Mennonite Quaker ecumenism

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Mennonite-Quaker ecumenism goes back to the 17th century . Their history was not always free of conflict, but due to doctrinal and practical similarities it led to numerous collaborations between the two peace churches . There were interdenominational partnerships, jointly drafted documents, as well as jointly used meeting houses. The persecution of both groups also forced cooperation in the past. There are still points of contact on a number of theological issues. The recent peace talks held jointly with Iranian President Ahmadinejad have become famous in the recent past.

Overview / introduction

The missionary zeal of the early Quakers was not confined to Britain. Many missionaries were sent out while they were persecuted in Britain. These missionary journeys led to today's Turkey. Their appearance was often experienced as presumptuous and provocative, which inevitably led to great resistance and hostility on the part of the established churches. A special chapter, however, is the encounter between Quakers and Mennonites . Due to overlapping theological convictions, both groups had a certain appreciation for one another. These overlaps concerned the following points:

  1. Rejection of the oath
  2. Emphasis on the laity
  3. Similar understanding of the sacrament
  4. Autonomy of the local parishes
  5. Consideration of suffering for the just cause as a sign or evidence of true followers of Christ
  6. Refusal of military service and refusal to use violence

Because of the last point, both denominations are called peace churches . Compare also the Schleitheim article with the Quaker product ,

Contact of the Quakers with Mennonites

The early Quakers were very successful in proselytizing in Britain despite persecution. They also hoped for similar successes in other countries, but did not proceed without a plan despite great euphoria. They quickly expanded their sphere of activity to the European mainland, today's USA and other distant destinations. Many Quakers were converted Baptists, so it made sense for them to do missionary work specifically among Anabaptist and Pietist groups and among groups with theological or programmatic overlap. And this included the Mennonites in particular. But even if the mission attempts on the Mennonites were not always successful, the Quaker missionaries and Quaker communities deliberately sought physical proximity to the Mennonites. An example of this are the visits of the Quaker founder William Penn (1644 to 1718) to the East Frisian city ​​of Emden in 1671 and 1674 . Penn was accepted into a Mennonite community center, which was not without consequences for the Mennonite community. Penn won the Emden doctor Johann Wilhelm Haesbaert for his religious views. Haesbaert then founded a Quaker community whose members were mainly recruited from the Mennonite Church. The Emden magistrate banned the new community and expelled its members. When they returned a short time later, they were arrested. William Penn intervened against the magistrate's actions. In this context he wrote an extensive letter of complaint in 1674 and visited the East Frisian port city a second time. The result of this advocacy was the official toleration of the Emden Quaker community. In 1688 most of this community emigrated to England. Only five to six families remained in Emden.

Programmatic overlap

The reason the Quakers sought to get close to the Mennonites was not just the selfless desire to preach the gospel and save lost souls , but the - partly justified - hope of being just as tolerated as Mennonites. So they wanted to use the Mennonites as a precedent for themselves. This is exactly what the Quaker missionary Claus argued in a letter to William III in 1694. A year later, a letter of complaint was sent to the English king when the Quakers were in dire straits because of their refusal to oath. And here, too, reference was made to Dutch Mennonites, who would also refuse to take the oath.

There were other programmatic overlaps between Quakers and Mennonites, which, according to Sünne Juterczenka, also meant that both groups were not always perceived as separate communities:

“Two characteristics particularly shaped the relationship between Quakers and Mennonites. First, their affinity was particularly strong due to numerous programmatic similarities. Both groups emphasized the lay priesthood , their peacefulness and the ideal of a sober and morally impeccable way of life as opposed to justification by faith. From an outside perspective, these similarities ensured that they were often not perceived as two separate communities. [...] The second characteristic of the relationships between Quakers and Mennonites was both spatial mobility and networking. "

However, there were differences of opinion regarding the ecclesiastical sacraments, of which the Mennonites recognized only a few, but which the Quakers completely rejected. Theological correspondence with speeches and arguments were also conducted about this. It is interesting that this controversy was conducted around apparently theological petty details. The basic theological assumptions were often very close to one another. But even in practice, the differences were hardly noticeable for outsiders. So both parties agreed to refuse military service. The Mennonites, however, paid a penalty tax for their refusal, which the Quakers reproached and rejected. However, when the Quakers later had their own state in Pennsylvania, they also paid penalty taxes to the English crown for their refusal to war and later (from 1833) also in Prussia, where the Quakers kept the amount for the penalty tax ready when they were seized. In this context, the long-standing historians' dispute about the denomination of the Krefeld emigrant families about the person Franz Daniel Pastorius was significant .

