1778; Brethren in Christ name by 1863 · event
The River Brethren and believers’ baptism
A revival among Pennsylvania Mennonite communities contributed to the gathering of the River Brethren.
Also searchable as: John Engel · Whitmer
The exhibit places the beginnings of the River Brethren within a revival that affected Mennonite communities in America. In 1778 John Engel and a friend identified only as Whitmer baptized one another in a river. Their act joined a profession of renewed faith to an outward baptism and the formation of a gathered church.
The community became known as the River Brethren and, by 1863, adopted the name Brethren in Christ. The broader tradition page follows its Anabaptist, Pietist, and later evangelical relationships. The panel does not supply Whitmer’s given name, and the name is retained as recorded rather than expanded without evidence.
Sources for this history: [1]
