Hutterites

Hutterite women at work

Hutterites are a communal branch of Anabaptists who, like the Amish and Mennonites, trace their roots to the Radical Reformation of the 16th century.

History

Originating in the Austrian province of Tyrol in the 16th century, the forerunners of the Hutterites migrated to Moravia to escape persecution. There, under the leadership of Jakob Hutter, they developed the communal form of living based on the New Testament books of the Acts of the Apostles (Chapters 2 (especially Verse 44), 4, and 5) and 2 Corinthians—which distinguishes them from other Anabaptists such as the Amish and Mennonites.

Bill of impeachment

A basic tenet of Hutterian society has always been absolute Pacifism, forbidding its members from taking part in military activities, taking orders, wearing a uniform or contributing war taxes. This has led to expulsion or persecution in the several lands in which they have lived. In Bohemia, the Hutterites flourished for over a century, until renewed persecution forced them once again to migrate, first to Transylvania, and, then, in the early 18th century, to Ukraine, in the Russian Empire. Some Hutterites converted to Catholicism and retained a separate ethnic identity in Slovakia as the Habaner until the 19th century (by the end of World War II, the Habaner group had become essentially extinct). In Ukraine, the Hutterites enjoyed relative prosperity, although their distinctive communal life was suppressed by the influence of the neighboring Mennonites. In time, though, Russia had installed a new compulsory military service law, and the pressure was on again.

After sending scouts to North America in 1873 in tandem with a Mennonite delegation, another mass migration occurred from 1874 to 1879 as three waves of 18,000 Hutterites left for the New World in response to the new Russian military service law. Named for the leaders of each wave, all three of the three groupings (the Schmiedeleut, Dariusleut, and Lehrerleut, leut being based on the German word for people) settled initially in the Dakota Territory; later, Dariusleut colonies were established in central Montana. Here, each group reestablished the traditional Hutterite communal lifestyle.

New colony

During World War I, the pacifist Hutterites also suffered persecution in the United States. In the most famous case, four Hutterite men subjected to military draft who refused to comply were imprisoned and tortured. Ultimately, two died

Michael Hofer Martyr

Joseph Hofer Martyr

at Leavenworth Military Prison from mistreatment, after the Armistice had been signed ending the war. The Hutterite community responded by abandoning Dakota and moving 17 of the 18 existing American colonies to the Canadian provinces of Alberta, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan. With the passage of laws protecting conscientious objectors, however, some of the Schmiedeleut ultimately returned to the Dakotas, beginning in the 1930s, where they built and inhabited new colonies (some of the abandoned structures from the first wave still stand in South Dakota).

Bon Homme Cellar-destroyed

Bon Homme Limestone House

In 1942, alarmed at the influx of Dakota Hutterites buying copious tracts of land, the province of Alberta passed the Communal Properties Act, severely restricting the expansion of the Dariusleut and Lehrerleut colonies (the act was repealed in 1973, allowing Hutterites to purchase land). This act resulted in the establishment of a number of new colonies in British Columbia and Saskatchewan, at the same time expansion was seen into Montana and eastern Washington, in the 1940s and 1950s. Today, approximately one of every four Hutterite colonies is in the United States (primarily South Dakota and Montana), with almost all of the remainder in Canada (mostly in Alberta, Manitoba and Saskatchewan). The total Hutterite population in both countries is generally estimated between forty and fifty thousand.

For a few years in the early 1950s, and in 1974–1990, the Arnoldleut (or Bruderhof Communities) were recognized as Hutterites. Although most Hutterites live in the Midwestern United States and in Canada, Hutterite colonies have been established in Nigeria and Japan.

The Beginnings in South Tirol

The community of the Hutterians goes back to the Anabaptist Movement’s beginnings in the year 1525. Because they regarded infant baptism as unbiblical, and had no regard for confession [ to a Catholic priest – Translator] or the Adoration of Mary, this movement for reform was driven out of the Catholic Tirol of the 16th century and its adherents persecuted as heretics. The toll in blood of these “defenseless Christians” as they called themselves, was enormous. Jakob Hutter, founder of the movement, came from Moos by St Lorenzen in the Puster Valley. The Reformation as the beginning of the Anabaptist Movement in the 16th century: In the beginning it was impossible to discriminate between Luther’s Reformation and the Anabaptist Movement. It must even be said that the writings of Luther which the merchant family Mayr from Augsburg offered for sale in the market in Bozen, introduced Anabaptism to the Tirol. Whereas it was mainly the nobility and priests who were sympathetic to Luther’s ideas, the evangelical message of the Anabaptists reached the simple folk. The Peasants’ Revolt led by Michael Gaismaier was crushed and the very promising land distribution decrees issued from Meran and Innsbruck came to nothing. Disillusioned with the Emperor, the nobility and clerics, the peasants and miners sought a new identity. The Anabaptists, who later called themselves Hutterians, had the biblical answers for a just and classless society. Jörg Blaurock, who was the first of the “Baptizers” to be baptized in Zürich in 1525, came to the South Tirol. He quickly became the most popular preacher the movement ever had in the South Tirol: hundreds were baptized. Blaurock chose Klausen as his base and carried his campaign abroad as far as Deutschnofen, Neumarkt and Kaltern [all in the South Tirol]. Jörg Blaurock was captured in Gufidaun in 1529 and burned alive in Klausen. The Anabaptists belonged to all classes. Certainly, most were servants or peasants, apprentices and miners. But we also know of master craftsmen, propertied farmers, former priests, also some of the nobility, who adhered to the new teaching. Michael Kirschner, who was executed in 1529, was clerk to the court, that is, an official, in Völs on the Schlem. Anyone who joined this movement risked this life, no matter who he was.

