IOverview
Anabaptist was the name opponents gave to people who baptised adults already baptised as infants. It literally means rebaptiser. The Anabaptists themselves rejected the label, since they did not consider infant baptism to be baptism at all.
Three convictions define them: baptism only for those who profess faith, a church separate from state power, and, for most, nonviolence and refusal to bear arms. Their heirs today include Mennonites, Amish, Hutterites and the Brethren in Christ. The family is small compared with other Protestant families, but its influence in relief and reconciliation work is large.
IIHistory
The first group were young followers of Zwingli in Zurich, among them Conrad Grebel and Felix Manz, who felt their teacher had not gone far enough. On the evening of 21 January 1525 Grebel baptised George Blaurock, who then baptised others. The Zurich council banned the practice, and in 1527 Felix Manz was drowned in the Limmat. That same year the Schleitheim Confession summed up their beliefs.
Anabaptists were persecuted by Catholics and Protestants alike, and thousands were executed. In the Netherlands the former priest Menno Simons gathered scattered groups on a path of peace, and his name became the common name Mennonite. In 1693 Jakob Ammann led a stricter group away, later called the Amish. Many communities migrated to Russia, then to North and Latin America, to keep their exemption from military service.
- 1525First baptisms in Zurich21 January, the conventional start of the movement.
- 1527Schleitheim ConfessionThe first summary of Swiss Anabaptist belief.
- 1536Menno SimonsLeaves the priesthood and comes to lead the Dutch groups.
- 1693Amish divisionJakob Ammann leads a stricter group.
- 1920Mennonite Central CommitteeFounded in the United States for famine relief among Mennonites in Russia, later an international relief agency.
IIIBeliefs and Distinctives
- Discipleship: faith must become a way of life following Jesus, above all the Sermon on the Mount.
- A voluntary church: people join by their own decision, through baptism upon faith.
- Nonviolence: most refuse to bear arms or fight and seek the way of reconciliation.
- Separation from power: the church does not lean on the state. Many traditional groups do not swear oaths or hold offices that use force.
How strictly these are kept varies enormously. Modern urban Mennonites live much like their neighbours, while Old Order Amish keep plain dress, limit cars and grid electricity and speak a German dialect. Hutterites hold goods in common on farming colonies.
Not quite. The Amish split from the Mennonites in 1693. Most Mennonites worldwide, especially in Africa and Asia, worship much like other Protestant churches and do not follow the Amish way of life.
IVWorship, Rites and Daily Life
Mennonite worship is simple, and in traditional communities often features unaccompanied four part singing. Baptism is for believers, by pouring or immersion depending on the church. Many congregations still practise footwashing with communion, following Jesus washing his disciples' feet.
Service is part of faith. The Mennonite Central Committee, known as MCC, works in relief, development and peacebuilding in dozens of countries.
VOrganisation and Distribution
Mennonite churches are generally congregational, grouped into regional and national conferences. The global forum is the Mennonite World Conference, which has no authority over its members.
According to the Mennonite World Conference, in figures published in 2026, there are about 2.03 million baptised believers in 87 countries. Africa accounts for 45 percent, North America 29 percent, Asia and the Pacific 13 percent, Latin America 10 percent and Europe 3 percent. Most Mennonites today therefore live outside Europe and North America.
VIIn Vietnam
According to the Mennonite encyclopedia GAMEO, the Mennonite Central Committee came to Vietnam in 1954 for relief work, and in 1957 the Eastern Mennonite Board of Missions began evangelism in Saigon. After 1975 a small number of believers remained, meeting as house churches. From the late 1990s house church networks grew, and in 2003 a conference brought several of them together.
On 11 February 2009 the Government Committee for Religious Affairs presented the decision recognising the Vietnam Mennonite Church, led by Pastor Nguyen Quang Trung, as reported by Nhan Dan that day. The Committee's 2023 publication lists the church with recognition in 2009.
GAMEO notes that alongside the recognised church there is another, unregistered network of Mennonite congregations that meets separately. According to GAMEO, in 2020 Mennonites in Vietnam numbered about 5,600, with 2,100 in the recognised church and 3,500 in the unregistered congregations.
VIISymbol of the Branch
Stylised dove
Stylized dove
VIIISub-branches
- Mennonites
- Amish
- Hutterites
- Brethren in Christ
IXOther Branches of Protestantism
Pentecostal ChurchesPentecostalismThe youngest and fastest growing family, stressing that gifts of the Holy Spirit such as speaking in tongues, healing and prophecy are active today.
Reformed and Presbyterian ChurchesReformed, PresbyterianStems from Zwingli in Zurich and Calvin in Geneva.
Anglican CommunionAnglicanismSeparated from Rome in England in 1534, keeping bishops and the Book of Common Prayer.
Methodist ChurchesMethodismGrew from John Wesley's movement within 18th-century Anglicanism and became separate after 1791.
Lutheran ChurchesLutherische KircheThe first family, beginning with Martin Luther in 1517, with the Augsburg Confession of 1530 as its basic creed.
BaptistsBaptistsBegins with John Smyth in Amsterdam in 1609.Uses the common symbol of the path
Seventh-day AdventistsSeventh-day Adventist ChurchFormed in 19th-century America from the movement awaiting Christ's return.
Christian and Missionary Alliance (CMA)Christian and Missionary AllianceFounded by A.Anabaptist and Mennonite ChurchesAnabaptism, MennonitesBegan in Zurich on 21 January 1525.XSources
The library cross-checks the sources below. Where they disagree, the page gives both.
?Quick Questions
What does Anabaptist mean?
It literally means rebaptiser, a name given by opponents because the group baptised adults who had been baptised as infants. The Anabaptists held that only baptism upon faith is true baptism.
How are Mennonites, Amish and Hutterites related?
All three descend from the 16th-century Anabaptist movement. The Amish split from the Mennonites in 1693, and the Hutterites, who hold goods in common, began in Moravia.
When was the Mennonite Church recognised in Vietnam?
In 2009. Nhan Dan reported that the recognition decision was presented on 11 February 2009, with Pastor Nguyen Quang Trung as president.
Why are Mennonites known for peace?
Since the 16th century most have followed nonviolence and refused to bear arms, based on the Sermon on the Mount. Today they do extensive relief and peacebuilding through the Mennonite Central Committee.