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Please see the discussion on the talk page. | The Bruderhof Communities (German: place of brothers) are Christian faith-based communities with branches in New York and Pennsylvania in the USA, the United Kingdom, Germany, and Australia. They have previously been called The Society of Brothers and The Hutterian Brethren. Image File history File links Stop_hand. ...
As a noun, Christian is an appellation and moniker deriving from the appellation Christ, which many people associate exclusively with Jesus of Nazareth. ...
Official language(s) None, English de facto Capital Albany Largest city New York City Area - Total - Width - Length - % water - Latitude - Longitude Ranked 27th 141,205 km² 455 km 530 km 13. ...
Official language(s) None Capital Harrisburg Largest city Philadelphia Area - Total - Width - Length - % water - Latitude - Longitude Ranked 33rd 119,283 km² 255 km 455 km 2. ...
Beliefs and spiritual roots
The Bruderhof's foundation is faith in Jesus. His teachings are central to Bruderhof life - particularly the command "Love your neighbor as yourself," the Sermon on the Mount, and his teachings concerning nonviolence, faithfulness in marriage, and compassion for the poor. Bruderhof members share the beliefs as recorded in the Apostles' Creed and the Didache. Jesus, Jesus of Nazareth or Jesus the Nazarene (about 4 BC/BCE – 30 AD/CE by most estimates), is the central figure of Christianity, in which context he is known as Jesus Christ (from Greek ΙησοÏÏ‚ ΧÏιστός) with Christ being a title meaning Anointed One or Messiah. The main sources regarding Jesus...
The Sermon on the Mount by Carl Heinrich Bloch. ...
The Apostles Creed (in Latin, Symbolum Apostolorum), is an early statement of Christian belief, possibly from the first or second century, but more likely post-Nicene Creed in the early 4th Century AD. The theological specifics of the creed appear to be a refutation of Gnosticism, an early heresy. ...
This article incorporates text from the public domain Catholic Encyclopedia The Didache ( in Koine Greek) or Teaching— short for Teaching of the Lord to the Gentiles by the Twelve Apostles ()— is a short treatise, considered by some of the Church Fathers as part of the New Testament but rejected as...
The Bruderhof follows the practices of the first church in Jerusalem, whose members were (according to the Book of Acts) of "one heart and mind, and shared all things in common." Bruderhof members do not hold private property, but rather share everything. No Bruderhof member receives a salary or has a bank account. Income from all businesses is pooled and used for the care for all members, and for various communal outreach efforts. The Acts of the Apostles (Greek Praxeis Apostolon) is a book of the Bible, which now stands fifth in the New Testament. ...
The Bruderhof is a peace church whose member do not serve in the armed forces of any country. Rather, they model a way of life that removes the social and economic divisions that bring about war. The goal of the Bruderhof is to create a new society where self-interest is yielded for the sake of the common good. Peace churches are Christian groups in the pacifist tradition. ...
The Bruderhof movement draws inspiration and guidance from a number of historical streams including the early Christians, the Anabaptists, the Blumhardts, and the German Youth Movement. Anabaptists (re-baptizers, from Greek ana and baptizo; in German: Wiedertäufer) are Christians of the so-called radical wing of the Protestant Reformation. ...
The German Youth Movement (In German: Die deutsche Jugendbewegung) is a collective term for educational-cultural renewal movement starting from 1896 on. ...
History The Bruderhof was founded in Germany in 1920 by Eberhard Arnold, a philosophy student and an intellectual speaker inspired by the German Youth Movement in post-World War I. In 1920 he rented a house in Sannerz, Germany and founded a religious community. 1920 (MCMXX) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar) // Events January January 7 - Forces of Russian White admiral Kolchak surrender in Krasnoyarsk. ...
Eberhard Arnold (1883-1935), German Christian writer, philosopher, and theologian, was the founder of the Bruderhof (place of brothers) in 1920. ...
The German Youth Movement (In German: Die deutsche Jugendbewegung) is a collective term for educational-cultural renewal movement starting from 1896 on. ...
Combatants Entente Powers Central Powers Commanders {{{commander1}}} {{{commander2}}} Strength {{{strength1}}} {{{strength2}}} Casualties > 5 million military deaths > 3 million military deaths {{{notes}}} World War I, also known as the First World War and (before 1939) the Great War, the War of the Nations, War to End All Wars, was a world...
1920 (MCMXX) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar) // Events January January 7 - Forces of Russian White admiral Kolchak surrender in Krasnoyarsk. ...
When the group outgrew the house at Sannerz, they moved to the nearby Rhön Mountains. While there, Arnold discovered that the Hutterites (a body he had studied with great interest) were still in existence in North America. In 1930 he traveled to meet the Hutterites and was ordained as a Hutterian minister. The Rhön Mountains are a group of low mountains in central Germany, located in the states Hesse,Bavaria and Thuringia. ...
Like the two best-known Anabaptist denominations, the Amish and the Mennonites, the Hutterites had their beginnings in the Radical Reformation of the 16th Century. ...