Jakob Hutter

The hamlet of Moos lies south of the Michaelsburg. Jakob Hutter, who was to become on of the most important figures of early Anabaptism, was born here. He was a hat maker by trade. He probably got to know the Anabaptists in Carinthia. We do not know when, where, or by whom he was baptized. He led a small Anabaptist congregation in Welsberg in the Puster Valley. When persecution became unbearable, the brothers sent him to Moravia to find a place of refuge. It was necessary, under the severe persecution, to care for the brothers and sisters who were suffering. Therefore, those who had possessions shared their temporal goods with them. Only in this way could they survive. The “Community of Goods” became a reality in the communities in Moravia. These “households” developed into communities of production and consumption. Jakob Hutter gave them their unique character. There are still Hutterite communities in America today. They still wear, right into the present, the characteristic attire which was customary in the land of their forefathers at that time. When Jakob Hutter returned to his homeland of the South Tirol, he was betrayed. Spies had been set on his track. No one knew any longer, whom he could trust. The married couple, Jakob and Katherina Hutter, were captured on November 30, 1535 in Klausen. Branzoll Castle, standing above the town, provided the last common roof for the couple, which had only be married since Pentecost. The “Chief Elder” was brought before the court in Innsbruck. After steadfastly enduring cruel torture, he suffered “death by fire” on February 25, 1535. The Hutterian Epistles report as follows, “Jakob Hutter was deceived and betrayed in Klausen in the Tirol and taken prisoner. They put a gag in his mouth and he was taken to Innsbruck. They tortured him and caused him great agony to make him deny his faith: he was beaten with rods, they poured brandy in his wounds, and set fire to it. But he remained steadfast and was burned alive at the stake. While he was being led to the stake he said, ‘Now come here, all you who gainsay me. Let us put our faith to the test in the fire. This fire will not harm my soul any more than the fiery furnace harmed Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego.’” His wife, expecting a child, remained steadfast during the interrogations in Brandzoll. Then she was transferred to the seat of the court in Gufidaun. From there, she managed to escape. She lived two more years in freedom, but in constant anxiety. Nothing is known as to the child’s birth. She was captured in 1538 in Schöneck by Pfalzen and put to death. By 1600 Anabaptism in the Tirol was essentially extinguished. Those who could emigrate had left their homeland. Later on, only isolated traces were to be found. The renewal of the Catholic Church (Counter-Reformation) through the Council of Trient spelled the end of all Evangelical efforts, also by the Reformed and Lutheran churches. But the memory is still alive to this day of all those who testified with their lives to their faith in Jesus Christ as their personal Savior and to the Believers’ Church here in our land of the Alps. Flight and expulsion. Between 600 and 1000 Anabaptists, or Hutterians as they later called themselves, were put to death in the Tyrol. Because of the pressure of measures taken by the Imperial and Catholic Church authorities, about 6000 Tirolean Anabaptists emigrated to Moravia from 1529 on. When, in 1622, they were driven out from there, they moved on to Hungary, Bulgaria, and Russia, and finally in 1874 to the USA and Canada. Today there are about 43,000 Hutterites in the world. The different Hutterite colonies farm and raise cattle. They still live today on Bruderhofs, have no private property, speak a Tirolean-Carinthian dialect from the Middle Ages, and dress as they did 500 years ago. The love of their homeland and connection to it has not died out after these 500 years. This song can be heard again and again in the Canadian prairies and from North Dakota to Manitoba and Saskatchewan:

Bin a Tirola Bua.
Bin a Tirola Bua
hob immer frohen Muet
Bin a Tirola Bua
hab frohen Muet
Kimm aus dem schönen Land
Das Land das kennt man schon
Kimm aus dem schönen Land
Tirol, Tirol
Refrain
Du mein Tirol
Du mein Tirol
Du mein Tirol
I sieg die nimmer mehr.

