Schwenkfelder Church

The Schwenkfelder Church ( listen ⓘ

) is a small
Schwenkfelder Church
American Christian body rooted in the 16th-century
Protestant Reformation teachings of Caspar Schwenkfeld Classification Protestant
von Ossig (1489–1561).[1] Orientation Anabaptist
Region United States
History Origin 1909
Pennsylvania
Although followers have held the teachings of
Schwenckfeld since the 16th century, Schwenkfelder Congregations 4
Church was not formed until the 20th century, due in large Members 2500
part to Schwenckfeld's emphasis on inner spirituality over Official website schwenkfelderchurch.org
outward form. He also labored for a fellowship of all
(https://www.schwenkfeld
believers and one church.
erchurch.org/)
Originally calling themselves Confessors of the Glory of
Christ after Schwenckfeld's 1541 book Great Confession on the Glory of Christ, the group later became
known as Schwenkfelders. These Christians often suffered persecution like slavery, prison, and fines at the
hands of the government and state churches in Europe. Most of them lived in southern Germany and
Lower Silesia.

By the beginning of the 18th century, the remaining Schwenkfelders lived around Harpersdorf in the
Duchy of Silesia, which was part of the Bohemian Crown.[2] As the persecution intensified around 1719–
1725, they were given refuge in 1726 by Nicolaus Ludwig von Zinzendorf in Saxony. When the Elector of
Saxony died in 1733, Jesuits petitioned the new ruler to return the Schwenkfelders to Harpersdorf. With
their freedom in jeopardy, they decided to look to the New World; toleration was also extended to them in
Silesia in 1742 by King Frederick II of Prussia.

The immigrant members of the Schwenkfelder Church brought saffron to the Americas. Schwenkfelders
may have grown saffron in Europe; there is some record that at least one member of the group traded in the
spice. A group came to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1731, and several migrations continued until 1737.
The largest group, 180 Schwenkfelders, arrived in 1734. In 1782, the Society of Schwenkfelders was
formed, and in 1909 the Schwenkfelder Church was incorporated. Though the Schwenkfelders thereafter
remained largely confined to Pennsylvania, a small number later emigrated to Waterloo County in Ontario,
Canada.[3]

Schwenkfelder Church has remained small: as of 2009 there are five congregations[4] with about 2,500
members in southeastern Pennsylvania. All of these bodies are within a fifty-mile radius of Philadelphia:
two in the city itself, and one each in East Norriton Township, Palm, and Worcester. The Schwenkfelder
Church meets annually at a Spring General Conference. Sometimes Conferences are also held in the fall.
The Society of the Descendants of the Schwenkfeldian Exiles is a related lineage society.

Characteristics
The Church teaches that the Bible is the source of Christian theology. Schwenckfeld drew his theology
from the Old Testament and New Testament, and it agrees with the Apostles' Creed, the Nicene Creed, and
the Confession of Chalcedon.[5]

The Church also recognizes the wisdom of church fathers, particularly those from the Eastern church and
Augustine. Schwenckfeld emphasized the inner work of the Holy Spirit, conversion, which he called the
rebirth, and the new man.[6]

The Church also continues his belief that the Lord's Supper is a spiritual partaking representing the body
and blood of Christ in open communion.[7] Adult baptism and both infant baptism and consecration of
infants is practiced depending on the church.

Adult members are also received into church membership through transfer of memberships from other
churches and denominations. Their ecclesiastical tradition is congregational with an ecumenical focus.[8]
The Schwenkfelder churches recognize the right of the individual in decisions such as public service,
armed combat, etc. Individual, autonomous congregations select ministers by a self-regulated search
process. Schwenkfelder Ordination, Licensure and Authorization of Ministry is regulated by the
Schwenkfelder Ministerium and the Executive Council of The Schwenkfelder Church.

Schwenkfeldian theology fits broadly within the parameters of Reformed theology today. Each
congregation remains autonomous in theology and practice. Historic statements of faith inherited by the
Christian Church as a whole, including the Apostles' Creed and other scriptural foundations, remain the
best representative statement of Schwenkfeldian theology.[9]

Society of the Descendants of the Schwenkfeldian Exiles

The Society of the Descendants of the Schwenkfeldian Exiles is a lineage society for descendants of the
209 members of the Schwenkfelder Church who arrived near Penn's Landing between 1731 and 1737 and
settled in what then was the colonial-era Province of Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1921 by William
Wagener Porter and had an initial membership of 125 individuals.[10] Publications include Exile Herald
(1924–1954) [11] and Der Bericht (in English).