This closeness and conflict between the two groups naturally also resulted in attempts at mutual conversion. And in this, the Quakers showed themselves to be more successful than the Mennonites in the short term. In some communities the Quakers were able to win up to 1/3 of the Mennonite members. But in terms of continuity, the Mennonites in Germany remained unbeaten by the Quakers. In the 19th century, Quakerism was completely extinguished in Germany after a long infectiousness. Today's Quakerism is a re-establishment from the 20th century. See The History of Quakerism in Germany

The fronts did not always run clearly between the two groups. They worked closely together in many areas. In Danzig even members from Quakers, Mennonites and Pietists formed joint congregations for a short time until the Quakers were expelled from Danzig. Even then, it did not take long for the expelled Quakers from Danzig to reappear among the Mennonites in the Netherlands.

Even in the New World (in the colonies of North America), in the vast expanses of the almost deserted areas, the paths of the Mennonites and Quakers crossed again and again. And there, too, people valued each other. The Quaker John Woolman reports in his notes with full appreciation of the efforts of the Mennonites in the slave question.

Controversy and conflict

As mentioned above, the early Quakers were not exactly known for their reluctance. And so it went with the first contacts with the Mennonites z. T. also very stormy too. In 1670, for example, three Quakers who had disrupted a Mennonite gathering in Harlingen were arrested. But the Mennonites also paid visits to the Quaker meetings, caused tumult and spoke up

Theological differences

Here are some highlights from the dispute which was also reflected in the correspondence and which Sünne Juterczenka commented as follows:

“So we [Mennonites] take on some things that with the written Gospel about income are in front of us not even with news what you [Quakers] bring forward in writing but have been made known to us for a long time through the Spirit of God as that Jesus is the true light which enlightens all people in this world Joh. 1, 'In addition to these, they emphasize two more things in common with the Quakers: firstly, the demand for a virtuous way of life, [...], and secondly, the ideal of active Christianity, dan man don't have to live with the tongue s. [ondern] with [it] d. [the] nthat and truth. "
They also emphasized the central importance of revival in agreement with the Quakers, but in doing so introduced their justification for the sacraments [...] The Mennonites defined themselves as following the Anabaptists through baptism of faith. [...] The attitude towards the sacraments thus formed an unambiguous boundary criterion between Quakers and Mennonites and was affirmed on both sides in all pamphlets
[...]
In 1665, [the Quaker] Caton made the same reproach in his letter to all baptismal people. He reproached them for adhering to the faith only outwardly, urged them to be resolute in isolation and, in turn, referred to the willingness to suffer of the early Anabaptists, who, unlike the contemporary Mennonites, would not have shied away from the consequences of their confession. The baptized, however, feared reprisals, and freedom from persecution is not conducive to their souls. In particular, he reminded them of the refusal to take oaths and military service, citing Menno Simon, and accused them of the fact that self-righteousness, vanity, cleaning, quarreling and pleasure had found their way into the communities. The memory of the sufferings of earlier times should, according to Caton, guide action in the present; He criticized referring to it solely for purposes of legitimation and demanded that orthodoxy be continually proven through willingness to suffer and a virtuous lifestyle.
[...]
[The elder and preacher of the Hamburg Mennonites] Roosen accused the Quakers of denying the scriptures by calling them "dead letters". [...] the Quakers allow "those in the congregation" whom the spirit touches to speak , no difference between women and men ". After he had casually rejected the women's sermon , [...] Roosen complained of three "errors" among the Quakers: that one should not greet one another according to traditional customs, that man can already achieve perfection during his earthly existence, and that they thought they could judge others' conscience.

Assimilation process vs. Non-conformism

But the two groups also differed in terms of their willingness to migrate and their willingness to compromise. The Quakers, like the Mennonites, were supposed to pay a special tax for their toleration, which, unlike the Mennonites, they did not do. This led to conflicts with the authorities and compulsory attachments. For their part, the Mennonites had been through decades of bloody persecution and were just beginning to come to terms with the situation. They were now economically very successful and did not want to put this wealth at risk unnecessarily. The Quakers would go through a very similar development later, but at this point they were still new on the stage and didn't have the same reputation as the Mennonites (... which they could have lost).

