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.
Read the storyThe wider story
Traditions and related histories
Explore different Anabaptist streams. Follow the named branches on the photographed timeline, later fellowships, and shared institutions, with each history linked to its evidence.
Explore the dated branch diagram →
Mennonite traditions
Mennonite history includes Dutch, Swiss, German, and later worldwide communities. Shared roots coexist with differences in worship, practice, organization, and relationships.
Read the storyHutterite traditions
Hutterite history centres on gathered Christian communities and community of goods. Its migration story links Moravia, eastern Europe, and North America.
Read the storyAmish traditions
Amish history grows from the Swiss Anabaptist tradition and the disagreements associated with Jakob Ammann. The later story includes migrations and distinct fellowships.
Read the storySchwarzenau Brethren
The Schwarzenau Brethren represent a related movement shaped by Anabaptism and Pietism, beginning with the baptisms at the Eder River in 1708.
Read the storyMennonite Brethren
The Mennonite Brethren arose through renewal among Mennonites in the Russian Empire. The tradition later developed across national boundaries.
Read the storyBruderhof
The Bruderhof began in Germany in 1920. Its communal history later connected with the Hutterite tradition and developed its own community story.
Read the storyWaterlander Mennonites
A Dutch Mennonite stream associated with Waterland, with a confession of faith in 1577 and a distinctive approach to church discipline.
Read the storyFlemish Mennonites
Flemish Mennonite communities formed one of the Dutch branches during sixteenth-century disagreements over discipline and congregational life.
Read the storyFrisian Mennonites
A Dutch Mennonite branch that developed in Friesland and also took root in West Prussia.
Read the storyRussian Mennonite communities
Communities established in the Russian Empire developed several church traditions and later migrated to the Americas and elsewhere.
Read the storyOld Colony Mennonites
Old Colony history connects the Chortitza settlement with later migrations and a wider family of colony-based Mennonite churches.
Read the storyOld Order Mennonites
Old Order Mennonite fellowships developed through several regional divisions beginning in the later nineteenth century.
Read the storyGeneral 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.
Read the storyChurch of God in Christ, Mennonite
John Holdeman and others began worshiping separately in Ohio in 1859, forming a distinct Mennonite church history.
Read the storyConservative Amish Mennonites: Rosedale Network
Ministers meeting at Pigeon, Michigan, formed the Conservative Amish Mennonite Conference in 1910; its history continues as Rosedale Network.
Read the storyBeachy Amish fellowships
The Beachy Amish history began with a 1927 division in an Amish congregation in Somerset County, Pennsylvania.
Read the storyOld Order Amish
Old Order Amish identity developed during nineteenth-century disagreements over conference organization and changes in church life.
Read the storyConservative Mennonite fellowships
A broad family of Mennonite fellowships maintaining distinctive church practices, with several different conference histories.
Read the storyDutch Mennonite Conference: ADS
The Algemene Doopsgezinde Sociëteit brought Dutch Mennonite congregations into a shared association in 1811.
Read the storyEvangelical Mennonite Brethren
A fellowship organized in North America in 1889, later named the Fellowship of Evangelical Bible Churches.
Read the storyEvangelical Mennonite Conference
The Canadian Kleine Gemeinde adopted the name Evangelical Mennonite Conference in 1960.
Read the storyRudnerweider Mennonites
A renewal movement among Sommerfeld Mennonites organized as the Rudnerweider church in 1937.
Read the storyDanzig and Prussian Mennonites
Mennonite communities in the Vistula region linked Dutch Anabaptist histories with later migrations into the Russian Empire.
Read the storyBergthal Mennonites
The Bergthal colony’s migration to Manitoba became the background of the Chortitzer and Sommerfeld church histories.
Read the storyChortitzer Mennonites
The Bergthal migration to Manitoba’s East Reserve in 1874–1876 established the Chortitzer church history.
Read the storySommerfeld Mennonites
A West Reserve Mennonite church associated with Bergthal migration and later colony and renewal movements.
Read the storyKleine Gemeinde
A reform movement in the Molotschna settlement that began in 1812 under Klaas Reimer and later developed different national histories.
Read the storyEvangelical Mennonite Mission Conference
The Rudnerweider church adopted the Evangelical Mennonite Mission Conference identity on 1 July 1959.
Read the storyMennonite Church: MC
The older Mennonite Church in North America developed from Swiss and German congregational histories.
Read the storyMennonite Church USA
Mennonite Church USA formed in 2002 through the union of U.S. congregations of MC and GC.
Read the storyReformed Mennonites
A distinct North American Mennonite fellowship led by John Herr from 1812.
Read the storyMennonites of Swiss–South German ancestry
Migrations connected Swiss and South German Anabaptist communities with European refuges and later congregations in North America.
Read the storyBrethren in Christ: River Brethren
A Pennsylvania movement with Anabaptist and Pietist roots that emerged between 1775 and 1788.
Read the storyEgly Amish and Evangelical Mennonite Church
Henry Egly’s Amish reform movement developed into the Defenseless Mennonites and later the Evangelical Mennonite Church.
Read the storyUnited Missionary Church and Missionary Church
The exhibit’s Mennonite Brethren in Christ line developed into United Missionary Church and joined a union in 1969.
Read the storySoviet Mennonites: Kirchliche and Brethren
The chart follows Mennonite and Mennonite Brethren communities through revolution, war, repression, and migration in the Soviet period.
Read the storyMennonite Central Committee
Mennonite Central Committee began in 1920 as a cooperative response to hunger among communities in Ukraine.
Read the storyMennonite World Conference
A global fellowship established in 1925 to connect Anabaptist churches across national and tradition boundaries.
Read the storyThe regional roots of Anabaptism
Anabaptism developed in several regions during the Radical Reformation, including Switzerland, South Germany and Austria, and the Netherlands.
Read the storyHigh German Mennonites
The High Germans connected South German and Rhineland believers with Dutch congregations and efforts toward reconciliation.
Read the storyThe Lamb and Sun congregations
The Lamb and Sun names remember an Amsterdam division and the later reunion of its congregations.
Read the storyOld Flemish Mennonites
Old Flemish congregations retained separate church relationships while other Dutch groups pursued union.
Read the storyJoseph Stuckey and the Central Illinois Amish division
A dispute over discipline separated Joseph Stuckey and several Illinois congregations from the wider Amish fellowship.
Read the storyReinländer Mennonites in Manitoba
Reinländer congregations formed a distinct Old Colony church history after migration to Manitoba.
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