Further reading
Formula for the Government and Discipline of the Schwenkfelder Church: Being a Part of
the Church Manual (https://archive.org/details/formulaforgovern00schw) (1911)
Balthasar Heebner, Genealogical Record of the Descendants of the Schwenkfelders: Who
Arrived in Pennsylvania in 1733, 1734, 1736, 1737 from the German (https://archive.org/deta
ils/genealogicalreco01krie) (1879)
Samuel Kriebel Brecht, Genealogical Record of the Schwenkfelder Families, Seekers of
Religious Liberty Who Fled from Silesia to Saxony and thence to Pennsylvania in the Years
1731–1737 (https://archive.org/details/genealogicalreco00unse) (1923)

References
1. Caspar Schwenckfeld (1907). Letters and Treaties of Caspar Schwenkfeld Von Ossig ...: A
study of the earliest letters (https://books.google.com/books?id=QCoNAAAAYAAJ&pg=PR1
0). Breitkopf & Härtel. pp. 10–.
2. Geography (http://www.centralschwenkfelder.com/exile/geography.htm)
 3. Reaman, George Elmore (1957). The Trail of the Black Walnut (https://archive.org/details/trai
lofblackwaln00ream/page/28). McClelland & Stewart. p. 28 (https://archive.org/details/trailof
blackwaln00ream/page/28). ISBN 0-7710-7351-8.
4. "Churches listing" (https://web.archive.org/web/20110411024723/http://www.schwenkfelder.
com/aboutus/churches.htm). Archived from the original (http://www.schwenkfelder.com/about
us/churches.htm) on 2011-04-11. Retrieved 2010-04-23.
5. Caspar Schwenckfeld, Eight Writings on Christian Beliefs. Edited by H. H. Drake Williams
III. Kitchener, ON: Pandora, 2006; E. S. Gerhard, translator and editor, A Vindication of
Caspar Schwenckfeld von Ossig: An Elucidation of his doctrine and the vicissitudes of his
followers from the German of Christopher Schultz (1769). Allentown, PA: Edward Schlechter,
1942.
6. P. B. Eberlein, Ketzer oder Heiliger: Caspar von Schwenckfeld der schlesische Reformator
und seine Botschaft. Studien zur Schlesischen und Oberlausitzer Kirchenggeschichte 6.
Metzinger: Ernst Franz, 1998; E. J. Furcha, Schwenckfeld's Concept of the New Man: A
Study in the Anthropology of Caspar von Schwenckfeld as Set Forth in His Major
Theological Writings. Pennsburg: Board of Publication, 1970
7. M. Kriebel, Schwenkfelders and the Sacraments. Pennsburg, PA: Board of Publication of the
Schwenkfelder Church, 1968.
8. J. Rothenberger, Caspar Schwenckfeld von Ossig and the Ecumenical Ideal. Pennsburg,
PA: Board of Publication, 1967.
9. Caspar Schwenckfeld, Eight Writings on Christian Beliefs
10. Society of the Descendants of the Schwenkfeldian Exiles website (http://schwenkfelderexile
society.org/)
11. Exile Herald website (https://schwenkfelderexilesociety.org/about-us/table-of-contents-for-th
e-exile-herald/)

Encyclopedia of American Religions, edited by J. Gordon Melton

Handbook of Denominations in the United States, by Frank S. Mead, Samuel S. Hill, and
Craig D. Atwood
Profiles in Belief: the Religious Bodies of the United States and Canada, by Arthur Carl
Piepkorn
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann,
Charles, ed. (1913). "Schwenckfeldians". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert
Appleton Company. [1] (http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/13597a.htm)

External links
Schwenkfelder Church (https://www.schwenkfelderchurch.org/)
Central Schwenkfelder Church (https://www.centralschwenkfelder.com/)
Schwenkfelder Library and Heritage Center (https://www.schwenkfelder.org/)
Schwenkfelders – Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online (http://www.gameo.or
g/encyclopedia/contents/S389.html)
Schwenkfelders – An article from the United Church of Christ (http://www.ucc.org/about-us/hi
dden-histories/the-schwenkfelders.html)
Schwenkfelders – Association of Religion Data Archives (https://web.archive.org/web/20030
920052109/http://www.adherents.com/Na/Na_582.html#3519)

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Schwenkfelder_Church&oldid=1184050077"