Founding years Mennonites are the followers of
Menno Simons (1496–1561), who was born in
Witmarsum, Friesland. Simons is considered one of the best known leaders of the
Reformation alongside
Luther,
Calvin and
Zwingli. Simons is the only widely recognized Reformer of Dutch descent.
Anabaptism appeared in the Netherlands by 1530, when
Melchior Hoffman (1495–1543) visited Emden in
East Frisia. While there, Hoffman baptized more than 100 adults who converted to Anabaptism. The early years saw a number of, at times, rather fanatical, even violent, developments under Anabaptist-associated groups, like the
Batenburgers. A similar violent take-over of the city of
Münster was subsequently repressed.
After 1536 After the demise of the Anabaptist rule in
Münster (1534–1536, under
Jan van Leiden), Menno Simons became the pivotal person who inspired the movement known as the (Ana)baptists. This movement was fiercely repressed and persecuted by many, including the
Lutheran church. After 1536, Menno Simons was mostly active in organizing congregations in what are now the German states of Lower Saxony and Schleswig-Holstein, but congregations were also founded in his homeland of the Netherlands.
16th and 17th centuries Soon after Menno's death, his followers in the Netherlands split into a number of local factions. There were Waterlandic, Frisian and Flemish denominations. In the second half of the 16th century many Frisian and Flemish Mennonites from the Netherlands moved to the
Vistula Delta, where they established settlements that flourished until the 1770s. Many of these
Vistula delta Mennonites later moved to the
Russian Empire and from there to
North and
Latin America. Today there several hundred thousands of these so-called
Russian Mennonites, who are of Dutch descent and speak
Plautdietsch. After 1664, there was another schism. One of the groups was founded by the preacher Galenus Abraham de Haen from
Zierikzee. Members of that group are known as the "Lammists." A different group, known as the "Sonnists," arose under the preacher Samuel Apostool. Lammists were more liberal and Sonnists were stricter. In 1735, the Sonnists founded their own Mennonite seminary in Amsterdam. In 1801, the two groups united again. During the Republic, which was dominated by
Calvinism, the Menists found themselves in a position similar to that of the
Jews and the
Catholics. They were tolerated as long as they did not practice their religion too openly. Churches had to be built in inconspicuous places, hidden from view. In some places, they can still be found in the middle of a block
behind the houses, e.g. in
Grouw,
Haarlem,
Deventer and
Joure. In this period, the community was mostly of an orthodox nature as the usual name of the churches the “
Vermaning” (Admonition) indicates. Many walks of life and professions were not open to the community, e.g. they were not admitted into the
guilds. Many members, therefore, became
merchants or earned their living in financial services. In the heyday of the Dutch Republic, the Golden Age of the seventeenth century, many of the Menists came into considerable wealth. The region of the river Vecht above
Utrecht is still known as the "Menists' Heaven", because of its many opulent mansions.
18th century and the Napoleonic period From the 18th century onward, many Menists evolved from a rather orthodox view to a decidedly liberal one. At the end of the century, there was considerable upheaval and the "patriots" inspired by events in the American colonies strove for sweeping reform in the rather archaic institutions of the Republic. In the
Batavian Revolution of 1795, a disproportionately large number of 'doopsgezinden', as they started to call themselves, could be found amongst the "patriots" and they played an active role in the emancipation of groups that, like themselves, had been excluded from full citizenship. In 1806, the old
guilds were finally abolished and all
professions became open to the Menists. However, the customary right to refuse military service was now denied them.
19th century In the century that followed, many of the more orthodox members of the 'doopsgezinden' decided to leave and join the more conservative
Dutch Reformed Church. The remaining Mennists acquired a more and more progressive signature, quite in contrast to their fellow Mennists overseas. Mission work among the group also began in the 19th century, carrying into the early 20th century. The group chose Central
Java and
New Guinea as
mission fields. Strong ties still exist between
these communities (now in
Indonesia) and today's Dutch groups.
Modern church The Mennonite Church was the first denomination in the Netherlands to allow
women to be ordained as ministers. The church first adopted acceptance of women to the priesthood in 1905. In 1911,
Anne Zernike became the first woman minister in the country. Her ministry started in the Frisian town of Bovenknijpe (near
Heerenveen). By 2007, there were 118 "Doopsgezinde" congregations with a total of 8,362 members. These were located mostly in the provinces
Friesland and
North Holland, and in cities along the river
IJssel. In 2015 they had 7,230 members in 111 congregations. ==LGBTQ policies==