Translation
I am a lad from the Tirol
I always have a joyful spirit.
I come from that beautiful land
The land you already know
Come from the beautiful Land
Tirol, Tirol.
Refrain:
You My Tirol
I see you no more.”

Why did it come to a Baptizer Movement in the Tirol?

Social, political and religious backgrounds:
The 16th century is an epoch of enormous radical change in society and the churches.

The picture of humanity changes: Humanism (Latin humanitas) called men “back to their roots.” There was a Renaissance of Antiquity, the Greek philosophers were read and the ancient languages studied. Erasmus of Rotterdam (1466-1536) brought the New Testament out in Greek. Since he had no authentic text for the Revelation of John he even went to the trouble of translating Revelations from Latin back into Greek. The programs of a humanistic theology and education smoothed the way for the Reformation.

The View of the Earth changes. The Europeans’ horizon was widened by the discovery of America by Christopher Columbus in 1492. Suddenly a new world with undreamed of possibilities opened up. The first globes were produced and replaced the old image of the earth as a flat disc.

Access to Spiritual Sources changed: This was the hour of Gutenberg, da Vinci, and Columbus. With the discovery of book printing using movable type in 1452, Johann Gutenberg began printing the first of his Bibles, and made knowledge available to wide segments of the population. The reproduction of writings and books no longer occurred within the writing rooms (scriptoria) of the mediaeval cloisters. Books were now within the means of ordinary mortals, and knowledge could be made available to those who were formerly barred from it. In the 13th century, books were still being written out on parchment. 170 calf-skins were needed to make a hand-written Bible on vellum. But the development of paper made of linen had already revolutionized book production even before the invention of printing. The first paper-mill started up in 1390 in Nürnberg. Whereas it had cost between 60 and 100 guilders just for the skins to make a book, now one of paper was immeasurably cheaper. One only need pay 12 guilders for it. By way of comparison, an ox cost around 8 guilders.

The Church was changing: 1517 Luther nails his 95 theses on the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg. What started as a reform within the Catholic Church became more and more a separation from it. As the credibility of the Church came seriously into question, one of the most significant Councils in all of Church History took place in the city of Trient. The Council was opened on December 13, 1545, by Pope Paul III in the Cathedral of Trient. It was to last – with interruptions – 18 years. The Council promised drastic reforms for the strengthening of the Catholic Church, but it also established clear limits to reform.

Society was changing: Between these enormous changes in the North and the South lies the little town of Brixen. Michael Gaismaier, who was the court clerk and tax-collector for the prince-bishop, brought renewed life to the historic will for freedom of the Tirolean peasants. With his peasants he occupied the bishop’s town, drove out the clerical rulers, plundered the Neustift cloister, and set himself up in the Hofburg {castle) as the new ruler. In the Peasants’ Wars of 1525 he demanded that the Princes in Brixen and Trient abolish the privileges of the nobility and the clergy. In Meran he called together a ‘parliament’ of citizens and peasants in spite of the opposition of the Archduke and later, of King Ferdinand I. This ‘Peasants Parliament’ instituted a new order with regard to the land, one which was favorable to the peasants. In actual fact, the local prince only wanted to appease the revolt in order to eventually smash it with military force.

1526 Gaismair designed a new land-ordinance as a model for the State and for society, based on the ideas of the Reformation and the Gospel. He strove for an independent Tirol, which was to have the character of a Christian social and democratic Peasants’ Republic. All people were to be equal. The common good was to stand above private good, and the Word of God to be the basis of all laws. Gasmaier never succeeded in translating this ordinance into reality. A superior force of Imperial mercenaries forced him to retreat and flee to Venice. 1532, the government in Innsbruck had him liquidated in Padova by a hired murderer

Beginnings of the Anabaptist Movement: At this time of widespread uncertainty a pacifist reformer by the name of Jakob Hutter appeared on the scene. It was in the house of the master he was apprenticed to that Hutter first heard the Gospel preached by an obscure Protestant preacher by the name of Wölfl, whom Gaismair took with him wherever he went. Jakob Hutter and the other Anabaptist preachers found a society disillusioned and deceived by Church and Government. Those who suffered most in all this misery were the peasants and the miners- the greater part of the populace of that time. They were also the first who found hope for a new, better and more just life in this “pure teaching.”