Sacraments

Due to the programmatic proximity described above, the Mennonites feared a mass conversion to the Quakers. One strategy to prevent this was to emphasize that the differences between the two were minimal and that the Quakers didn't really have anything new to offer and that one could therefore confidently remain in the Mennonite community. But the calculation did not work out. B. the elder and preacher Barend Roelofs with his entire family to Quakerism and moved to the Netherlands. Which of course sadly saddened the Mennonite community and made for ridicule from outsiders. The Hamburg Mennonite preacher Gerrit Roosen therefore adopted a different strategy. He in turn emphasized the differences in the understanding of the sacrament. With all theological and confessional pamphlets it should be noted that the Mennonites did not all agree theologically with each other and that there were controversies and peace agreements / reunions. So it was primarily very localized disputes.

Suffering

A further connecting factors and also conflict-point was the views over the endure (Engl. Of injustice and suffering Suffering ). Quakers and Mennonites both saw the endurance of suffering as evidence of their sincerity and right Christianity. They related this to Jesus' announcement that his followers would be persecuted because of him:

“Do not think I came to bring peace to earth. I did not come to bring peace, but the sword. Because I have come to turn men against their fathers, daughters against their mothers, and daughters-in-law against their mothers-in-law. The people who live in a house together are hostile to one another. Those who love their father or mother more than me do not suit me, and those who love their sons and daughters more than me do not suit me either. Whoever does not take up his own cross and follow me does not suit me. Those who find their own life will lose it, and those who have lost their own life because of me will find it. "

The difference between the two groups was, on the one hand, that the Mennonites, in contrast to the Quakers, had to prove their ability to suffer - compulsorily -. And on the other hand, the Mennonites were more defensive and the Quakers offensive in that they challenged the persecution with targeted provocations. They even did that consciously in order to then use the attacks in a publicly effective manner ( today one would say: "Bad press is also advertising" ).

Socio-cultural differences

The Mennonite group was much more homogeneous than the Quakers in terms of the professional troops and estates represented. The Quaker converts came from all classes and professions (even former professional soldiers such as the preacher James Nayler ) in society. "Born Quakers" did not yet exist because the community was so young. The Mennonites, on the other hand, mostly came from the lower classes of the population

Cooperations

In the areas where Mennonites and Quakers formed emergency communities in order to withstand external pressure, the borders between the communities were very porous. For example in the German emigration center in Krefeld. The boundaries between the two communities were so indistinct that there was a decade-long historian dispute about how many people could be assigned to which conversion. In North America, it was not that the members of the congregations visited each other to disturb their meetings, but on the contrary. Mennonites participated constructively in internal Quaker controversies, signed official Quaker documents, and temporarily shared a meeting house with them. But even in the Old World it was not uncommon for Mennonites to participate as financiers in Quaker construction projects.

But Mennonites also signed the Quaker marriage certificates in Krefeld, Germany. Non-denominational marriages were not officially approved, but the Mennonites were welcome as witnesses. There were problems with mixed marriages, albeit of an administrative nature, as Sünne Juterczenka reports:

“Mixed marriages occurred especially when only one of the two partners converted from an already married couple. Such cases have been handed down above all if they caused conflicts. In 1692 the Dutch annual meeting excluded Trijntje Hedsers, the wife of the Frisian convert Reynier Janz, from participating because she continued to attend Mennonite meetings and even received the Lord's Supper there. Her husband was so annoyed that he was deliberately late. In order to meet Jansz, Jan and Eliserbeth Roelof asked Hendricks, Claus, van Tongeren and Sewel whether they could overlook the matter and let the woman come to the meeting. However, the interviewees did not want to ignore the Amsterdam decision, so Trijntje had to stay away. "

Strangely enough, it was not a problem for Quakers to use a Mennonite from their relatives as a guardian for their children. If the mixed marriages were not disrupted by administrative levels, they seemed to have run harmoniously and in mutual respect between Mennonites and Quakers:

