Mennonites in the Netherlands

Doopsgezinde Gemeente, Amsterdam

The Mennonite Church in the Netherlands, or Algemene Doopsgezinde Sociëteit, is a body of Mennonite Christians in the Netherlands. The Mennonites (or Mennisten or Doopsgezinden) are named for Menno Simons (1496–1561), a Dutch Roman Catholic priest from the province of Friesland who converted to Anabaptism around 1536. He was re-baptized as an adult in 1537 and became part (and soon leader) of the Dutch Anabaptist movement.

In 1811, different regional churches merged to form the Algemene Doopsgezinde Sociëteit (doopsgezind, "baptist-minded").[1] The Mennonite Church in the Netherlands is a member of the Mennonite World Conference and in 2015 reported 7,230 members in 111 congregations.[2]

  1. ^ Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Mennonites" . Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
  2. ^ "Statistics - Europe - By country". Mennonite World Conference. MWC-CMM.org. Retrieved October 27, 2016.