The Beginnings of the Reformation

The Beginnings of Anabaptism. Felix Manz, a fellow fighter with Zwingli and later companion of Grebel, is believed to be the first Anabaptist martyr. On account of his “re-baptizing” convictions he was handed over to the executioner, “who was to bind his hands, set him in a boat, and take him under guard to the Limmat (River flowing through Zürich). There he was to pull his bound hands down over his knees, and push a stick between arms and thigh. Bound like that, he was to be thrown into the water and left to die and rot there, so that justice might be done.” [2] Georg Blaurock, {Georg Cajakob) was also handed over to the executioner, but because he was not a native of the city, he was not executed. Instead, he “was driven out of Zürich beaten by rods on his bare body.” [3] Tragically, the first martyr of a free church was the sacrifice of a newly created reformed movement. Jörg Blaurock left Zürich and in 1529 traveled in the company of a Hans Langecker, preaching, through Graubünden, the Vinschgau, into the valleys of the Etsch and the Eisack.

Court Ruling on Wölfl vom Götzenberg

The judgment of the Court on Wölfl vom Götzenberg (Pustertal) makes conditions in the Tirol of the 16th century and also the vocabulary used by the Anabaptists quite clear. The following was reported to the authorities of the diocese regarding this evangelical preacher. [Winkelprediger,1]: To begin with he was with the District Judge in Bozen. He had requested a New Testament from him and they bought one in the market. He stayed two more weeks with him. He stayed in the Carthusian Cloister in Schnalstal. A weaver in St Lorenzen gave him a little book Then he learned printing in Innsbruck. Anton v Wolkenstein sent for him and he spent 8 days with him. The town judge of Klausen never forbade him to preach. But the under-captain Teutnhofen did forbid him. The District Judge of Bozen had many discussions with him. He admitted he and his preaching were right. He has also been with the Town Clerk Peringer from Bozen. He preached to him, and he believed. The Town Judge of Klausen read a tract [2] concerning the sacraments to him and Peter Pinter. The miners [3] told him not to let himself be dissuaded from the Scriptures but to preach them. Several miners wanted to accompany him to the hearing. The bailiff [4] of Gufidaun sent a servant to him to have him come to the castle [5]. He preached inside the castle too, and he stayed there a day. He preached four times in the houses within the district of Gufidaun. The bailiff did not forbid him to preach. If he wanted to gather the whole congregation, he preached in the church. Personally, he had no regard for the canon of the Mass. Messerschmid of Klausen [6] also had read this in a book which he brought from Augsburg. Messerschmid had also lent this book to Peter Pinter of Klausen and he had taken it right up into the middle of the Puster Valley, and read out loud from it in many places, especially to the new landlord in S. Lorenzen and at Georg Webers in Pfaurenzen, also at Anton von Wolkensteins and in the houses in Klausen, where his son Hansl had read it out loud. He had also preached in the house of Grenbsen in S. Georgen that Christ alone was our intercessor and no one else, and that we have all been led astray by the Pope, monks and priests. He was at the house of the Landbergerin and she read out many Lutheran things to him. He had preached at Pader in S. Lorenzen, that the cross was nothing more than a piece of wood that one might throw at the dog or beat him with or heat the stove with. He preached at Hutters [7] in Stegen. Many people came. He had preached in Tauffers and said, if they were to hang him up then and there, or put him to death, five more would come to take his place and preach the word of God. When he preached at the Ox in Bruneck, 8 priests were present. The wife of the bailiff of Gufidaun gave him extracts from a number of Gospels and agreed with his teaching. He had been in Sarntal 7 years, in Schnals ½ year, in Villnöss one summer herding the cows, a year in the Upper Inn Valley; for the rest he doesn’t know how old he is. His schoolmaster in Innsbruck came to him again and again, so that he could learn the Gospel and God’s Word. So, if someone comes to him, he knows well how to resist. He thinks little of sprinkling with Holy Water, for God never wanted it, and nothing was ever written about it in the Holy Scriptures. Messerschmid in Klausen eats meat every Friday and Saturday. He, Wölfl, had eaten it with him.[8]

Footnotes 1 Winkelprediger, is a preacher of the gospel with some theological knowledge. 2 Probably a tract by Luther, out of Augsburg 3 Klausen was surrounded by many mines. 4 The bailiffwas responsible for keeping law and order and the taxes in a district. He was always one of the nobility 5 Castle Summersberg in Gufidaun. This is where he was executed in 1533. 6 Matthias Messerschmid, formerly a Choirmaster. He was held captive in the “powder tower” in Brixen. His records were compiled by Michael Gaismair, the Bishop’s secretary, later leader of the Peasant’s Revolt. The grounds for his arrest was the public distribution of Lutheran writings, which he brought to Klausen from Augsburg. Above,. Fol. 631 7 The first time Jakob Hutter met up with an Anabaptist preacher. 8 Fürstbischöfliches Hofratsprotokoll 1515