“When it comes to dealing with inheritance, the case of Volkje Willems and Frans Bostijen is instructive: the woman was buried in Landsmeer after her death (like most Amsterdam Quakers), but her husband in Sloterdijk (like many of the Amsterdam Mennonites). That Vlkje and Frans mutually respected their denomination is clear from Frans' testment, in which he bequeathed another 200 guilders to the Quaker community in addition to the 300 guilders from Vlkje. "

Younger story

In the last few decades the relationship between the two denominations has been characterized by close cooperation in peace work. In 2008, both denominations were heavily criticized for meeting Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad .

glossary

For the technical terms used in the article, see also the article " Glossary Quakerism ".

further reading

  • Sünne Juterczenka: About God and the World - Entzeitvisionen, reform debates, and the European Quaker mission in the early modern period , Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2008, ISBN 978-3-525-35458-2
  • “400 Years of Mennonites in Krefeld”, publisher: Mennonitischer Geschichtsverein, published 2008, ISBN 978-3-921881-26-2

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Introduction to Quakerism / Mennonite Contacts on Wikibooks
  2. ↑
    “Other places, on the other hand, exerted a special attraction on the [Quaker] missionaries: where comparable communities (especially Mennonites) already lived with whom there was a lot in common, they traveled specifically and often, as in England to the whereabouts of Baptists and independents . " .
    Sünne Juterczenka, "About God and the World - End-Time Visions, Reform Debates, and the European Quaker Mission in the Early Modern Age", Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2008, ISBN 978-3-525-35458-2 , page 75
  3. ↑
    "In England they [the Quakers] had successfully proselytized, especially among Baptists (many of them [the missionaries] had been Baptists themselves)."
    Sünne Juterczenka, "About God and the World - End-Time Visions, Reform Debates, and the European Quaker Mission in the Early Modern Era", Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2008, ISBN 978-3-525-35458-2 , page 187
  4. ↑
    “Other places, on the other hand, exerted a special attraction on the [Quaker] missionaries: where comparable communities (especially Mennonites) already lived with whom there was a lot in common, they traveled specifically and frequently, as in England to the whereabouts of Baptists and independents . " .
    Sünne Juterczenka, "About God and the World - End-Time Visions, Reform Debates, and the European Quaker Mission in the Early Modern Age", Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2008, ISBN 978-3-525-35458-2 , page 75
  5. ↑
    "It is also noticeable that the Quakers always settled in places that already had Mennonite communities."
    "400 years of Mennonites in Krefeld", publisher: Mennonitischer Geschichtsverein, published 2008, ISBN 978-3-921881-26-2 , page 57
  6. ↑ On Haesbaert see article Haesbaert, Johann Wilhelm (author Menno Smid ), in: Biographisches Lexikon für Ostfriesland , Volume III (Ed. Martin Tielke, i. A. der Ostfriesische Landschaft), Aurich 2001, p. 188f; online (PDF; 55 kB)
  7. ↑ Menno Smid: East Frisian church history , 1974, pp 329-330.
  8. ↑
    "Claus referred in his letter to the case of the Neuburg Mennonites, for whose tolerance William III. 1694 had started in a letter to the Count Palatine. "
    Sünne Juterczenka: About God and the World - End-Time Visions, Reform Debates, and the European Quaker Mission in the Early Modern Era. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2008, ISBN 978-3-525-35458-2 , page 94.
  9. ↑ “When the Quakers were particularly attacked in 1695 for their refusal to oath, he took part in a petition reminding the king of an earlier concession to Dutch Mennonites [they also refuse to take the oath] and made sure that they got straight into his hands . “ Sünne Juterczenka," About God and the World - End-Time Visions, Reform Debates, and the European Quaker Mission in the Early Modern Age ", Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2008, ISBN 978-3-525-35458-2 , page 138
  10. ↑ Sünne Juterczenka, "About God and the World - End-Time Visions, Reform Debates, and the European Quaker Mission in the Early Modern Age", Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2008, ISBN 978-3-525-35458-2 , page 187
  11. ↑ Sünne Juterczenka, "About God and the World - End-Time Visions, Reform Debates, and the European Quaker Mission in the Early Modern Age", Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2008, ISBN 978-3-525-35458-2 , page 188
  12. ↑
