Mennonites are a group of Anabaptist Christian communities tracing their roots to the epoch of the Radical Reformation. Menno Simons became a prominent leader within the wider Anabaptist movement and was a contemporary of Martin Luther β and Philip Melanchthon β Through his writings about the Reformation Simons articulated and formalized the teachings of earlier Swiss Anabaptist founders as well as early teachings of the Mennonites founded on the belief in both the mission and ministry of Jesus.
The majority of the early Mennonite followers, rather than fighting, survived by fleeing to neighboring states where ruling families were tolerant of their belief in believer's baptism. Over the years, Mennonites have become known as one of the historic peace churches , due to their commitment to pacifism. Congregations worldwide embody various approaches to Mennonite practice, ranging from Old Order Mennonites who practice a lifestyle without certain elements of modern technology to Conservative Mennonites who hold to traditional theological distinctives, wear plain dress and use modern conveniences to mainline Mennonites those who are indistinguishable in dress and appearance from the general population.
Though Mennonites are a global denomination with church membership from Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas, certain Mennonite communities with ethno-cultural origins in Switzerland and the Netherlands bear the designation of ethnic Mennonites. The early history of the Mennonites starts with the Anabaptists in the German and Dutch-speaking regions of central Europe. 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 in the Roman Catholic Church [ citation needed ].
Other significant theological views of the Mennonites developed in opposition to Roman Catholic views or to the views of Protestant reformers such as Martin Luther and Huldrych Zwingli. Some of the followers of Zwingli's Reformed church thought that requiring church membership beginning at birth was inconsistent with the New Testament example.
They believed that the church should be completely removed from government the protoβ free church tradition , and that individuals should join only when willing to publicly acknowledge belief in Jesus and the desire to live in accordance with his teachings.