Gufidaun, an Lutheran center

Gufidaun is a small, idyllic little village on the slopes of Klausen’s vineyards. Not altogether without reason was it called a “Lutheran nest.” For in actual fact, very soon in the first time of the Reformation, there were discussions about the new beliefs in the Castle of Summersberg and at the Koburg, both in the village of Gufidaun. The researcher into South Tyrolean legends and later owner of Summersberg Castle, tells the following about the much feared bailiff, Adam Preu.: The Witch’s Tower of Summersberg Castle in Gufidaun. At the end of this peaceful villages lies the the ‘Acropolis,’ the Castle of Gufidaun, also known as Summersberg, surrounded with high gray walls and towers. It is built boldly on the hillside which drops precipitously from the beautiful plateau down into the roaring rocky gorge of the Villnöss. An ancient, romantic structure. The broken tower reveals rough stonework of Roman times. At the end of the 13th century the round Witch’s Tower was reduced to a limited height. Today the infamous tower presents a roof and a little door, leading into the castle courtyard. In the 16th century the tower is said to have had no roof and entrance was only through a trapdoor. “How many were sacrificed to this madness in those dark passageways, starved, wept, despaired, until they were led out to the fire, which released them from their suffering. Two heavy stones, to which they were bound with chains still lie there.’ Inside the Castle, where the Court Room was also situated, hang the chains, foot-irons, and handcuffs, with the appropriate keys all ready. They are the dumb witnesses to an age in which it was thought the Gospel could be bound and suppressed by such instruments. There is a picture of Luther translating the Bible in the company of his students, Justus Jonas, Georg Rümer, Kaspar Crutzger, Dr. Förster, and Melancthon, to remind us that Gufidaun, together with its lords, was a Lutheran nest. How powerful is Luther’s impressive figure, how noble the finely chiseled features of the gentle Melanchton.” [2] Unfortunately, this picture has been lost, and nobody knows where it is. The Scaffold. The exact site of the scaffold where many an Anabaptist elder celebrated his “wedding” is somewhere below the castle and the village. It was on the old steep track from Gufidaun to the old smelting furnace in the valley. This clearing was called the Hexenpödele or Richtboden [Judgment Place].

Footnotes 1 & 2 Schildereien aus Tirol, [pictures from the Tirol] by Ignaz Zingerle Vol 2

A Letter from the Witch’s Tower.

Seven brothers in the Witch’s Tower in Summersberg Castle in Gufidaun, in the year 1533. From the prison to the church [Gemeinde] in the land of the Etsch [the biggest river in S. Tirol: Adige] and the Church in Moravia: You dearly beloved Brothers! We are letting you know how it is with us, that the Lord loves us and gives us and all his children every day more strength, that is to those who love him from their heart and seek Him in the truth. O, you dear brothers, we have to cry to God in Heaven with weeping hearts. There are still ten of us in prison, who want to testify to the Lord with their) body and blood and with the help and strength of God. Of this you need have no doubt. You should faithfully ask the Lord on our behalf and think of us always in your prayers, that the Lord may give us the strength and power to continue in this work we have begun, and endure, to the praise and honor of his holy name. Dear brothers, we must tell you further how they led us out to be tortured: Wölfl they strung up (pulled him up, his hands behind his back and a weight attached to his feet). Then he begged the Devil for mercy and promised to recant. When they let him down, he told them again they shouldn’t do so, for he feared the Last Judgment. So they told him he should go into the temple of idols (the church) and eat the idol (the host), or he should confirm his faith with an oath (recant from Anabaptism). So he swore an oath. Thereupon thy brought him back into the tower. And when we asked him what had happened, he told us. But he wept and howled. We told him he should confess to the Lord, just where he had denied him. Some days later, he called for the bailiff. He confessed to the Lord again and said the Devil had deceived him in what he had done against the Lord. Thereupon they brought him back to us in the tower, but he has an unsteady, wavering mind. At one moment he says he wants to confess to the Lord in suffering, in the death and life of martyrdom…then the Devil comes along and tells him something else, so that we cannot respond to what he wants. He wants to pray with us, but we are not sure of that, because he is so wavering and we stand in fear of the Lord. Therefore, dear brothers, if we stay a while longer here in prison, send us word as to what we should do. He also asks us to pray to the Lord for him, that God will give him strength and power to confess His truth again. Furthermore, you dear brothers, we brothers greet you, each one individually, many thousand times, with the peace of our Lord Jesus Christ and with the kiss of holy, divine love. Especially you, Jakob Hutter, Hans Amon, Valentin, Hans Mayer, also Justina, Paul Rümer, and the brothers and sisters, and the squirrel who ran out to the window, (in the tower was an opening in the wall through which many a message was sent back and forth: the person who performed this service was evidently the squirrel referred to above), and all with him, and the whole Church of God. You dear brothers, if it can or may be, greet the sisters in Bozen, (one of the two women mentioned here is Katharina Prust, later the wife of Jakob Hutter) and tell us again, how it is with them and with Goller. I, Hans Beck and Walser Schneider want you, Jakob Hutter and Hans Amon to know, that you didn’t want us to go before the judge until our time came.[bis dass wir selbst dabei wären] O, dear brothers, come to our Wedding Feast (Carrying out of the Death Sentence), we will not refuse you. May the Lord be praised and blessed in Eternity, He who loves us so much, helps us to find rest, and will put away our fleshly garment. May the Lord grant this out of His grace. Amen [1] The Chronicle confirms that Beck and his companions, Wölfl among them, steadfastly endured the martyr’s death. [2]