    “William Ames (died 1662) was probably one of the very first English Quakers to have visited Mennonites several times in Alzey and the surrounding area, as they, like the Quakers, rejected oaths, military service, child baptism and a luxurious lifestyle. Of course, there were differences in the Quakers' refusal to pay taxes to the state for military campaigns and to recognize the ecclesiastical sacraments, which, however, was hardly differentiated from contemporaries. "
    400 years of Mennonites in Krefeld ", publisher: Mennonitischer Geschichtsverein, published 2008, ISBN 978-3-921881-26-2 , page 49
  13. ↑ Sünne Juterczenka, "About God and the World - End-Time Visions, Reform Debates, and the European Quaker Mission in the Early Modern Age", Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2008, ISBN 978-3-525-35458-2 , pages 225-232.
  14. ↑
    “William Ames (died 1662) was probably one of the very first English Quakers to have visited Mennonites several times in Alzey and the surrounding area, as they, like the Quakers, rejected oaths, military service, child baptism and a luxurious lifestyle. Of course, there were differences in the Quakers' refusal to pay taxes to the state for military campaigns and to recognize the ecclesiastical sacraments, which, however, was hardly differentiated from contemporaries. "
    400 years of Mennonites in Krefeld ", publisher: Mennonitischer Geschichtsverein, published 2008, ISBN 978-3-921881-26-2 , page 49
  15. ↑ Claus Bernet: "Conscientious Objection in the 19th Century: A Contribution to the Cliché of the Military State of Prussia. Page 210.
  16. ↑ Article rp-online: Krefeld protest against slavery , by Olaf Radicke
  17. ↑ : “Despite the programmatic proximity, the relationship between Quakers and Mennonites in the German territories - especially on the Elbe - was ambivalent. [...] The number of members [of the Mennonites] fluctuated greatly and averaged around 250 adults in the late 17th century. The Altona congregation lost a total of 36 members between 1655 and 1692, of which 13 (more than a third) joined the Quakers, “ Sünne Juterczenka," About God and the World - Entzeitvisionen, Reformdebatten, and the European Quaker mission in the early stages Modern times ", Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2008, ISBN 978-3-525-35458-2 , page 223
  18. ↑
    “The special constitution of the local [Danzig] Quaker community differs from all other communities on the continent, because in addition to the writings of English Quakers, they also read texts by mystics such as Johann Arndt and Thomas a Kempis. It was a very unique mixture between Mennonites and Quakers, between Pietsten and mystics. [...] Obviously, the entire clergy [there] had made fighting the "Quaker danger" their main task. As early as 1663 [two years after the Quakers first appeared in Gdansk] the first Quakers exiled from Gdansk appeared among Mennonites in the Netherlands. "
    400 years of Mennonites in Krefeld ", publisher: Mennonitischer Geschichtsverein, published 2008, ISBN 978-3-921881-26-2 , page 55
  19. ↑
    “In Monalen, a [Quaker] friend told me about a religious society among the Dutch who call themselves Mennonites. Among other things, he reported this: One of the Mennonites was acquainted with a distant man who belonged to a different religious community. When he was in his car on a business trip not far from this friend's house, he thought of stopping at this friend's house when the night fell. But when the Mennonite came through this man's fields and noticed the miserable appearance of his slaves, he lit his campfire in the nearby forest and spent the night in the open. The acquaintance who had heard where the Mennonite had set up camp came riding out the next morning and said that he would have welcomed him warmly into his house; they were good acquaintances from before, he was amazed at his behavior. The Mennonite replied: "From the moment I set up camp near your fields, I wished to speak to you. At first I intended to go to your house, but when I was your slaves at work saw and noticed how they were dressed, I lost the ruse to come to you and take advantage of your hospitality. " The Mennonite then admonished the man to treat the blacks with more humanity, adding, "As I sat by my log fire tonight, I thought that you would certainly have welcomed me because I am a man of respect. If I were but had been as poor as one of your slaves and just as little able to help myself as she was, I would not have received better treatment from you than she. "
    "The Notes of John Woolman", 1964, Publisher: Leonhard Friedrich, page 79
  20. ↑
    "[...] and in 1670 three Amsterdam Quakers who had disrupted a Mennonite gathering in Harlingen were arrested."
    Sünne Juterczenka, "About God and the World - Entzeitvisionen, Reformdebatten, and the European Quaker mission in the early modern times", Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2008, ISBN 978-3-525-35458-2 , page 94
  21. ↑
