ; The Mennonites (192o, Berne, Ind.) ; Daniel Kaufman, Mennonite History (1927) ; also a Year Book put out by the Mennonite pub lishing house. (H. K. C.)