Footnotes 1 Die Hutterischen Episteln 1525 – 1767 S. 240-2 2 Die Hutterer in Tirol. Werner Packull, Innsbruck S 240

Attempts to introduce the pure word of God were also made in the Vinschgau. Two preachers of the Reformed persuasion came to Meran and didn’t exactly creep around under cover. Rather, they set up a pulpit by one of the gates into the town, from which they proclaimed their false teaching to hearty applause and to quickly increasing numbers of listeners. The town council and the judge, who at that time still made the decision of life or death, considered how they could put a speedy and decisive end to this terrible state of affairs. They thought they could achieve this through the death of the new preachers. The two were seized that same night and before dawn were hung on their own pestilential pulpit. [meaning?] Among the officials in service of the Count of the Castle were several who were secret adherents of the Lutheran teaching: the Countess Johanna v Öttingen, widow of the Count of Lichtenschein at Schönna and her bailiff, Balthasar Nesselbacher, Balthasar Schegg of Niedermantel on Fragsburg, Balthasar Helmsdorfer of Lana, Bartimä Schöpfer, the judge at Stein below the Lebensberg, Hanns Posch from Zwingenstein on Gaien.[6] The people of the Tyrol very soon became closed to Lutheranism. After the unhappy outcome of the Peasant’s Revolt, the lower classes lost trust in the Lutheran preachers. They regarded them as responsible that, instead of achieving a more tolerable existence, they had sunk deeper into wretchedness. The Lutheran influence gradually died out, or was transferred into Anabaptism. One example is Wölfi of Götzerberg, who had been a secret preacher of Lutheranism, and now continued his preaching as an Anabaptist evangelist.

Footnotes 1 Nitsche, Geschichte der Wiedertäufer Page 9 2 Gerichtsurteil, Bulliger p 382 3 Das Täufertum p.230 4 Chronik von Meran, Coeleftin Stampfer, 1867, Verlag der Universitäts Buchhandung p. 5 Josef Ladurner, Geschichte des Bistum Chur, Manuscript 6 Chronik von Meran (above) p. 37

The Year 1517: Martin Luther, the trade in Indulgences having got on his nerves, nails the 95 theses on the Castle Church in Wittenberg. At that time he tore open the door to the modern era and helped the Renaissance and the renewal of the church to a break-through. Luther was by no means the first of the Reformers, but he was the most successful of them all. He freed the people from the yoke of the clerics and for the first time in over a thousand years, put the Word of God back into their hands. What Luther was for Germany, Zwingli was for German-speaking Switzerland. Just like Luther, he tried to bring together State and Church into a Theocracy (Rule of God). Zwingli’s fellow fighter, Conrad Grebel , son of a Zürich patrician, urged Zwingli to “separate from the godless of the town and institute a pure Church and Gemeinde of the true children of God, who have the Spirit of God and are ruled and led by Him” [1]. This endeavor can be regarded as the moment of birth of the Free Church (free, because it is free of wordly and clerical power). This led to a break with Zwingli. When Conrad Grebel baptized the Augustinian monk, Jörg Blaurock, in Zollikon near Zürich on January 21 1524, Swiss Anabaptism was also born.

Strong Jörg

We are writing of the year 1525. The former monk of the St Lucian Monastery in Chur, Georg Cajakob, called Blaurock, was on the way from Chur to Zürich. He visited the Zürich Reformer, Ulrich Zwingli. At that time, Zwingli was 41 years old and Blaurock, 33. Cajakob was of humble origins, son of a peasant from Graubünden and a man of striking appearance. His hair was black, his eyes fiery, and his movements impulsive. Although he had studied at two universities, he remained a simple man of the people, as little interested in theological hair-splitting as he was in the opinions of church or political authorities. For him, the reforms under Zwingli didn’t go far enough. Too many unbiblical Catholic traditions were left untouched [1]. It came about that Ulrich Zwingli, Conrad Grebel, of the nobility, and Felix Manz began discussing matters of faith with one another, and realized that infant baptism was unnecessary, also did not recognize it as a real baptism. Ulrich Zwingli did not want or wish to admit. It would create an uproar. In the meantime, there came one from Chur to join them, namely a priest with the name Georg of the House of Jakob, otherwise called Blaurock.(Blue-coat). For once when there was a discussion of matters of faith in a meeting, this Georg spoke of what he recognized. Someone asked who had just spoken. Someone else answered: “It was the man in a blue coat.”[2]

