منونیت

این آلمانی های مهاجر از «منونایتMennonites» ها بودند که می خواستند در سرزمین تازه و با آزادی کامل، آداب و رسوم مذهبی خود را رعایت کنند. منونایت ها پیرو شاخه ای از مسیحیت هستند که یک کشیش هلندی آن را به نام «منو سیمونزMenno Simons» در قرن هفدهم بنیاد گذارده بود. دستورهای ویژه این مذهب عبارتند از: ساده زندگی کردن، سوگند یاد نکردن، اسلحه حمل نکردن، کارمند دولت نشدن، برضد کسی شکایت حقوقی و درخواست غرامت نکردن، به عضویت کلیسا نپذیرفتن نوجوان پیش از رسیدن به سن بلوغ. زنان منونایت موی سر خود را می پوشانند و از پیراهن آستین بلند و نیز دامن بلند استفاده می کنند و می کوشند به گناه و جرم آلوده نشوند. منونایت ها که عمدتا آلمانی و آلمانی تبارهای سویس و هلند بودند در وطن خود آرامش کامل نداشتند و به همین سبب هزاران خانواده از آنان پس از دریافت تضمین تحمل مذهب و دادن زمین زراعتی به روسیه مهاجرت کردند. این خبر که به گوش «ویلیام پن» موسس ایالت پنسیلوای آمریکا رسید آنان را دعوت به مهاجرت به آمریکا و اقامت در ایالت خود کرد که دسته دسته وارد شدند. منونایت با آمیش ها که آنان هم از آلمان و هلند به آمریکا مهاجرت کرده و جوامع بسته ای را تشکیل داده اند مشابهت بسیار دارند. بیشتر منونایت های جهان در ایالات متحده، کانادا ، روسیه و هلند زندگی می کنند. شمار آنان در آلمان چشمگیر نیست و کمتر از پنجاه هزار نفر است.
قس انگلیسی
The Mennonites are a Protestant group based around the church communities of the Christian Anabaptist denominations named after Menno Simons ( 1496–1561 ) of Friesland ( a part of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation ) , who, through his writings, articulated and thereby formalized the teachings of earlier Swiss founders. The teachings of the Mennonites were founded on their belief in both the mission and ministry of Jesus Christ, which they held to with great conviction despite persecution by the various Roman Catholic and Protestant states. Rather than fight, the majority survived by fleeing to neighboring states where ruling families were tolerant of their radical belief in adult baptism. Over the years, Mennonites have become known as one of the historic peace churches because of their commitment to nonviolence. [2]
There are about 1. 5 million Mennonites worldwide as of 2006. [3] Mennonite congregations worldwide embody the full scope of Mennonite practice from "plain people" to those who are indistinguishable in dress and appearance from the general population. The largest populations of Mennonites are in Ethiopia, [4] Canada, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the United States, but Mennonites can also be found in tight - knit communities in at least 51 countries on six continents or scattered amongst the populace of those countries. There are also significant numbers of Mennonites scattered throughout China. There are German Mennonite colonies in Argentina, Belize, Bolivia, [5] Brazil, Mexico, Uruguay, [6] and Paraguay, [7] who are to a large extent descendants of Mennonites living in eastern Europe, and there remains a small congregation in the Netherlands where Simons was born.
The Mennonite Disaster Service, [8] based in North America, provides both immediate and long - term responses to hurricanes, floods, and other disasters. The Mennonite Central Committee provides disaster relief around the world alongside their long - term international development programs. Other programs offer a variety of relief efforts and services throughout the world.
Since the latter part of the 20th century, some Mennonite groups have also become more actively involved with peace and social justice issues, helping to found Christian Peacemaker Teams and Mennonite Conciliation Service. [9]
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[edit]Radical Reformation
Main article: Radical Reformation
Spread of the early Anabaptists, 1525 - 1550
The early history of the Mennonites starts with the Anabaptists in the German and Dutch - speaking parts of central Europe. The German term is "Täufer" or "Wiedertäufer" ( that is, Again - Baptists, or Anabaptists using the Greek ana, "again" ) . These forerunners of modern Mennonites were part of the broad reaction against the practices and theology of the Roman Catholic Church known as the Protestant Reformation. Its most distinguishing feature is the rejection of infant baptism, an act that had both religious and political meaning since almost every infant born in western Europe was baptized into the Roman Catholic Church. Other significant theological views of the Mennonites developed in opposition to Roman Catholic views or to the views of other Protestant reformers such as Martin Luther and Huldrych Zwingli.
Some of the followers of Zwingli's Reformed church felt that requiring church membership beginning at birth was inconsistent with the New Testament example. They felt that the church should be completely removed from government ( the proto–free church tradition ) , and . . .