The Schwarzenau Brethren, also referred to as the German Baptist Brethren, Dunkers, Dunkard Brethren, Tunkers,[1] or simply German Baptists, are an Anabaptist group that dissented from Roman Catholic, Lutheran, and Reformed European state churches during the 17th and 18th centuries. German Baptist Brethren emerged in some German-speaking states in western and southwestern parts of the Holy Roman Empire as a result of the Radical Pietist revival movement of the late 17th and early 18th centuries.

Hopeful of the imminent return of Christ and desiring to follow Jesus in their daily life, the founding Brethren abandoned State churches and officially formed a new church in 1708. They thereby attempted to translate the New Testament idea of brotherly love into concrete congregational ordinances for all the members.[2] The Brethren rejected some Radical Pietists’ focus on emotionalism and direct revelation, and emphasized early ("Apostolic" or "primitive") New Testament Christianity as the binding standard for congregational practices. Founding and early Schwarzenau Brethren were also in fellowship with other Anabaptists such as the Mennonites and the River Brethren, and influenced by their writings.

As with many other Anabaptist traditions, the Schwarzenau Brethren are divided into Old Order groups (such as the Old Brethren German Baptist) who practice a lifestyle without certain elements of modern technology, Conservative groups (such as the Dunkard Brethren Church and the Old Brethren Church) who preserve traditional theological distinctives while allowing for the usage of modern conveniences, and mainline groups (such as the Church of the Brethren and the Brethren Church) who are assimilated into popular culture and society.[3]

In German-speaking Europe, the Brethren became known as Neue Täufer (New Baptists), in distinction from the English Baptist groups with whom they had no formal ties. In the United States, they became popularly known as "Dunkers", "Dunkard Brethren", or "Tunkers", terms that stem from the German verb tunken (Pennsylvania German: dunke), 'to dip, to immerse'.

History

The Schwarzenau Brethren were first organized in 1708 under the leadership of Alexander Mack (1679–1735) in the Schwarzenau, Wittgenstein community of modern-day Bad Berleburg, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. They believed that the Roman Catholic, Lutheran and Reformed churches were taking extreme liberties with the true, pure message of Christianity as revealed in the New Testament.[1] As they began to have the New Testament available in German and read it for themselves, they rejected the established state church liturgies and sacraments, including infant baptism and Eucharistic practices in favor of following plain New Testament practices. The founding Brethren were broadly influenced by Radical Pietism understandings of an invisible church of awakened Christians who would fellowship together in purity and love, reaching out to the lost and hurting in Jesus' name and working together as equal brethren while awaiting Christ's return.

A notable influence was Ernst Christopher Hochmann von Hochenau, a traveling Pietist minister. While living in Schriesheim, his home town, Mack invited Hochmann to come and minister there. Like others who influenced the Brethren, Hochmann considered the pure church to be spiritual, and did not believe that an organized church was necessary. By 1708, the date of the first Brethren baptisms, Mack had rejected this position in favor of forming a separate church with visible rules and ordinances—including threefold baptism of repentant adults by immersion, a Love Feast (that combined communion with feetwashing and an evening meal), anointing, and church discipline according to Matthew 18 culminating in use of the "ban" against members who fall into sin and refuse to repent.

Religious persecution drove the Brethren to take refuge in Friesland, the Netherlands. In 1719 Peter Becker brought a group to Pennsylvania. In 1720 forty Brethren families settled in Surhuisterveen in Friesland. 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.

Peter Becker organized the first American congregation at Germantown, Pennsylvania, on December 25, 1723. In 1743 Christoph Sauer, an early pastor and a printer by trade, printed a Bible in German, the first published in a European language in North America.[1]

Many members of the Schwarzenau Brethren came from the Southwest of Germany, the same region where the Pennsylvania German dialect originated. Because they settled in Pennsylvania among other Germans, who mainly came from the Palatinate and adjacent regions, they took part in the dialect leveling, that was the cradle of Pennsylvania German. Their language therefore was or soon became what today is called Pennsylvania Dutch or sometimes Pennsylvania German.

In 1782 the Brethren forbade slaveholding by its members. In 1871 these Brethren adopted the title German Baptist Brethren at their Annual Meeting. The group continued to expand and from Pennsylvania, they migrated chiefly westward.[1] By 1908 they were most numerous in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, Kansas, North Dakota,[1] Arkansas, and California.

Beliefs and practices

A three-quarters view of a brick church in a black-and-white photo. A barren tree is to the left and a pile of rubble lies to the right.
Brethren emphasize simplicity and humility in their life, including their architecture—as exemplified by this simple church built by Dunkers in Germantown, Philadelphia, pictured c. 1905.

The beliefs of the Schwarzenau Brethren include triple or trine immersion baptism, which provides that the candidate kneel in water and be immersed, face first, three times in the name of God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit;[1] the New Testament as the infallible guide in spiritual matters;[1] communion service celebrated in the evening, accompanied by the love feast; the ceremony of the washing of feet; the salutation of the holy kiss; prayer and anointing with oil over the sick; and nonresistance.[1] See also The Brethren's Card.

Some of the early Schwarzenau Brethren believed in universal restoration, a variant of universal salvation that foretold that after the judgment and harsh punishment described in the New Testament, God's love would one day restore all souls to God. Brethren typically kept this teaching to themselves, and it was largely abandoned by the late nineteenth century.[5] They were among the first to take Christian universalism to America when they emigrated there.[6]

The church leaders are ministers, teachers, and deacons, though the name of these servant positions may differ slightly in the various branches. The official role of elder, while no longer recognized in many congregations, was formerly the most respected position in the church and performed the overseeing function that other churches may call Bishop. Ministers and deacons are elected by the members of the congregation in which they hold membership. Ministers preach the Word, baptize, assist deacons in anointing, solemnize marriages, and officiate at communion. Deacons serve the church by reading Scripture, leading in song and prayer, arranging for visitation to members or their families during illness or crisis, and often function in the capacity of stewards.