Editing Church of the Brethren (section)

== History ==
=== Early history ===
The history of the [[Schwarzenau Brethren]] began in 1708 when a group of eight Christians organized themselves under the leadership of [[Alexander Mack]] (1679–1735) into a church and baptized one another in Schwarzenau, Germany, now part of [[Bad Berleburg]] in [[North Rhine-Westphalia]]. Five men and three women gathered at the Eder (pronounced ey-duhr), a small river that flows through Schwarzenau, to perform baptism as an outward symbol of their new faith. One of the members of the group first baptized Mack, who then, in turn, baptized the other seven.

They believed that the established European churches{{snd}}Catholic, Lutheran, and Reformed{{snd}}were missing the point of true Christianity as taught by Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount, and as revealed in the New Testament and exemplified by the Early Church. After searching for a church that taught New Testament discipleship and finding none in their area, they committed to follow the commands and example of Jesus in their daily lives regardless of the cost. They rejected established state churches, including infant baptism, existing Eucharistic practices, and the use of physical coercion against other humans. The founding Brethren were initially influenced by Radical Pietist understandings of an invisible, nondenominational church of awakened Christians who would fellowship together in purity and love, awaiting Christ's return; yet they embraced an Anabaptist understanding of the church as a disciplined faith community that enforced Christian standards of discipleship upon those who chose to join their fellowship. The eight founding members referred to themselves as "brethren," and New Baptists ({{langx|de|link=no|Neue Täufer}}). The name alluded to the use of the name ''Täufer'' (Baptists) by the Mennonites. They suffered persecution for their stand, much as the earlier Anabaptists had.

The Brethren soon moved to seek religious freedom in America. They founded the first American congregation on Christmas Day 1723 in [[Germantown, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania|Germantown, Pennsylvania]], then a village outside [[Philadelphia]].<ref>Donald B. Kraybill, ''Concise Encyclopedia of Amish, Brethren, Hutterites, and Mennonites'', JHU Press, USA, 2010, p. 83</ref> They became known as German Baptist Brethren (although this name was not officially recognized until 1836, when the Annual Meeting called itself "The Fraternity of German Baptist Brethren"). In 1871, the denomination adopted the name, "The German Baptist Brethren Church." Until the early 20th century, Brethren were colloquially called ''Tunkers'' or ''Dunkers'' (from the German for immersionists).

In 1728, [[Conrad Beissel]], a Brethren minister at [[Conestoga Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania|Conestoga]] (Lancaster County, Pa.) renounced his association with the Brethren and formed his own group in Ephrata, Pennsylvania. They came to be known as the [[Ephrata Cloister]]. Beissel practiced a mystical form of Christianity. He encouraged celibacy, a vegetarian diet, and recognition of Saturday as the Sabbath.
[[File:6611 Germantown Brethren.JPG|thumb|upright=1.2|The first Brethren church built in America, in Germantown near Philadelphia.]]

=== Division in the 1880s ===
After the Beissel split, the Brethren split several times because of doctrinal differences.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cob-net.org/19th.htm |title=19th Century Acculturation of the Brethren |publisher= Cob-net |access-date= November 15, 2015}}</ref> The most traditionalist members emphasized consistency, obedience, and the order of the Brethren. They opposed the use of musical instruments, [[Sunday schools]], revival meetings, and worldly amusements. They promoted plain dress, plain living, and church discipline. The progressives in the church focused on grace and acceptance. They promoted higher education, salaried ministers, Sunday schools, and [[Christian revival|revivalism]]. The majority of Brethren held a position between the two extremes.

In 1869 and 1880, a group of Brethren in the Miami Valley of Ohio submitted a petition to Annual Conference to stop liberalization and return to traditional Brethren practices, which they identified with the "primitive" apostolic faith. On both occasions, a more moderate petition was submitted to the delegates. Both times, the [[Miami Valley]] group found the rewording unacceptable.

In 1881, they resubmitted their petition to Annual Conference, and it was rejected for violating technical procedure. In November 1881, traditionalist Brethren led by the Miami Valley group met and formally split from the Church of the Brethren to form the [[Old German Baptist Brethren]]. They held their first annual meeting in 1882.

At the same time, [[Henry Holsinger]], a leader of the progressives in the church, published writings that some Brethren considered slanderous and [[Schism (religion)|schismatic]]. As a result, he was disfellowshipped from the 1882 annual meeting of the Brethren. He met with other progressives on June 6 and 7, 1883, and together they formed the [[Brethren Church]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://ohiohistorycentral.org/w/Brethren_Church|title=Brethren Church| work =Ohio History Connection}}</ref>

The remaining middle group—called "conservatives"—retained the name German Baptist Brethren. At the Annual Conference of 1908 at [[Des Moines, Iowa]], the name was officially changed to the Church of the Brethren. The Annual Conference justified the name change by citing the predominant use of English in the church, the fact that the name "German Baptist" frustrated mission work, and that it would disassociate the denomination from the [[Old German Baptist Brethren]].<ref>{{cite book|author=Carl F Bowman|title=Brethren Society: The Cultural Transformation of a Peculiar People|publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press|year=1995|pages=225–232}}</ref>

=== 20th century ===
During the early 20th century, the Church of the Brethren invested heavily in foreign missions in India, China, and other nations. They also embraced the American [[temperance movement]].