World map showing North America A satellite composite image of North America. ...
1930 (MCMXXX) is a common year starting on Wednesday. ...
With the rise of Adolf Hitler and Nazism, the Rhön community moved its draft-age men and children to Liechtenstein around 1934 because of their conscientious refusal to serve in the armed forces and to accept Nazi teachers. This community became known as the Alm Bruderhof. Continuing pressure from the Nazi government caused others to move to England and found the Cotswold Bruderhof in 1936. On April 14, 1937, secret police surrounded the Rhön Bruderhof, confiscated the property, and gave the remaining community members forty-eight hours to flee the country. By 1938, all the Bruderhof members had reassembled in England. (help· info) (April 20, 1889 – April 30, 1945) was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 and Führer (Leader) of Germany from 1934 until his death. ...
The neutrality of this article is disputed. ...
1934 (MCMXXXIV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ...
A conscientious objector is an individual whose personal beliefs are incompatible with military service, or sometimes with any role in the armed forces. ...
1936 (MCMXXXVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ...
1938 (MCMXXXVIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ...
While in England, the population grew to over 350 members, largely through the addition of young English members seeking an alternative to war. Even before the outbreak of World War II, the community’s German members and its pacifist stance attracted deep suspicion locally resulting in economic boycotts. When confronted with the option of either having all German members interned, or leaving England as a group, the Bruderhof choose the latter, and began to look for refuge abroad. Soon after England entered the war, the Bruderhof emigrated to Paraguay — the only country that would accept a pacifist community of mixed nationalities. Combatants Allied Powers Axis Powers Commanders {{{commander1}}} {{{commander2}}} Strength {{{strength1}}} {{{strength2}}} Casualties 17 million military deaths 7 million military deaths {{{notes}}} World War II, also known as the Second World War (sometimes WW2 or WWII or World War Two), was a mid-20th century conflict that engulfed much of the...
During the first years in the Paraguayan Chaco, Bruderhof members founded three settlements as well as a hospital for community members and local Paraguayans. The only clinic in the area, it served tens of thousands for the next two decades. By the early 1960s, the community in Paraguay had grown to about 700 members. Landscape in the Gran Chaco, Paraguay The Gran Chaco (Quechua chaqu, hunting land), dubbed by some as the last South American frontier, is an arid, sparsely populated, very hot, semi-desertic, lowland region of the River Plate basin, divided between Bolivia, Paraguay, Argentina and a small portion in Brazil called...
The 1960s decade refers to the years from 1960 to 1969, inclusive. ...
In 1954, the Bruderhof started a settlement known as the Woodcrest Bruderhof in the United States near Rifton, New York, in response to a dramatic increase in the number of American guests. Hundreds of new members joined, many from other communal groups across the country. Around this time, under the leadership of Heinrich Arnold, the Bruderhof reestablished the teachings of Jesus as the basis and foundation of the communal movement. He also revived the writings of his father, Eberhard Arnold, and those of Johann and Christoph Blumhardt. 1954 (MCMLIV) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ...
Rifton is a census-designated place located in Ulster County, New York. ...
New communities were also founded in Pennsylvania (1957) and Connecticut (1958). At the same time, tensions between the American and Paraguayan Bruderhofs resulted in the disbanding of all Bruderhof communities in Paraguay and the departure of many members. By 1962, all remaining members had relocated to the northeastern United States, or to England. Official language(s) None Capital Harrisburg Largest city Philadelphia Area - Total - Width - Length - % water - Latitude - Longitude Ranked 33rd 119,283 km² 255 km 455 km 2. ...
1957 (MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...
Official language(s) English Capital Hartford Largest city Bridgeport Area - Total - Width - Length - % water - Latitude - Longitude Ranked 48th 14,371 km² 113 km 177 km 12. ...
1958 (MCMLVIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...
1962 (MCMLXII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ...
The Forest River Hutterite colony in North Dakota invited the Bruderhof to join them, and about 36 members moved to North Dakota. In 1955, the Hutterites excluded the Bruderhof and placed the Forest River colony under probation. In 1973, the Bruderhof leadership apologized for the problems at the Forest River colony and in 1974 the Bruderhof was reunited with all branches of the Hutterian Church. However, in 1990 the more conservative Dariusleut and Lehrerleut Hutterites excommunicated the Bruderhof, refusing to recognize them as Hutterites because of practices that did not conform to standard Hutterite order including sending children to public schools, the use of musical instruments, and participation in marches against the death penalty.[1] Official language(s) English Capital Bismarck Largest city Fargo Area - Total - Width - Length - % water - Latitude - Longitude Ranked 19th 183 272 km² 340 km 545 km 2. ...
1955 (MCMLV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...
1973 (MCMLXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday. ...
1974 (MCMLXXIV) is a common year starting on Tuesday (click on link for calendar). ...
This article is about the year. ...
Capital punishment, also referred to as the death penalty, is the judicially ordered execution of a prisoner as a punishment for a serious crime, often called a capital offense or a capital crime. ...
