Church of the Brethren

Church of the Brethren
The Church of the Brethren references the Crucifixion of Jesus with a Latin cross, unity with the circle motif, and biblical references to water and baptism with the wave.
Classification	Protestant
Orientation	Mainline Anabaptist
Theology	Non-creedal
Structure	Congregationalist with districts that meet together in an Annual Conference
Distinct fellowships	The Church of the Brethren, Inc. (ministry and administration), Bethany Theological Seminary, Brethren Benefit Trust (retirement fund), On Earth Peace (peace initiative)
Associations	Brethren World Assembly, Christian Churches Together, Christian Peacemaker Teams, Church World Service, Historic Peace Churches, Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, National Council of Churches, World Council of Churches
Region	United States (headquarters) and Puerto Rico, with groups in Brazil; the Dominican Republic; Haiti; Nigeria and Oku, Cameroon; Spain; and South Sudan; also present in Ecuador (United Andean Indian Mission) and India (Church of North India)
Founder	Alexander Mack and the Schwarzenau Brethren
Origin	1708 Schwarzenau, Germany
Branched from	Schwarzenau Brethren in the United States
Separations	Dunkard Brethren (1926)
Congregations	1,047 (2010, United States and Puerto Rico)
Members	122,810 (2010, United States)
Nursing homes	21 (Fellowship of Brethren Homes)
Aid organization	Brethren Disaster Ministries, Brethren Service Center, Brethren Volunteer Service, Children's Disaster Services, Heifer International, SERRV International
Tertiary institutions	Six colleges and universities (Bridgewater College, Elizabethtown College, Juniata College, Manchester College, McPherson College, and University of La Verne), one seminary (Bethany Theological Seminary), see also Brethren Colleges Abroad
Official website	brethren.org

The Church of the Brethren is a Christian denomination with origins in the Schwarzenau Brethren (German: Schwarzenauer Neutäufer "Schwarzenau New Baptists") that was organized in 1708 by Alexander Mack in Schwarzenau, Germany. The Brethren movement began as a melding of Radical Pietist and Anabaptist ideas during the Protestant Reformation. The first of its churches in the United States was established in 1723. These church bodies became commonly known as "Dunkards", and more formally as German Baptist Brethren. The denomination holds the New Testament as its only creed. Historically, the church has taken a strong stance for nonresistance or pacifism—it is one of the three historic peace churches, alongside the Mennonites and Quakers. Distinctive practices include believers baptism by trine immersion; a threefold love feast consisting of feet washing, a fellowship meal, and communion; anointing for healing; and the holy kiss.

The Church of the Brethren represents the largest body descending from Mack's Schwarzenau Brethren church. The German Baptist Brethren suffered a major division in the early 1880s, creating three wings: traditionalists such as the Old German Baptist Brethren, progressives led by the Brethren Church, and the conservatives, who adopted the name Church of the Brethren in 1908. The church had 122,810 members as of June 2010 and 1,047 congregations in the United States and Puerto Rico as of August 2010. Six liberal arts colleges and one seminary (Bethany Theological Seminary in Richmond, Indiana) are related to the Church of the Brethren. General offices and the Brethren Press are located in Elgin, Illinois.