A 1685 illustration by Jan Luyken, published in Martyrs Mirror, of Dirk Willems saving his pursuer, an act of mercy that led to his recapture, after which he was burned at the stake near Asperen in the present-day Netherlands
Background
Christianity
Radical Reformation
Sermon on the Mount
Doctrines and practices
Theology of Anabaptism
Believer's baptism
Lovefeast
Nonconformity to the world
Nonresistance
Free will
Freedom of religion
Priesthood of all believers
Separation of church and state
Foot washing
Holy kiss
Plain dress
Shunning
Simple living
Documents
Schleitheim Confession
Dordrecht Confession
Ausbund
Martyrs Mirror
Key people
George Blaurock
Hans Denck
Conrad Grebel
Melchior Hoffman
Balthasar Hubmaier
Hans Hut
Jakob Hutter
Alexander Mack
Felix Manz
Pilgram Marpeck
Melchior Rink
Michael Sattler
Menno Simons
Largest groups
Amish
Apostolic Christians
Brethren in Christ
Bruderhof
Conservative Mennonites
Hutterites
Mennonite World Conference
Mennonites
Mennonite Brethren
Old Colony Mennonites
Old Order Mennonites
Old German Baptist Brethren
River Brethren
Russian Mennonites
Schwarzenau Brethren
Related movements
Schwenkfelders
Baptists
Pietism
Radical Pietism
Moravian Church
Inspirationalists
Quakers
Neo-Anabaptism
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Peace churches are Christian churches, groups or communities advocating Christian pacifism or Biblical nonresistance. The term historic peace churches refers specifically only to three church groups among pacifist churches:
Church of the Brethren, including all daughter churches such as the Old German Baptist Brethren, Old Brethren and Dunkard Brethren;
Religious Society of Friends (Quakers); and
Mennonites, including the Amish, Beachy Amish, Old Order Mennonites, and Conservative Mennonites
In addition to the Schwarzenau Brethren and Mennonites, other Anabaptist Christian fellowships, such as the Hutterian Brethren, River Brethren, Apostolic Christian Church and Bruderhof teach pacifism as well.[1][2]
This phrase has been used since the first conference of the peace churches in Kansas in 1935.[3][4][5][6][7]
The definition of "peace churches" is sometimes expanded to include Christadelphians (from 1863) and others who did not participate in the conference of the "historic peace churches" in Kansas in 1935.[8]
The peace churches agree that Jesus advocated nonviolence. Whether physical force can ever be justified in defending oneself is controversial. Most believers adhere strictly to a moral attitude of nonresistance in the face of violence. These churches generally concur that violence on behalf of nations and their governments is contrary to Christian morality, but agree that the teachings of Jesus were to explain the principles of the Kingdom of God rather than and contrasted with the ways of any earthly government.
^Jones, Charles Edwin (1974). A Guide to the Study of The Holiness Movement. p. 213-314.
^"The Way of Peace". Bruderhof. Retrieved 17 June 2022.
^Concise Encyclopedia of Amish, Brethren, Hutterites, and Mennonites p6 Donald B. Kraybill – 2010 "In 1935, BRETHREN, Mennonites, and Quakers met in North Newton, Kansas, for a conference on peace. The term HISTORIC PEACE CHURCHES was developed at this conference in order to distinguish between the groups' biblically based peaceful ..."
