Mennonite Free Church in Austria Marks Recognition, Five Congregations and About 400 Members

Menno Simons (1496–1561), a Dutch Reformer, still gives his name to the Mennonite Free Church. The church is part of the “Free Churches in Austria” and has been officially recognized in Austria since 2013.

Menno Simons was born in Witmarsum, in Friesland, and was first a Catholic priest before he joined the Anabaptist movement in 1536. One of the movement’s essential concerns was “believer’s baptism” in adulthood, in contrast to “infant baptism” shortly after birth.

According to the source, the Anabaptists, also called “Re-baptizers,” are considered the third pillar of the Reformation, alongside the Lutheran and Helvetic traditions. Because of its radicalism, the source says, the movement was exposed to the most brutal persecution.

In Austria, the first Mennonite congregation was not founded until after the Second World War, in Linz. Today the movement counts 400 baptized members in five congregations, a community that values passing its history and faith on to later generations (Psalm 78:4).

The series “Memo” invites viewers to visit one of the five congregations on Whit Monday.

Worldwide, the source reports, there are approximately two million Mennonites.

Source: Read the original report (translated from German)