Journal: Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society
Volume: JETS 30:4 (Dec 1987)
Article: Ordination Of Women In The Brethren Church: A Case Study From The Anabaptist-Pietist Tradition
Author: Jerry R. Flora

JETS 30:4 (December 1987) p. 427

Ordination Of Women In The Brethren Church:
A Case Study From The Anabaptist-Pietist Tradition

J. R. Flora*

In the current discussions about whether women should be ordained and allowed to serve as pastors, much has been heard in Protestantism from two directions: the historic Lutheran, Anglican and Reformed positions on the one hand and, on the other, the more recent holiness, pentecostal and charismatic viewpoints. It is the purpose of this paper to offer a case study on the subject from the Brethren Church, a small denomination in the anabaptist-pietist tradition.

The Brethren, one of the historic peace churches (along with Mennonites and Quakers), have participated in the American scene since 1719 when the first group of them came to Philadelphia. These German Baptist Brethren, as they came to be called, have no organic connection with other bodies using the name Brethren (e.g. Brethren in Christ, Mennonite Brethren, Moravian Brethren, Plymouth Brethren, United Brethren).

The German Baptist Brethren began in 1708 as part of the pietistic renewal that affected both Lutheran and Reformed churches. One of the well-known pietist revival preachers was the nobleman Ernst Christoph Hochmann von Hochenau (1670–1721), who experienced a profound conversion under August Hermann Francke while studying at the University of Halle. Hochmann became an itinerant evangelist preaching separation from the institutional Church throughout the Lower Rhine valley early in the eighteenth century. He preached especially in the Palatinate and Wittgenstein, territories where some princes tolerated a diversity of Christian loyalties.1

One of Hochmann’s most dedicated converts was a young miller named Alexander Mack (1679–1735), the third son of Johann Philip Mack, vineyard keeper and miller at Schreischeim near Heidelberg. The father had served twice as mayor of the town and was an elder in the Reformed Church.2 Young

*J. R. Flora is professor of theology at Ashland Theological Seminary in Ohio.

JETS 30:4 (December 1987) p. 428

Mack was the husband of Anna Margarethe Kling (1680–1720), daughter of Johann Valentin Kling, innkeeper at Schreischeim, member of the town council, and—like Alexander Mack’s father—an elder in the Reformed Church.3 Young Mack, whose generous inheritance rendered him financially secure, came under the fiery Hochmann’s preaching and in 1706 accompanied him on an evangelistic tour. Together they proclaimed a new call to piety, to be facilitated by small-group Bible studies and lay leadership. Th...