2002tradition
Mennonite Church USA
Mennonite Church USA formed in 2002 through the union of U.S. congregations of MC and GC.
A True Christian Church · Our Anabaptist history
Follow the witness.
Trace the living streams.
A connected history of faith, discipleship, and community. Follow the Radical Reformation and its branches, and read the witnesses preserved in Martyrs’ Mirror.
1,272source accounts & sections45traditions & shared histories50branch connections
45 histories · showing 45 · present to beginnings
Branch developmentInfluence or shared fellowshipAbout this archive
1945–today
Living traditions
1960tradition
Evangelical Mennonite Conference
The Canadian Kleine Gemeinde adopted the name Evangelical Mennonite Conference in 1960.
1959tradition
Evangelical Mennonite Mission Conference
The Rudnerweider church adopted the Evangelical Mennonite Mission Conference identity on 1 July 1959.
Twentieth-century family; multiple beginningstradition
Conservative Mennonite fellowships
A broad family of Mennonite fellowships maintaining distinctive church practices, with several different conference histories.
1800–1944
Across the world
1937tradition
Rudnerweider Mennonites
A renewal movement among Sommerfeld Mennonites organized as the Rudnerweider church in 1937.
1927tradition
Beachy Amish fellowships
The Beachy Amish history began with a 1927 division in an Amish congregation in Somerset County, Pennsylvania.
1925tradition
Mennonite World Conference
A global fellowship established in 1925 to connect Anabaptist churches across national and tradition boundaries.
1920tradition
Bruderhof
The Bruderhof began in Germany in 1920. Its communal history later connected with the Hutterite tradition and developed its own community story.
1920tradition
Mennonite Central Committee
Mennonite Central Committee began in 1920 as a cooperative response to hunger among communities in Ukraine.
Soviet period 1917–1991tradition
Soviet Mennonites: Kirchliche and Brethren
The chart follows Mennonite and Mennonite Brethren communities through revolution, war, repression, and migration in the Soviet period.
1910tradition
Conservative Amish Mennonites: Rosedale Network
Ministers meeting at Pigeon, Michigan, formed the Conservative Amish Mennonite Conference in 1910; its history continues as Rosedale Network.
1890stradition
Sommerfeld Mennonites
A West Reserve Mennonite church associated with Bergthal migration and later colony and renewal movements.
1889tradition
Evangelical Mennonite Brethren
A fellowship organized in North America in 1889, later named the Fellowship of Evangelical Bible Churches.
1883tradition
United Missionary Church and Missionary Church
The exhibit’s Mennonite Brethren in Christ line developed into United Missionary Church and joined a union in 1969.
1875–1925 in Manitobatradition
Reinländer Mennonites in Manitoba
Reinländer congregations formed a distinct Old Colony church history after migration to Manitoba.
Manitoba settlement 1874–1876tradition
Chortitzer Mennonites
The Bergthal migration to Manitoba’s East Reserve in 1874–1876 established the Chortitzer church history.
Separation in 1872; conference in 1899tradition
Joseph Stuckey and the Central Illinois Amish division
A dispute over discipline separated Joseph Stuckey and several Illinois congregations from the wider Amish fellowship.
Regional divisions 1872–1901tradition
Old Order Mennonites
Old Order Mennonite fellowships developed through several regional divisions beginning in the later nineteenth century.
1866tradition
Egly Amish and Evangelical Mennonite Church
Henry Egly’s Amish reform movement developed into the Defenseless Mennonites and later the Evangelical Mennonite Church.
1860tradition
General Conference Mennonite Church
A Mennonite conference shown on the exhibit’s North American timeline; its U.S. congregations joined in forming Mennonite Church USA in 2002.
1860tradition
Mennonite Brethren
The Mennonite Brethren arose through renewal among Mennonites in the Russian Empire. The tradition later developed across national boundaries.
Later nineteenth centurytradition
Old Order Amish
Old Order Amish identity developed during nineteenth-century disagreements over conference organization and changes in church life.
