Daily Almanac for
Nov 27, 2009
Search White Pages
Search: Infoplease Info search tips
Search: Biographies Bio search tips
Encyclopedia

Hutterian Brethren

Hutterian Brethren (hutēr'ēun) [key], a body of Christians practicing strict communism based on religious principles. The Brethren are descendants of those Moravian Anabaptists who were followers of Jacob Hutter, a minister from the Tyrol who was burned at the stake in 1536. In the 17th cent. there were a number of Hutterian brotherhoods in Moravia. Persecution drove them eastward to eventual settlement in Russia. In 1874, in company with Russian Mennonites, a group emigrated to the United States, settling near Tabor, S.Dak. Other groups followed. Their doctrines and principles, aside from their practice of common ownership, are in accord with those of Mennonites in general. There are around 460 Hutterite colonies in the United States and Canada today, mainly on the W North American prairie. They are also known as Hutterische Brethren or Hutterites.

See studies by V. Peters (1965), J. W. Bennett (1967), and J. A. Hostelter (1975).

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2007, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

    • Cite
    • Print
    • Bookmark

More on Hutterian Brethren from Infoplease:

  • collective farm: In North America - In North America Communal farming has not been markedly popular in North America, although numerous ...
  • Brethren - Brethren Brethren, German Baptist religious group. They were popularly known as Dunkards, Dunkers, ...
  • Anabaptists - Anabaptists Anabaptists [Gr.,=rebaptizers], name applied, originally in scorn, to certain ...
  • Encyclopedia: Protestant Denominations - Encyclopeadia articles concerning Protestant Denominations.

See more Encyclopedia articles on: Protestant Denominations


Premium Partner Content
HighBeam Research

Related content from HighBeam Research on: Hutterian Brethren

Additional search results provided by HighBeam Research, LLC. © Copyright 2005. All rights reserved.