Anabaptists

(A.D. 1525) Derived from a Greek word meaning “rebaptizers,” due to adherents’ insistence that infant baptismFrom a Greek word meaning “to immerse;” and is an initiatory ritual washing whereby one becomes a member of the Christian community. It involves v... more was not valid and that one must make a informed voluntary commitment as part of a baptismal covenant in order for the baptismFrom a Greek word meaning “to immerse;” and is an initiatory ritual washing whereby one becomes a member of the Christian community. It involves v... more to be effective. The movement began as a branch of Reformed Protestantism in Switzerland and grew primarily in German speaking areas. They viewed themselves as a Holy Community apart from the world which contributed to their classification as the radical or left wing arm of reformation. This minority was heavily persecuted by Catholics, Lutherans and Calvinists. MennonitesIs the branch of Anabaptism begun by Menno Simons (1496–1561) as a pacifist reaction to the violent Anabaptist revolt in the Dutch city of Münster.... more, AmishA branch of Anabaptist that broke off from the Mennonites in the 16th Century. (See Anabaptists.) more, and Hutterites were important Anabaptists groups. Anabaptist should not be confused with BaptistThe first English Baptist congregation is created (A.D. 1609) out of a Puritan Separatist congregation that is meeting in exile in the Netherlands. Th... more who emerged a hundred years later in England.