    "In the Netherlands, both parties [Quakers and Mennonites] mutually obstructed their worship services or took part in them and demanded to be allowed to speak in front of the congregation."
    Sünne Juterczenka, "About God and the World - Entzeitvisionen, Reformdebatten, and the European Quaker mission in the early modern times", Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2008, ISBN 978-3-525-35458-2 , page 188
  22. ↑ Sünne Juterczenka, "About God and the World - Entzeitvisionen, Reformdebatten, and the European Quaker mission in the early modern era", Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2008, ISBN 978-3-525-35458-2 , pages 225–226.
  23. ^ Sünne Juterczenka, "About God and the World - Entzeitvisionen, Reformdebatten, and the European Quaker mission in the early modern times", Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2008, ISBN 978-3-525-35458-2 , page 237
  24. ↑ Sünne Juterczenka, "About God and the World - Entzeitvisionen, Reformdebatten, and the European Quaker mission in the early modern times", Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2008, ISBN 978-3-525-35458-2 , pages 229-230.
  25. ↑
    "Since 1656 a special tax applied to the Kriegsheim Quakers just like the Mennonites, which they refused to pay, however, so that parts of their property were confiscated in the following years."
    Sünne Juterczenka, "About God and the World - Entzeitvisionen, Reformdebatten, and the European Quaker mission in the early modern times", Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2008, ISBN 978-3-525-35458-2 , page 109
  26. ↑
    “At that time the Mennonites had an insoluble dilemma: In contrast to many Quakers, they were extremely successful economically, and in many cases they were tolerated precisely for this reason; they found themselves in a process of cultural assimilation (especially in the Netherlands) and avoided conflicts with the authorities. This was in some contrast to their [the Quakers] tradition of nonconformism. [...] In doing so, they accepted the hierarchy of the estates and joined a social order from which they had previously separated. [...] The Quakers only got to grips with this dilemma when they achieved social acceptance and a certain level of prosperity. "
    Sünne Juterczenka, "About God and the World - Entzeitvisionen, Reformdebatten, and the European Quaker mission in the early modern times", Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2008, ISBN 978-3-525-35458-2 , page 232
  27. ↑
    “For the Mennonites, this proximity [to the Quakers] was problematic: when the Quakers began their missionary work, they had already gained freedom in many places [...]. Since the newcomers did not enjoy the same reputation, they did not want to be associated with them if possible in order not to risk being tolerated. Due to the strong similarities, the permeability between the two groups was great and the Mennonites feared mass conversions. "
    Sünne Juterczenka, "About God and the World - Entzeitvisionen, Reformdebatten, and the European Quaker mission in the early modern times", Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2008, ISBN 978-3-525-35458-2 , page 187
  28. ↑
    “If the aim of the Hamburg Mennonites was to make the conversion appear as unattractive as possible by emphasizing that the Quaker doctrine largely - with the exception of this one immovable point [the sacraments] - coincides with their own [...], so it failed to do so at least in that there were a number of conversions. [...] the elder and preacher Barend Roelofs himself, converted the following year with his entire family and moved to the Netherlands. One of Roelof's successors [...] noted in the parish book that there had been great sadness within and blasphemy outside of the parish about the incident. "
    Sünne Juterczenka, "About God and the World - Entzeitvisionen, Reformdebatten, and the European Quaker mission in the early modern times", Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2008, ISBN 978-3-525-35458-2 , page 226
  29. ↑ : "The conversions prompted the Hamburg Mennonite preacher Gerrit Roosen to write the pamphlet 'Typelick Report About eenige aenmerclijcke puncte de Engelschen The Quaeckers have been genoemt' (Amsterdam 1660), in which the Quakers' understanding of the sacraments was criticized in particular." 400 Years of Mennonites in Krefeld " , Publisher: Mennonitischer Geschichtsverein, published 2008, ISBN 978-3-921881-26-2 , page 52
  30. ↑
    “Such peace agreements between the separate groups of Mennonites came about on the basis of confessional writings in which the differences were not emphasized, but the similarities. Partly successful, but from the middle of the 17th century, such confessions themselves became the subject of disputes. When a part of the Amsterdam parishes "Zum Lamm" (named after the picture of a lamb at the entrance of the church) wanted to make confessions to the norm of faith, this was met with opposition from those who did not want to adhere to a creed. " 400 years of Mennonites in Krefeld" , Publisher: Mennonite History Association, published 2008, ISBN 978-3-921881-26-2 , page 107. That was also the time when the first Quaker missionaries from England began to "stir up" the Mennonite congregations ...
