Category Archives: What Does Anabaptism have to do with Anglicanism?

(This section is based on an article by Alan Kreider in the book ‘Coming Home: Stories of Anabaptists in Britain and Ireland’). The name that was used for these persecuted refugees from Flanders, the name ‘Anabaptist’, was a name given … Continue reading →

I now want to tell the story of the first recorded contact between the Anglican tradition and the Anabaptist movement, and I need to say at the beginning that my account will essentially be a summary of what Alan Kreider … Continue reading →

There is not time or space for me to recount in any detail the long story of the Mennonites, Hutterites, and Amish from the 16th century to the present day. For those who are interested in pursuing it, I highly … Continue reading →

Harold Bender described Anabaptism in terms of three defining characteristics. His ‘Anabaptist Vision’ was simple and compelling, but perhaps a little too neat and tidy. I’m going to resist the temptation to describe a few things that all Anabaptists agreed … Continue reading →

So why were the Anabaptists persecuted? What harm did they do to anyone, these little groups of disciples who chose to withdraw from the state churches, accept believers’ baptism, and practice the teaching of Jesus in a literal way? Why, … Continue reading →

Already in the late 1950s Mennonite scholars were beginning to question Harold Bender’s thesis; a tribute volume published in honour of his sixtieth birthday in 1957 called ‘The Recovery of the Anabaptist Vision’ showed the beginnings of some cracks in … Continue reading →

I’m beginning the process of trying to sum up some of the learnings of my sabbatical leave, in a form which I hope I might eventually present to a clergy day in the Diocese of Edmonton and perhaps in some … Continue reading →