1859tradition
Church of God in Christ, Mennonite
John Holdeman and others began worshiping separately in Ohio in 1859, forming a distinct Mennonite church history.
Colony established 1836; registers from 1843tradition
Bergthal Mennonites
The Bergthal colony’s migration to Manitoba became the background of the Chortitzer and Sommerfeld church histories.
1812tradition
Kleine Gemeinde
A reform movement in the Molotschna settlement that began in 1812 under Klaas Reimer and later developed different national histories.
1812tradition
Reformed Mennonites
A distinct North American Mennonite fellowship led by John Herr from 1812.
1811tradition
Dutch Mennonite Conference: ADS
The Algemene Doopsgezinde Sociëteit brought Dutch Mennonite congregations into a shared association in 1811.
1600–1799
Confession & migration
1789tradition
Old Colony Mennonites
Old Colony history connects the Chortitza settlement with later migrations and a wider family of colony-based Mennonite churches.
1789tradition
Russian Mennonite communities
Communities established in the Russian Empire developed several church traditions and later migrated to the Americas and elsewhere.
Beginnings 1775–1788tradition
Brethren in Christ: River Brethren
A Pennsylvania movement with Anabaptist and Pietist roots that emerged between 1775 and 1788.
1708tradition
Schwarzenau Brethren
The Schwarzenau Brethren represent a related movement shaped by Anabaptism and Pietism, beginning with the baptisms at the Eder River in 1708.
North American development, eighteenth centurytradition
Mennonite Church: MC
The older Mennonite Church in North America developed from Swiss and German congregational histories.
1693tradition
Amish traditions
Amish history grows from the Swiss Anabaptist tradition and the disagreements associated with Jakob Ammann. The later story includes migrations and distinct fellowships.
Division in 1664; reunion in 1801tradition
The Lamb and Sun congregations
The Lamb and Sun names remember an Amsterdam division and the later reunion of its congregations.
Distinct fellowships from c. 1630tradition
Old Flemish Mennonites
Old Flemish congregations retained separate church relationships while other Dutch groups pursued union.
Migration history, seventeenth–eighteenth centuriestradition
Mennonites of Swiss–South German ancestry
Migrations connected Swiss and South German Anabaptist communities with European refuges and later congregations in North America.
1500–1599
Radical Reformation
1566tradition
Flemish Mennonites
Flemish Mennonite communities formed one of the Dutch branches during sixteenth-century disagreements over discipline and congregational life.
1566tradition
Frisian Mennonites
A Dutch Mennonite branch that developed in Friesland and also took root in West Prussia.
Sixteenth century to the 1639 Amsterdam uniontradition
High German Mennonites
The High Germans connected South German and Rhineland believers with Dutch congregations and efforts toward reconciliation.
Mid-sixteenth century; confession 1577tradition
Waterlander Mennonites
A Dutch Mennonite stream associated with Waterland, with a confession of faith in 1577 and a distinctive approach to church discipline.
Sixteenth-century settlementtradition
Danzig and Prussian Mennonites
Mennonite communities in the Vistula region linked Dutch Anabaptist histories with later migrations into the Russian Empire.
1530s; a wider family nametradition
Mennonite traditions
Mennonite history includes Dutch, Swiss, German, and later worldwide communities. Shared roots coexist with differences in worship, practice, organization, and relationships.
1528tradition
Hutterite traditions
Hutterite history centres on gathered Christian communities and community of goods. Its migration story links Moravia, eastern Europe, and North America.
1525tradition
Swiss Brethren
The Swiss Brethren emerged in the context of the Zürich baptisms and early Swiss Anabaptism. Later Swiss Mennonite and Amish histories share this background.
1520s: several regional beginningstradition
The regional roots of Anabaptism
Anabaptism developed in several regions during the Radical Reformation, including Switzerland, South Germany and Austria, and the Netherlands.