In 1990 the Spring Valley Bruderhof was founded adjacent to the New Meadow Run Bruderhof in Farmington, Pennsylvania.
In the 1990s, some ex-members circulated a newsletter sharing their experiences at the Bruderhof. Sociologist Julius Rubin wrote a book critical of the Bruderhof after interviewing several disgruntled ex-members. He has never visited a Bruderhof community and has not been in contact with any current members.
In 2002 the Bruderhof purchased the house in Sannerz where the movement started. It is one of two Bruderhof houses in Germany.
Bruderhof today The Bruderhof movement has continued to grow, and membership is more than 2500. The largest Bruderhof has over four hundred members; the smallest has less than twenty. Most communities have a nursery, kindergarten, school, communal kitchen, laundry, various workshops, and offices. Bruderhof life is built around the family, though there are also many single members. Children are an important part of each community and participate in most communal gatherings. Disabled and elderly members are loved and cared for within the community and participate in daily life and work as much as they are able.
Children of Bruderhof families do not automatically become members, but are encouraged to leave the community and live elsewhere before deciding on their own whether or not to join the community.
Numerous guests visit the Bruderhof and all communities are open to guests.
Involvement in the wider community Through the Bruderhof Foundation, a charity created to support outreach and service efforts, and through individual members, the Bruderhof remains actively involved in the neighborhoods that surround its communities, and in the world at large. Bruderhof members serve on school boards, volunteer at prisons and hospitals, and work with local social service agencies to provide food and shelter for those in need of help. Through Breaking the Cycle, a conflict resolution program for schools, the Bruderhof also reaches thousands of high school students each year. They are involved with a variety of peace and justice issues. This article refers to the act of selfless giving, and organizations which facilitate selfless giving. ...
Since the 1990s, Heinrich Arnold's son Johann Christoph Arnold has brought Bruderhof values into the mainstream through public speaking, websites, and a number of popular books on forgiveness, marriage, sexuality, parenting, prayer, dying with dignity and peacemaking.
Bruderhof enterprises Community Playthings, a line of classroom furniture and toys, was developed during the 1950s and soon became the Bruderhof’s main source of income. It still provides the community with a livelihood today. Other Bruderhof businesses include Rifton Equipment, which offers mobility and rehabilitation equipment for disabled adults and children, and Spring Valley Signs, which produces hand carved wooden signs. 1950 (MCML) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ...
The Bruderhof has operated a publishing house since its founding in 1920. For the last forty years, the community has published books and periodicals under its own imprint, the Plough. Plough publishes spiritual classics, inspirational books, and children’s books. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, many of the Bruderhof's books were available as free resources on their websites. Ursa Major is a constellation visible throughout the year in the northern hemisphere. ...
See also Christian anarchism (also known as Christian libertarianism) is the belief that the only source of authority to which Christians are ultimately answerable is God, embodied in the teachings of Jesus. ...
Peace churches are Christian groups in the pacifist tradition. ...
Simple living (similar but not identical to voluntary simplicity or voluntary poverty) is a lifestyle individuals may pursue for a variety of motivations, such as spirituality, health, or ecology. ...
External links The Bruderhof had an extensive collection of Internet sites until December 2005, when they took them down and replaced them with a few short pages with information on how to contact them offline. Remaining official sites: - Bruderhof Communities - The Official Website - Now only includes address and phone number of the Rifton, NY community.
- Bruderhof Foundation - Includes basic foundation information, donation instructions, and instructions on receiving annual report
- The Bruderhof in United Kingdom - Address and phone number of the community in East Sussex, UK
The following sites are by external persons and groups, commenting on the Bruderhof: - Bring Back Bruderhof - A site to "give a voice to people who miss Bruderhof.com and all of what they added to the online community."
- The Peregrine Foundation - a non-profit organization assisting "families and individuals living in or exiting from experimental social groups".
- Bruderhof vs. the Net?
References - Against the Wind: Eberhard Arnold and the Bruderhof, Markus Baum, 1998 Plough Publishing House
- A Joyful Pilgrimage: My Life in Community, Emmy Arnold, 2002 The Bruderhof Foundation
- Community in Paraguay: A Visit to the Bruderhof, Bob and Shirley Wagoner
- Encyclopedia of American Religions (5th edition), J. Gordon Melton, editor
- Homage to a Broken Man: The Life of J. Heinrich Arnold, by Peter Mommsen
- Contested Narratives: A Case Study of the Conflict between a New Religious Movement and its Critics by Julius Rubin
- The Other Side of Joy: Religious Melancholy Among The Bruderhof, by Julius H. Rubin
- Torches Rekindled: The Bruderhof's Struggle for Renewal, Merrill Mow
- Torches Extinguished: Memories of a Communal Bruderhof Childhood in Paraguay, Europe and the U. S. A. , Elisabeth Bohlken-Zumpe, granddaughter of founder Eberhard Arnold
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