Division in 1664; reunion in 1801 · tradition
The Lamb and Sun congregations
The Lamb and Sun names remember an Amsterdam division and the later reunion of its congregations.
Also searchable as: Lamb Group · Sun Group · Lamists · Zonists · Lamisten · Zonisten · Amsterdam
The branch chart names the Lamb Group and Sun Group. Their names came from the emblems of their meeting places in Amsterdam. A Mennonite church marked by a lamb had been built in 1608. When the congregation divided in 1664, those who left gathered in the Zon meeting hall, whose name and sign referred to the sun.
The two congregations reunited in 1801 and used a combined lamb-and-sun identity. The chart’s joining lines therefore represent reconciliation as well as separation. These local congregational names help explain the later Dutch Mennonite association while preserving the distinct history that came before it.
Sources for this history: [1] [2] [3] [4]
References
- Supplied Anabaptist–Mennonite timeline, IMG_9376, upper Dutch branches
- Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia: Emblems and the Amsterdam congregations
- Branch connection: Amsterdam High German–Frisian union joins the Flemish congregation in 1639; the congregation later divides in 1664
- Branch connection: The chart follows the reunited Dutch congregations toward the 1811 association
