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55 RELIGIOUS ENCYCLOPEDIA nitualism Riving thirty Mennonite families from Canton Basel, Swit zerland, on account of long persecution. The voy age was disastrous, one of the ships with the goods of the emigrants being lost. One company, inclu ding Jacob Engle and his brother John, settled near the Susquehanna River in the southeastern part of Lancaster County, Pa. A revival in 1770, conducted by Lutherans, Mennonites, and Baptists, including Philip William Otterbein (q.v.), Boehm, and the Engles, resulted in many conversions. Differences arose among the converts respecting the mode of baptism and separate movements were the result. The Engles held to trine immersion and those who were of the same mind formed the denomination known simply as the River Brethren, which grad ually spread to Ohio, Indiana, Kansas, New York, and other states, and to Canada. In 1862 the de nomination sought a legal status as a body holding to the principle of non-resistance. Some of its mem bers had been drafted for the army in the Civil War, and a legal status was needed to protect them from a violation of their principles. At the same time they adopted the name " Brethren in Christ," which is also claimed by a small Mennonite body. The River Brethren have suffered division. Differences on minor points led to the withdrawal of the Yorker Brethren in 1843 and in 1852 of the " Brinsers " or United Zion's Children. The River Brethren have no formulated creed. They accept the doctrines known as Evangelical, and hold to Trine Immersion (q.v.) as the only proper form of baptism, to confession of sins to God and man, and to the ceremony of foot-washing in connec tion with the eucharist. Non-resistance is one of their cardinal principles. There are bishops, minis ters, and deacons. The deacons have charge of the business of the churches, serve at the communion table, and do some pastoral visiting. Ministers are the teaching body, do parish work, and in the absence of the bishop administer the communion. The bishops preside at all council meetings and exercise all the functions of the ministry. District councils and the general conference are composed of ministers and laymen. The latter meets annually and has charge of the missionary work of the Church. The denominational headquarters are at Harrisburg, Pa. The differences between the three bodies are slight. In the United Zion's Children in the cere mony of foot-washing one person both washes and wipes; in the other branches one person washes and another wipes. The three bodies in 1908 reported 201 ministers, 98 churches, and 4,114 communicants. The Brethren in Christ, the main body, has 174 ministers, 65 churches, and 3,675 communicants. H. K. CARROLL. BIBLIOGRAPHY: Consult the literature under MENNONITES.

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