  31. ↑ Matthew 10; 34-39 in the translation of "Bible in Righteous Language, 1st ed. 2006 ISBN 3-579-05500-3
  32. ↑
    “The converts [the Quakers] came [...] not only from the lower, but from all classes of the population, and in most of the communities (with the exception of Krefeld, where the target group of the Mennonites almost always worked as linen weavers) was a large one Range of different professional groups represented. "
    Sünne Juterczenka, "About God and the World - Entzeitvisionen, Reformdebatten, and the European Quaker mission in the early modern times", Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2008, ISBN 978-3-525-35458-2 , page 126
  33. ↑
    "[...] Because of the permeable borders between Mennonites and Quakers in the emigration center [...]"
    Sünne Juterczenka, "About God and the World - End-Time Visions, Reform Debates, and the European Quaker Mission in the Early Modern Age", Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2008, ISBN 978-3-525-35458-2 , page 124
  34. ↑
    “There was a heated discussion about this emigration. The question was which denomination the emigrants could be assigned to. In terms of the history of science, the discussion is of interest to both Mennonite and Quaker researchers [...]. Christian Neff opened the discussion [...] with the essay 'Die Quäker in Kriegsheim bei Worms' (1911) [This was followed by a long exchange of blows in which: W.Hubben with three essays (1926, 1928, 1938), W. Hull and SW Pennypacker (1927), F. Nieper and D. Cattepoel (1937), W. Fellmann, W.Niepoth (1953) and finally Boecken (1982)] The disputes at that time influenced the scientific relationships between the two churches, which in Germany only maintain a few mutual contacts, unfortunately permanently disturbed. In terms of the history of science, it should be noted that Hull's error cannot be corrected, only recently the emigrants from Krefeld were erroneously referred to as Mennonites again by renumed sources. "
    Claus Bernet in the book "400 Years of Mennonites in Krefeld", 2008, ISBN 978-3-921881-26-2 , there pages 50 and 51, in the essay "Quakers and Mennonites".
  35. ↑
    “In North America, Mennonites actively participated in internal Quaker controversies, sent to quarterly meetings, or signed official Quaker documents. In addition, Quakers and Mennonites temporarily shared a meeting house in Germantown. "
    Sünne Juterczenka, "About God and the World - Entzeitvisionen, Reformdebatten, and the European Quaker mission in the early modern times", Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2008, ISBN 978-3-525-35458-2 , page 205
  36. ↑
    "The remaining 1200 guilders were borrowed from a Mennonite at an interest rate of five percent, just as Mennonites often financed Quaker projects."
    "400 years of Mennonites in Krefeld", publisher: Mennonitischer Geschichtsverein, published 2008, ISBN 978-3-921881-26-2 , page 52
  37. ↑
    “In Krefeld, there is evidence that Mennonites signed the Quakers' marriage certificates before they emigrated together. [...] Even if marriages with Mennonites were not officially approved, they were welcome as witnesses. "
    Sünne Juterczenka, "About God and the World - Entzeitvisionen, Reformdebatten, and the European Quaker mission in the early modern times", Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2008, ISBN 978-3-525-35458-2 , page 209
  38. ^ Sünne Juterczenka, "About God and the World - Entzeitvisionen, Reformdebatten, and the European Quaker mission in the early modern times", Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2008, ISBN 978-3-525-35458-2 , page 207
  39. ↑
    "[...] Such local incidents [disputes with individual Mennonites] did not permanently prevent the Quakers on the continent from also using relatives who did not belong to the community as guardians: This is how Frans Bostijn and Volkje Willems each name a Quaker and a mennonite. "
    Sünne Juterczenka, "About God and the World - Entzeitvisionen, Reformdebatten, and the European Quaker mission in the early modern times", Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2008, ISBN 978-3-525-35458-2 , page 210
  40. ↑ Sünne Juterczenka, "About God and the World - Entzeitvisionen, Reformdebatten, and the European Quaker mission in the early modern times", Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2008, ISBN 978-3-525-35458-2 , page 210
  41. ↑ THE INDEPENDENT FRIEND, " Die Presse.com throws the gauntlet at the German Yearly Meeting ", version from 23 September 2008 - 7:05 pm, author: Olaf Radicke.