The denomination's two-hundred year old peace position was tested when delegates at the Goshen Conference in Goshen, Indiana, adopted the 1918 [http://www.brethren.org/ac/statements/1918war.html Statement on War and Violence] nine months after the United States entered the war to address the issue of conscientious objectors. In July of that year, leaders of the conference were threatened with punishment by the US government under the Sedition Act. The church leaders agreed not to retract the statement, but to withdraw it from circulation.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.brethren.org/CO/documents/session-3-goshen-conference.pdf|title=The Goshen Conference: Call of Conscience|date=2013|website=Church of the Brethren}}{{dead link|date=July 2022}}</ref>

Discipline for violating church teachings during the church's first two hundred years ranged from setting members "back" from communion to disfellowshipping them as members to, in rare cases, "avoidance" (or [[shunning]]). These practices gradually subsided as the earlier emphasis upon unity of practice (the "order of the Brethren") gave way during the 1920s and 1930s to an emphasis upon individual moral autonomy. [[Martin Grove Brumbaugh]]—a Brethren minister and historian who became governor of Pennsylvania in 1915—played a leading role in disseminating a more progressive vision of Brethren history and practice. His questionable claim that "no force in religion" had been a Brethren teaching since their founding reinforced his calls to relax church discipline.<ref>{{cite book|author=Carl F Bowman|title=Brethren Society: The Cultural Transformation of a Peculiar People|publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press|year=1995|pages=252–253; 356–357}} See also {{cite book|author=Donald F Durnbaugh|title=Fruit of the Vine: A History of the Brethren 1708-1995|publisher=Brethren Press|year=1997|pages=390–391}}</ref> These changes led to an exodus of many [[conservative Anabaptists|conservative Brethren]] in the 1920s, who organized the [[Dunkard Brethren Church]], which continues to uphold the Brethren practices of [[plain dress]] and [[Christian head covering|headcovering]].<ref name= "DBC2022">{{cite web |title=History |url=https://www.dunkardbrethrenchurch.com/Church-History.html |publisher=[[Dunkard Brethren Church]] |access-date=21 May 2022 |archive-date=April 18, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220418125909/https://www.dunkardbrethrenchurch.com/Church-History.html |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name= "Bronner2015"/>

During the 1940s and 1950s, acts of global Christian service flourished and energized the denomination. Service work was centered at the [http://www.brethren.org/brethrenservicecenter/ Brethren Service Center] in New Windsor, Md., after Brethren purchased a former college campus there for that purpose. Many Brethren joined [http://www.brethren.org/bvs/ Brethren Volunteer Service] and Heifers for Relief, which incorporated independently in 1953 and eventually became [[Heifer International]]. The Brethren helped establish the Christian Rural Overseas Program (CROP), which was originally housed at Bethany Biblical Seminary, the Brethren seminary in Oak Brook, Illinois. Well-known leaders of the Brethren Service initiatives included [[Dan West (philanthropist)|Dan West]] and [https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Zigler,_Michael_Robert_(1891-1985) M.R. (Michael Robert) Zigler].

[[File:First Brethren panorama.jpg|alt=First Brethren, Nappanee, Indiana.|thumb|300px|[[Nappanee]] First Brethren Church, Indiana, United States.]]
[[File:Bellefontaine Church of the Brethren.jpg|alt=Bellefontaine Church of the Brethren, located at 534 S. Detroit Street in Bellefontaine, Ohio, United States.|thumb|300px|Church of the Brethren, [[Bellefontaine, Ohio|Bellefontaine]], Ohio, United States.]]
From the end of the Second World War to the present, Brethren have continued to be active in service and missions around the world. Differences have also remained, with Brethren individuals, churches, and districts disagreeing about issues including Biblical authority, ordination of women, homosexuality, climate change, and [[ecumenism]].

The 1958 Annual Conference in Des Moines, Iowa, decided that trine immersion would not be required of all members, allowed ordination of women, opened love feast to members of any church, and permitted bread and cup communion outside of love feast.

At the Annual Conference in [[Ocean Grove, New Jersey]], the next year, a group of conservative Brethren responded by forming the Brethren Revival Fellowship (BRF). The BRF describes itself as "a loyal concern movement within the Church of the Brethren." The BRF advocates simple dress, [[Biblical inerrancy]], church discipline, and an [[Evangelicalism|evangelical]] understanding of faith. It has been critical of the denomination's involvement in political and social causes, as well as its association with the World Council of Churches and the National Council of Churches.