Footnotes 1 Extract from the book Der Starke Jörg. Allen Moore, Oncken 2 Chronicle of Hutterian Brethren (quote is from Wolkan’s German 1923)

Blaurock comes to the South Tirol

The heavily forested mountain areas of the Tirol offered more security to the persecuted baptizers from Switzerland, Bavaria, and Salzburg. For this reason scattered groups of baptizers had been coming to the Tirol for some years already. Baptizers’ meetings, at which often 70 or more people were present, took place in the Tirol at night, in the woods, in old stone quarries, in deep gorges, abandoned huts or wherever they could hope to remain undisturbed. Armed riders were especially put on the trail of heretics and rewarded for their ruthless intervention. Leonhard Schiemer, a leader among the Tirolean baptizers, was arrested in the year 1528 and executed. King Ferdinand wrote on the 16th of January of the same year to the government in Innsbruck: “Concerning the order to the noble lords that Leonhard Schiemer has forfeited his life on account of his misdeeds, Master Hans, the Executioner, should take him and burn him to powder” [1] Already a few months later other Elders of the Church followed him in his suffering, like Hans Schlaffer and Michael Kürschner. Jörg Blaurock came into touch with refugees from the Tirol. They told him that the churches in the South Tirol no longer had an elder. Blaurock took this as a call from God to go to the Tirol. Together with the weaver, Hans Langegger from Ritten, he came into our land. He soon became one of the most popular preachers which the movement in South Tirol had: hundreds were baptized. Blaurock chose Klausen as his base, and extended his “campaigns” via Deutschnofen as far as Neumarkt and Kaltern. We find evidence of his activity in Völs, Tiers, Breitenberg, Deutschnofen, Ritten, Leifers, Klausen, Gufidaun and many other places. At the beginning, the meeting place was “on the other side of the bridge to Klausen.,” in the district of Gufidaun. But as the number of the believers grew, he recognized the increased danger, and moved the meetings to more remote places, which he frequently changed.

Footnotes 1 Rattenberg Council Minutes, Mecenzeffy

The Capture of Blaurock

All this activity was not hidden from King Ferdinand I, who hated everything Protestant or Jewish. So he wrote the following command via the government in Innsbruck on May 22 1527 to Jakob Trapp, bailiff of Glums and Mals: “The Government gives orders to search for the priest from the Engadine, who on account of rebaptizing and other matters, and especially since he read the Mass after eating breakfast, which is against the regulations of the Church, is to be taken captive.”[1] An Edict from the Imperial Diet of Speyer in April 1529 confirmed the Imperial Mandate, which threatened the Baptizers with death. Thereupon, the government in Innsbruck wrote to the Bailiff of Gufidaun, Hans Preu: “With disconcernment we have heard, that Baptizers fleeing from other districts have been holding meetings in the District of Gufidaun. He is commanded, under the threat of punishment, to proceed in the future in accordance with the mandate and to take such people captive. A copy of this letter is being sent to Georg von Firmian, the Lord of the District of Gufidaun, who has been requested to appoint a smarter and more appropriate bailiff.” [2] These serious words put the bailiff of Gufidaun under pressure, and he managed to take Blaurock along with Langegger prisoner around the middle of August 1529. He put them in the tower of Summersberg Castle in Gufidaun and wrote a report to the government in Innsbruck. The reply came on 19 August 1529, as follows: “Government to Hans Preu, Bailiff of Gufidaun. In reply to his communication of 14 VII [?August] in which he reports the capture of two Baptizers, Georg of Chur (Blaurock) and Hans Langegger from the Ritten. The bailiff wanted the two to be interrogated under torture elsewhere. In the view of the government, he is in duty bound to proceed against these two chief seducers and Baptizers in accordance with the mandate.” Preu was further threatened, that he would have to answer with his life if the prisoners escaped. [3] They hoped to get a lot of information about the Baptizer movement from these two men. Officials and judges, including the much feared bailiff of Ritten, Augustin Heyrling, received the task of supporting Preu at the examination. Hans Preu was described by the government as “ a supporter of the Lutheran Sect” after his death.[4] Since Luther, as well as Zwingli, approved of the persecution of the Baptizers in their territory, this may have led to his change of attitude. The government wanted to establish a precedent with the condemning of the two brothers and gave orders that “ the Judge of Rodeneck should preside and that an observer from all the districts and towns should attend this trial if required.”[5]

