About Mennonite Churches
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The Mennonite Church is an Anabaptist group that is named after Menno Simons, an important teacher who laid down the foundations for the group. The Mennonite church is considered to be very peaceful, and the members do not believe in violence. The members of the Mennonite church could be described as being pacifists. Statistics from 2003 indicate that there are approximately 1.3 million members of this church around the world. Members of this church are known for blending in seamlessly with the general population. Most of the members of this church live in rural environments, though there are exceptions to this rule. One of the largest centers for Mennonites is Africa, though they are found on many other continents as well.
The Mennonite church is well known for its contributions towards disasters. Members belief in the important of volunteering so that they can carry out a number of tasks, and the Mennonite Disaster Service was formed to provide assistance during floods and other dangerous events. While many Christian groups provide assistance during disasters, the Mennonites are very exceptional. In addition to offering short term assistance, long term assistance may be available as well. Because they are pacifists, members of this church are known to be involved in a number of social issues. Many of the teachings of the Mennonite church has played an important role in the justice system of states such as Vermont. The history of the Mennonite church is a direct result of the Reformation that was initiated by Martin Luther.
Even though the Roman Catholic Church was extremely powerful during the Middle Ages, many people begin to question its authority. Some of them felt that the church sould be separated from the government. A historical meeting occured in 1525 between Felix Manz, George Blaurock, and Conrad Grebel. It is this meeting that led to the formation of the Anabaptist movement. Menno Simons also played an important role in the creation of the Mennonite church. He was a Catholic priest who heard of the religious movements that had occured and started to question his own beliefs. However, he was uneasy about severing his ties with the Catholic church.
However, the murder of his brother led him to finally break his ties with the Catholic Church. He would eventually go on to become one of the leaders in the Anabaptist movement. Even though Mennos and his followers were not violent, they were hunted down with the purpose of being exterminated for their beliefs. He would eventually go on to form what would become the Mennonite Church, which was named after him. Once the Mennonite arrived in what is today the United States, they had a great deal of freedom to practice their religion. Even though they were still dependent on a monarch, the control of the royal powers of Europe was greatly diminished. It should also be noted that there have been a number of divisions in the Mennonite movement. Mennonites have spread around the world, and they were very prominent in Russia.