Progressive-leaning groups have also grown.  Groups including the Womaen's Caucus, Voices for an Open Spirit, Open Table Cooperative, and Brethren-Mennonite Council on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Interests advocate  changes to church doctrine and practice. Proposed changes have include giving the denomination a gender-neutral name, allowing LGBT Brethren to be ordained as ministers and get married, and increasing the political and social mission of the church.

Although a divide exists within the church on these issues, the official position of the church is that the Bible is the Word of God, and that covenant relationships between homosexuals are unacceptable.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.brethren.org/ac/statements/1979biblicalinspirationauthority.html |title= 1979 Biblical Inspiration Authority |publisher= Brethren |access-date= November 15, 2015 |archive-date= November 17, 2015 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20151117031059/http://www.brethren.org/ac/statements/1979biblicalinspirationauthority.html |url-status= dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.brethren.org/ac/statements/1983humansexuality.html#Homosexual |title=1983 Human Sexuality |publisher=Brethren |access-date=November 15, 2015 |archive-date=November 17, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151117021331/http://www.brethren.org/ac/statements/1983humansexuality.html#Homosexual |url-status=dead }}</ref> However, the church also affirms "[[unity in diversity]]", which generally allows for church districts and congregations to set doctrine.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.brethren.org/about/policies/2008-forbearance.pdf |title=A Resolution Urging Forbearance |publisher=Brethren |access-date=November 15, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151117031511/http://www.brethren.org/about/policies/2008-forbearance.pdf |archive-date= November 17, 2015 }}</ref>

=== 21st century ===
In July 2019, the Association of Brethren Churches, since renamed the Covenant Brethren Church (CBC), organized as a movement to explore separation from the Church of the Brethren.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.brethren.org/news/2019/denominational-leadership-team-statement.html |title= Denominational Leadership Team issues response regarding the Covenant Brethren Church |publisher= Brethren |date= November 21, 2019|access-date= December 13, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.facebook.com/pg/covenantbrethrenchurch/posts/?ref=page_internal |title=Covenant Brethren Church |website=[[Facebook]] |access-date= December 13, 2019}}</ref> The CBC began with a vision cast in July 2019, as Church of the Brethren leaders from thirteen districts gathered in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, to pray, discern, and discuss a new vision for Brethren in the 21st Century. A temporary executive board was called, and sub-teams were tasked with working at various aspects of the vision. Subsequent, steadily growing gatherings of Brethren from across the United States met in Winchester and Woodstock, Virginia and widely affirmed these developments.

On November 16, 2019, at the Antioch Church in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, the assembled group was first called The Covenant Brethren Church, and moved toward establishing an office in north-central West Virginia. A Statement of Faith and by-laws are in development for this new movement.  The CBC has stated that it fully affirms biblical authority, the sanctity of marriage as expressed in Genesis 2 and affirmed by Jesus Christ in Matthew 19, the sanctity of human life from conception, and the historical New Testament ideals and practices held by the Brethren since 1708.

The Church of the Brethren Leadership Team responded to these developments with a statement expressing concerns with the CBC's direction and said division was "not a path forward."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Huber|first=Tim|url=http://mennoworld.org/2020/02/03/news/conservative-brethren-exploring-separation/|title=Conservative Brethren exploring separation|date= February 3, 2020|work=Mennonite World Review}}</ref> The Church of the Brethren, meanwhile, has been moving forward with a "Compelling Vision Statement"<ref>{{Citation | title = Compelling Vision Statement | publisher = Brethen | url = http://www.brethren.org/ac/compelling-vision.html}}</ref> process designed to create a direction for the denomination that will aid in unifying it and moving it forward. In 2024, the worldwide Church of the Brethren organized along national lines to form the Global Church of the Brethren Communion with founding members Brazil, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Honduras, India, Nigeria, Rwanda, Spain, Uganda, the United States, and Venezuela.<ref name="gcotbc">{{Cite web |url=https://www.brethren.org/news/2024/global-church-of-the-brethren-communion/ |title=Global Church of the Brethren Communion formally organizes |date=2024-01-03 |accessdate=2024-01-06 |language=en-US |publisher=Church of the Brethren}}</ref>

In 2023, all six Puerto Rican churches in the Church of the Brethren joined the [[Covenant Brethren Church]]. This was affirmed in 2024.<ref name="pr">{{Cite web |url=https://mailchi.mp/brethren/newsline-special-feb-7-2024 |language=en-US |publisher=Church of the Brethren |date=2024-02-07 |accessdate=2024-02-07 |title=Newsline Special for Feb.&nbsp;7, 2024}}</ref>