4. Church of God in Christ.—A small boil of reformers, led by John Holdeman who in sisted that the Mennonite Church had forsakes its original foundations. It originated in in 1859. Holdernan revived the ban as inerly observed in Europe. The body had sub sequently considerable accessions of Russian Mennonites, under whose influence the striae views were gradpally relaxed. The census of 1916 credits this body with 17 ministers, 2, churches, and 1,125 members. There has ben little change in the first two items since 19(e but the number of members was doubled.
5. Old Order Mennonite Church (Waier). — Jacob Wisler led a movement in opposition to innovations, such as revival meetings, Ses day schools, etc., which resulted in the orals: ration, in 1870, of the Old Order Chunk Other small bodies in Canada, Virginia ad elsewhere, which occupied a similar positica joined with the Wisler movement, which holds strictly to the Dort Confession of Faith. Tht Church has .32 ministers, 22 churches and 1,0.1 members (census of 1916), each item indicat ing an advance since 1906.
6. Reformed Mennonite Church.—This branch is also the result of a reform men ment toward stricter regard for doctrine ad discipline, led by Francis Herr and his six John. The Herrites have no fellowship what ever with other churches, and conduct no Su} day schools or missions. They are decreasa in number. In 1916 they had 26 ministers, churches and 1,281 members, mostly in Penns!i vania.
7. General Conference of Mennonites a North America.— An attempt to unite varier Mennonite bodies holding practically the sari doctrinal views and observing the same pray tices, resulted in a general conference in Iola in 1860, and the organization of this body Groups of Russian and German churches sub sequently joined with it. It is active in ces sionary and educational work. There Li boards of home missions, of foreign mis.sice. of publication, of education and of emergoso relief. Three colleges are maintained at Nor ton, Kan., Bluffton, Ohio, and Freeman, S. D Several periodicals, including The Mennonite weekly, are published at Berne, Ind. The Do General Conference accepts the Dort Confes sion, but does not observe the foot-washing ceremony in connection with the Lord's Sup per, nor does it require the women to have a head covering during prayers and worship. Its platform of union is acceptance of the Dort Confession, salvation by grace through faith in Christ, baptism on confession of faith. refusal to take oaths, peace, non-resistance and practice of scriptural discipline. The General Conference, which is gaining in numbers, has according to the census of 1916, 194 minister. 117 churches and 15,407 members.
8. Mennonite Brethren in Christ.— This branch grew out of an evangelistic effort in Pennsylvania, in 1853. The first conference was formed in 1858. The movement spread and three groups came into existence, which united in 1879; subsequently other groups joined the body which took its present form and name in 1883. There is a general con
ference which meets every four years, and five district conferences in the United States and two in Canada. A weekly newspaper, The Gospel Banner, is published in New Carlisle, Ohio. The General Conference has 95 min isters, 110 churches and 4,737 members.
9. Defenceless Mennonite Church.— A small body of 854 members, which insists upon a definite experience of conversion, organized under the leadership of Henry Egli, in 1860, an offshoot of the Amish branch. It has a mission in Africa and is akin to the conference of Defenceless Mennonites known, until re cently, as the Minnesota and Nebraska Confer ence of Mennonites and now affiliating with the Mennonite Church. (See 1. Mennonite Church, supra.) 10. Mennonite Brethren Church.— This body, which was not reported by the census of 1906, kas three district conferences in the United States and one in Canada. It conducts home and foreign missions and has a college at Hillsboro, Kan., where it publishes the Zion's Bote. The census of 1916 gives this church 81 ministers, 53 churches and 5,127 members.
11. Krimmer Brueder Gemeinde.—A union of two bodies of Brueder Gemeinde, which came originally from Russia, where they sepa rated from the main body of Mennonites, be cause they were thought to be lax in religious life and discipline. They differ from other Mennonites in baptizing by immersion and not by pouring, and they formerly differed among themselves as to the mode, one group baptizing with a forward, the other with a backward movement. There are 894 members, with 34 ministers and 13 churches.
12. Hutterian Brethren.—These are de scendants of the Hinter Brethren of South Rus sia. Their leader was Jacob Hutter who was burned at the stake at Innsbruck, in the Tyrol, in 1536. The Hutterian Brethren are not strictly Mennonites, but agree with them and are so classed. They formerly observed com munity life in South Dakota, and have some times been called Bruederhoef Mennonites. have (census of 1916) 982 members, with 32 ministers and 17 churches.
The Kleine Gemeinde, the Stauffer Mennon ites and the Central Conference are small groups, differing in minor particulars among themselves and from other Mennonite bodies. They aggregate about 2,500 members. The grand total of Mennonite bodies. according to the census of 1916, is as follows: 1,398 ministers, 840 churches and 79,591 members. The increase in 10 years was nearly 25,000 members.
Bibliography.— Funk, (Mennonite Church and her Accusers' (Elkhart, Ind.) •, Krebiel, H. P., (History of the General Conference of the Mennonites of North America) (Canton, Ohio, 1898); Wedel, C. H.,