The
Amish (
/'??m??/;
Pennsylvania German:
Amisch,
German:
Amische) are a group of traditionalist Christian church fellowships with
Swiss German Anabaptist origins. They are closely related to, but distinct from,
Mennonite churches. The Amish are known for
simple living,
plain dress, and reluctance to adopt many
conveniences of modern technology.
The
Mennonites are members of certain
Christian groups belonging to the church communities of
Anabaptist denominations named after
Menno Simons (1496–1561) of
Friesland (which today is a province of the Netherlands). Through his writings, Simons articulated and formalized the teachings of earlier Swiss founders. The early teachings of the Mennonites were founded on the belief in both the mission and
ministry of Jesus, which the original Anabaptist followers held to with great conviction despite persecution by the various
Roman Catholic and
Protestantstates. An early set of Mennonite beliefs was codified in the
Dordrecht Confession of Faithin 1632,
[2] but the various groups do not hold to a common confession or creed. Rather than fight, the majority of these followers 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 because of their commitment to
pacifism.
[3]