Brethren

형제단 (兄弟團)

Brethren, a group of Protestant churches that trace their origin to Schwarzenau, Hesse, in 1708, in which year a group of seven persons under the leadership of Alexander Mack (1679-1735) covenanted to form a brotherhood following the commandments of Jesus Christ as revealed in the New Testament. The course of the brotherhood was shaped by three influences--the Protestant faith in which its organizers had been raised, the Pietist reform movement (see Pietism ), and Anabaptist teachings from the Radical Reformation of the 16th century.

The first Brethren were known in Europe as New Baptists (to distinguish them from the Mennonite s [q.v.], the direct descendants of the Anabaptists, whom they resembled in many ways) or as Schwarzenau Baptists (because of their place of origin). The largest congregation after Schwarzenau was organized in the Marienborn area near Budingen, Ger. In 1715 the Marienborn congregation was forced to leave because of a change in the religious policy of the local government. The members moved to Krefeld on the Lower Rhine, where they soon came into conflict with the authorities because of their proselyting. Several were sentenced to long terms of imprisonment. Added to this pressure was internal disagreement, which facilitated the decision of the majority of the congregation to move from Krefeld to Pennsylvania in 1719.

In the meantime, a new and intolerant count, together with low agricultural productivity, forced the original congregation out of Schwarzenau. In 1720 the group under Mack's leadership migrated to West Friesland. In 1729 they joined the earlier migrants in America. Others left Europe in the 1730s with the result that no organized congregation of Brethren was left on the Continent after 1750, other than a group in Denmark that claims to trace its origin to the Schwarzenau Brethren. From the initial stronghold in Germantown, north of Philadelphia, the Brethren settled in the surrounding areas of Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Some moved into Maryland and the southern colonies. By 1770 the Brethren had 1,500 adult members with a total following of about 5,000 in 28 congregations along the Atlantic seaboard. An interesting offshoot of the colonial Brethren was the monastic Ephrata Community (q.v.) in Lancaster County, Pa. 

The most influential family connected with the 18th-century Brethren was that of Christopher Sower (Sauer; 1695-1758), the noted Germantown printer. Although the first Sower was a Separatist in his religious views, he shared many convictions with the Brethren. His namesake, Christopher Sower II (1721-84), continued his father's business and became a Brethren elder. The Sower Press was famed for its three editions of the German Bible (1743, 1763, 1776). The Eliot Indian Bible of New England was the only previous biblical publication in the Colonies.

  18세기 형제단과 관련을 맺었던 가장 유력한 가문은 저먼타운의 유명한 인쇄업자 크리스토퍼 사우어(1695~1758) 집안이었다. 처음에 사우어는 종교적 견해에서 분리주의자였지만 형제단과 여러 신념을 공유했다. 크리스토퍼 사우어 2세(1721~84)는 아버지의 가업을 이어받았고 형제단의 장로가 되었다. 사우어 인쇄소는 3번에 걸쳐 독일어 성서를 출판한 것으로 유명했다(1743, 1763, 1776). 당시 아메리카 식민지에서 이보다 먼저 발행된 성서는 뉴잉글랜드의 〈엘리엇 인디언 성서〉뿐이었다.

As pacifists, the Brethren were put in a difficult position by the outbreak of the American Revolution. Some of them tended toward loyalism, because they were grateful to the British crown for freedoms enjoyed in America. There were scattered instances of mob violence and deprivation of Brethren property by action of the American revolutionary government. The shock that the Brethren suffered at this time may well have been a cause of their isolation and withdrawn character in the 19th century. (see also  pacifism)

The Brethren joined in the general push westward following the Revolution and were the first settlers in some sections of Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois and other prairie states. Almost all Brethren were agriculturalists, and they sought good limestone soil to establish their fertile farms. They tended to settle in groups, often migrating as colonies to new locations. The first Brethren reached the Pacific coast by 1850. When the transcontinental railroads were completed, more Brethren moved west, settling in the Dakotas, the Pacific Northwest, and California.

