400+ Years of Mennonite-Anabaptist European Emigration

Introduction

This ‘tutorial’ is intended to provide essential information regarding the last 400 hundred “plus” years of European Mennonite-Anabaptist migrations.

It will not focus on Mennonite migrations which took place in the New World (North or South), Africa or Asia.

Anabaptists were among Europe’s most persecuted and mobile religious populations during the Reformation and Confessional Ages and into the modern era, as they lacked a long-term alliance with the state. Their movement also lacked a single, clearly defined magisterial office, and the Anabaptists’ migratory experience encouraged regional variations in the movement that built on its distinct starting points and traditions. Historically, Anabaptist migrations resulted most commonly from pressures due to local or state religious persecution(s).

Dutch-Northern German Mennonites primarily migrated along the Baltic coast from the Netherlands towards Lithuania, creating settlements along the way. These people further migrated to Volhynia, Russia (notably the Volga and Black Sea regions) from their earliest settlements in Central and Eastern Prussia (primarily the provinces of West & East Prussia, today’s North Central, Eastern Poland and Russia’s Kaliningrad).

Swiss Mennonites (Amish) primarily migrated from Switzerland into the regions of Southern Germany, Northeastern France, and Pennsylvania. Significantly smaller groups of Amish/ Mennonites migrated from Switzerland to the Netherlands, Volhynia, Russia (notably the Volga and Black Sea regions) as well as Central and Eastern Prussia (primarily the provinces of West & East Prussia, today’s North Central, Eastern Poland and Russia’s Kaliningrad).

At the same time, interactions between Anabaptist groups eroded regional differences. As a result, four distinct but interconnected traditions survived the Confessional Age: Mennonites, Swiss Brethren, Amish, and Hutterites.

Historical Roots/ Background

The Swiss Brethren, an Anabaptist community that emerged near Zürich on January 21, 1525, in the face of impending persecution for their rejection of the demands of the Zürich reformer Huldrych Zwingli, are credited with giving rise to the Mennonites. However, the real issue was the nature of the church, which the Anabaptists believed should only include those who publicly profess their faith in Jesus Christ. Although these demands focused on infant baptism, which Anabaptist leaders Konrad Grebel, Felix Manz, and others questioned on biblical grounds, this was not the real issue. The ecclesiastical and governmental authorities wanted to stifle the movement because it implied religious pluralism.The Swiss Brethren were quickly dispersed throughout Europe due to persecution, but for a while the movement expanded due to the popularity of their doctrinal stances.

Menno Simons, one of the movement’s many leaders, joined it during a protracted period of introspection and Bible study. After becoming a priest in 1524, Simons spent the following ten years attempting to balance his support for the reform movements going on around him with his membership in the Roman Catholic Church. Simons came to accept the Anabaptist doctrine of believers’ baptism after learning of the execution of an Anabaptist in his community and studying the Bible. After the tragedy at Münster, where a group of Anabaptists took over the city, persecuted non-Anabaptists, and attempted to usher in the millennial kingdom but were killed by a joint Catholic-Protestant army, he underwent a conversion in 1536. Simons confirmed the Anabaptist legacy of nonviolence and solidified and formalized the work that the moderate Anabaptist leaders of Europe had started. He symbolizes the second generation of leaders who shaped the fundamental beliefs and philosophy of the burgeoning religion.

Under the direction of Hans Hut (who passed away in 1527), Hans Denk (around 1500–27), and particularly Pilgram Marpeck (about 1492–1556), a significant early lay theologian, another Anabaptist movement blossomed in central Germany. The doctrines that would have an impact on the extremist group in Münster were created by Melchior Hofmann, who was the leader of a group of Anabaptists in Strasbourg.Jakob Hutter led the formation of the Hutterian Brethren, yet another movement (died 1536). Once all other Anabaptist groups had secured some kind of physical protection by relocating geographically and socially from the center of European life, the Hutterites quickly became noted for their communal lifestyle and a great missionary zeal that persisted until the 17th century.

A Quick arteTV Video Introduction (Natively in German)

“Die großen Wanderungen der Mennoniten”

The Great Wanderings of the Mennonites

In order to facilitate the use of our timeline, here are a few notes/pointers:

To facilitate easier migration understanding, both major migrations are color coded.

Dutch-North German Mennonite Migrations (appear with the following background color)
Swiss-South German Mennonite Migrations (appear with the following background color)

400+ Years of Mennonite-Anabaptist European Emigration (A TimeLine)

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