ANTH316 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Jakob Ammann, Hans Reist, Menno Simons
19 Jun 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
From Europe to America
Dates of ļ¬rst Arrival
Mennonites:1683
Brethren 1719
Amish 1737
Peace of Augsburg sets climate for most severe repression of Anabaptists from 1560 to 1630
-āBohemian Revoltā
-Becomes full scale war among principalities in central europe
ā-Thirty Years Warā
-Reprisals taken against civilians for having āwrongā religion-ANABAPTISTS
-Rhine Valley: highlest levels of damage and death
-By 1650: depopulated, devastated wasteland
-Ended by Treaty of Westphalia in 1648
-All nations have right to chose religious policies
-War of Spanish Succession 1701-1714
-Increased warfare, military service oaths, etc
-Issues for Anabaptists
-Why didnāt anabaptists come to america earlier then?
-No colony that would accept them
-Not until Penn founded Pennsylvania in 1681: religious toleration
-Mennonites here by 1683
-Who Came to America?
-Transformation from generic Anabaptists to 3 distinct groups
-Link of Mennonites and Amish is Menno Simons
-Originally catholic priest, loved leisurely life
-Started having doubts about transubstantiation
-Communion is legit body and blood of jesus
-Also had doubts on infant baptism: not in bible
-Witnessed Anabaptists execution in 1535- converted soon after
-Wrote a lot about beliefs, many drawn from Schleitheim Declaration
Separation
No oaths
Non violence
Adult baptisms
Use of bann (religious)
1690s: Jacob Amman emerges as Swiss leader
Little known about him
Believed all Anabaptists had lost earlier convictions
Challenged Hans Reist (follower of Simons)
2 main issues
Frequency of communion
Simons had communion once a year
Amman wanted it more often
Nature of shunning
Bann: exclusion for church services and communion
Meidung: total social ostracism
Document Summary
Peace of augsburg sets climate for most severe repression of anabaptists from 1560 to 1630. Becomes full scale war among principalities in central europe. Reprisals taken against civilians for having wrong" religion-anabaptists. Rhine valley: highlest levels of damage and death. All nations have right to chose religious policies. Not until penn founded pennsylvania in 1681: religious toleration. Transformation from generic anabaptists to 3 distinct groups. Link of mennonites and amish is menno simons. Communion is legit body and blood of jesus. Also had doubts on infant baptism: not in bible. Witnessed anabaptists execution in 1535- converted soon after. Wrote a lot about beliefs, many drawn from schleitheim declaration. Church of brethren not directly linked to amish or mennonite. Beginnings in 1708 in schwarzenau with baptism of 8 adults by alexander mack. Proponent of pietism: movement has roots in lutheran church. 1570s: william i, duke of orange stopped persecution of anabaptists in holland.