Although the Brethren avoided schism during the Civil War (unlike most American denominations), the cultural changes of the latter half of the 19th century shattered their unity. A younger and progressive element pressed for the adoption of new methods and practices such as other American churches used. These included Sunday schools, revival services, institutions of higher learning, salaried pastors, foreign missions, and a free religious press. As the Brethren emerged from rural cultural isolation, which had been enhanced by their rural life and Germanic speech, such practices seemed essential to a vocal minority in the brotherhood. The periodicals of Henry Kurtz (1796-1874) and James Quinter (1816-88), although moderate in their proposals, were influential in creating these demands.

  형제단은 남북전쟁이 벌어지는 동안(대다수 미국 교회 교파들과 달리) 분열을 피하기는 했지만, 19세기 후반의 문화적 변동은 그들의 연합을 흩어놓고 말았다. 젊은 층의 진보적인 구성원들은 다른 미국 교회들이 사용하는 새로운 방법과 관행을 채택할 것을 종용했다. 이들의 요구에는 주일학교, 부흥집회, 고등교육 기관, 유급(有給) 목회자, 해외 선교, 자유로운 종교 언론의 운영 등이 포함되었다. 형제단은 전원(田園)이라는 문화적으로 고립된 환경에서 출현했고, 이같은 고립 상태는 그들의 전원 생활과 또 독일어를 사용한다는 사실에 의해 더욱 심화되었기에 형제단 내의 말많은 소수들에게는 위와 같은 관행들이 필수적인 것으로 생각되었던 것이다. 헨리 커츠(1796~1874)와 제임스 퀸터(1816~88)가 발행한 정기간행물은 비록 온건한 제안들을 하기는 했지만, 위와 같은 요구들을 주장하는 데 큰 영향을 끼쳤다.

The reform issue precipitated a three-way split among the Brethren in the early 1880s. The conservative wing called itself the Old German Baptist Brethren to emphasize the conviction that it was holding to the earlier beliefs. The liberal party, led by Henry Holsinger (1833-1905), chose to be called the Brethren Church. The middle-of-the-road majority continued as the German Baptist Brethren until 1908 when the title Church of the Brethren was officially adopted. In 1939 the Brethren Church divided into the Brethren Church (Ashland, Ohio) and the National Fellowship of Brethren Churches (Grace Brethren).

개혁이라는 문제는 1880년대초 형제단 사이에 3갈래의 분열을 초래했다. 보수측은 자신들이 형제단 초기의 신념을 견지하고 있다는 확신을 강조하기 위해 스스로를 옛 독일 침례교 형제단이라 불렀다. 헨리 홀싱어(1833~1905)가 이끌던 진보측은 형제교회라는 이름을 택했다. 대다수가 속해 있는 중도파는 1908년 형제단의 교회라는 명칭이 공식 채택될 때까지 독일 침례교 형제단으로 존속했다. 1939년 형제교회는 형제교회(오하이오 주 애슐랜드)와 국립형제교회연맹(은혜형제단)으로 나뉘었다.

In general, the Brethren churches accept no creed but the New Testament and stress obedience to Christ and a simple and temperate way of life. Members old enough to confess their faith are baptized by being immersed three times. The love feast (Holy Communion) is observed twice each year and includes feet washing, a fellowship meal, and anointing for physical and spiritual health.

The Brethren are considered one of the three historic "peace churches," along with the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) and Mennonites, because of a continuing (but not unanimous) adherence to the principle of conscientious objection to all wars. They usually affirm rather than swear oaths. All branches of the Brethren have been active in sponsoring missionaries, with the exception of the Old German Baptist group.

During the 19th century the Brethren uniformly wore the plain style of dress similar to the Amish, with beards and broad-brimmed hats for the men and aprons and bonnets for the women. This garb now has almost entirely disappeared, except for the Old German Baptist Brethren and, in some parts of eastern Pennsylvania, the Church of the Brethren.

19세기 동안 형제단은 다같이 암만파와 같이 단순한 스타일의 옷을 입었고, 남자들은 턱수염을 기르고 창이 넓은 모자를 썼으며 여자들은 에이프런을 두르고 보닛을 썼다. 현재 이 복장은 옛 독일 침례교 형제단을 제외하고는 동부 펜실베이니아 몇몇 지역의 형제단의 교회에서는 거의 사라졌다.