^The Brethren encyclopedia 1983 p608 "The American Civil War brought the peace churches together in combined appeals to government, both in the North and in the South ... This conference used the term historic peace churches as more acceptable to Mennonites than the term pacifist churches because the latter connoted theological liberalism. Called without prior agenda, the three-day meeting concluded with "
^Mark Matthews Smoke jumping on the Western fire line: conscientious objectors p36 – 2006 "CHAPTER TWO The Historic Peace Churches – The three historic peace churches that united to lobby for reforming the treatment of conscientious objectors during World War II shared many religious beliefs, but they also differed in many "
^Speicher, Sara and Durnbaugh, Donald F. (2003), Ecumenical Dictionary: Historic Peace Churches
^G. Kurt Piehler, Sidney Pash The United States and the Second World War: New Perspectives on 2010 p265 "The Selective Service, in collaboration with the historic peace churches, created Civilian Public Service to provide ... In October 1940, to coordinate administration of the CPS camps, the historic peace churches established the NSBRO. "
^Law review digest 1957 "Among the peace churches may be listed the Mennonite, Brethren, Friends, Christadelphians and Molakans. Other sects having a degree of pacifism in their doctrines include the Seventh Day Adventists, Assemblies of God and Churches of Christ. A more complex situation arises in connection with those registrants who do not base their nonresistant claims on church membership. "
Peacechurches are Christian churches, groups or communities advocating Christian pacifism or Biblical nonresistance. The term historic peace churches...
The Churches of Peace (Polish: Kościoły Pokoju, German: Friedenskirchen) in Jawor and Świdnica in Lower Silesia. Poland, are 17th-century churches, named...
peacechurches. Together, it encompasses more than 100,000 local congregations and 40 million adherents. It began as the Federal Council of Churches in...
shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace." As a testimony of peace, PeaceChurches in the Anabaptist Christian tradition (such as the...
traditional churches, including the Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Catholic Churches, Eastern Orthodox churches, Oriental Orthodox churches, the Church of the...
"Michigan Amish Churches", with which Smyrna and Manton affiliated, are said to be more open to seekers and converts than other Amish churches. Most of the...
Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP) is a US 501(c)(3) non-profit advocacy organization based in Washington, D.C. As a coalition of Orthodox, Catholic...
Assembly: Church of the Brethren, Conservative Grace Brethren Churches, International, Dunkard Brethren, Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches, Old German...
symbols of peace. Her official memorial in the General Roman Calendar is on July 9 in the universal Church except for Hawaii and some churches in the United...
253–268), the Church enjoyed a period of nearly 40 years with no official sanctions against Christians, which Eusebius described as the "little" peace of the...
The PeaceChurch, also known as Die Frieden Kirche, is an historic, American Reformed and Lutheran church that is located in Hampden Township, Cumberland...
Mennonites is the church. There are hundreds or thousands of Mennonite churches and groups, many of which are separate from all others. Some churches are members...
including the peacechurches. Foremost among these churches were the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), Amish, Mennonites, and the Church of the Brethren...
PeaceChurch Bangladesh or Peace Presbyterian Church in Bangladesh is a Presbyterian denomination in the country. The denomination was founded in 2009...
Historically, the church has taken a strong stance for nonresistance or Christian pacifism—it is one of the three historic peacechurches, alongside the...
Association PeacechurchesPeace education Right of conquest Security Studies Stockholm International Peace Research Institute Territorial peace theory War...
protesting the government's case. The American Baptist Churches in the U.S.A, the National Council of Churches, the National Black Catholic Clergy Caucus, and...
so-called Churches of Peace built after the Thirty Years' War and one of the two preserved to this day (the other one is in Świdnica). The church, due to...
The "Little Peace of the Church" was a roughly 40-year period in the latter 3rd century in the history of the Roman Empire during which Christianity flourished...
afforded local churches a higher degree of local autonomy, a more traditional characteristic of Baptist polity. The majority of churches in the North continued...
churches—for example Philadelphia Yearly Meeting is a member of the National Council of Churches. The Britain Yearly Meeting is a member of Churches Together...
A Peace Pagoda is a Buddhist stupa: a monument to inspire peace, designed to provide a focus for people of all races and creeds, and to help unite them...
National Catholic Church of Canada in January 2013. The PNCC is a member of the National Council of Churches and the World Council of Churches. In the 1970s...
of their beliefs. Members of the Historic PeaceChurches such as Quakers, Mennonites, Amish and the Church of the Brethren object to war based on their...
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