Footnotes 1,2,3, 4,5. LRAT,CD. 1527-29 Mecenzeffy Q G T

Blaurock’s Martyrdom

The charge against Blaurock ran as follows: “that he had left his office and rank as a priest, did not regard infant baptism (as biblical) and re-baptized, did not regard the Mass, and likewise did not believe that Christ was bodily in the Host, when it was consecrated by the priest, and that the Mother of Christ was not to be prayed to or worshiped.” [1]

The sentence, in accordance with the Mandate of Ferdinand I , ran, ”Death through being burned alive.” On 6 September, 1529, the sentence was carried out on Blaurock and his fellow fighter, Hans Langegger on the wood market of Klausen. : “When he was on the place of execution he spoke earnestly to the people and pointed them to the Scriptures.” But the Church did not remain orphaned for long. A man from the Puster Valley by the name of Jakob Hutter took on the inheritance and led the Baptizer Movement in the Tirol towards its greatest growth, but also most comprehensive persecution. Jörg Blaurock wrote the following prayer with his fellow prisoner, Hans of Neve from prison: “The hour of the last day, when we must leave this life, is very close to us. Dear Lord, help us carry the cross to the place [of execution?] and turn towards us with all Thy grace, so that we may commend our spirit into Thy hands. I ask Thee, O Lord, with all my heart, for all our enemies, however many they may be. Lord, do not reckon their sins unto them. This I ask Thee in accordance with Thy will. And so we want to be led through His grace into the eternal Kingdom.” [2] Blaurock admonished the Church through a letter from prison. “Therefore, you children of men, turn away from your sins and do not continue longer in your stubbornness, sickness, Godlessness and blindness, because you can find the physician, who can heal all affliction and because you can freely enjoy his help. Therefore, o Zion, you holy Church of God, pay heed to what you have received, preserve this firmly to the end, and keep yourself pure and unspotted from sin, then you will receive the eternal crown out of grace.” [3]

Footnotes 1 Das grosse Geschichtsbuch der Hutterischen Brüder Wolkan 1923 (didn’t find in Chronicle) 2,3 The Martyrs Mirror.

A Song written by Jörg Blaurock

God carries out a just judgment And no one can prevent it. He will pronounce judgment On whosoever does not do his will here. Now pay heed you children of men Abstain from your sin Do not be stupid, godless and blind; Because you may find the physician The sinner who will not let himself be humbled Will suffer cruelly God will place him in eternal torment There he must stay and suffer.

Jörg Blaurock Ausbund 1583

The Anabaptist Mandate of Speyer

Mandate against Jakob Hutter The Second Imperial Diet in Speyer is a milestone on the road to the freedom of conscience of modern times. The 19 Protestant states of the [Holy Roman] Empire were able to press through with their religious freedom of conscience also at the political level. On the other hand, a mandate was also issued, making the death sentence of Anabaptists legal throughout the Empire. Whereas the Reformation had a strong backing among the German princes, the Anabaptists were not represented by any state in the Empire. The content of the mandate against the Anabaptists was as follows: 1.Whosover has re-baptized, or has been re-baptized, man or woman, is to be punished with death, without the need of an investigation by the clerical Court of the Inquisition. 2. Whosoever recants his confession to Anabaptism and is ready to do penance for his error, shall be pardoned. But he shall not be given the opportunity of being allocated to another territory, thereby escaping constant supervision, and possibly relapsing. Stubbornness in insisting of the Baptizers’ teachings shall be punished with death. 3. Whosoever leads the Anabaptists, or advances their instruction, shall ‘under no circumstances,”be pardoned, also not on recanting. 4. Whoever relapses after recanting a first time, and then recants again, shall no longer by pardoned. 5. Whosoever refuses the baptism of new-born infants, likewise falls under the same punishment as the Anabaptists. 6. Whoever of the Baptizers has escaped to another territory, should be pursued and brought back for punishment. 7. Any official who is not ready to act strictly in accordance with these instructions, must reckon with imperial displeasure and severe punishment. Laws against the Anabaptists [2] The whole Anabaptist movement was an affront to the concept of the Corpus Christianum, according to which only one confession of faith was possible under one ruler. It is sad to mention that the very first mandate of this nature was not issued by a Catholic Emperor, but from ‘reformed’ Zürich, on March 7 1526. This mandate formed the basis for the death sentence pronounced on the leader of the Baptizers, Felix Manz, at the beginning of the year 1527. In quick succession, Swiss, South and Central German, as well as Austrian governments followed suit. The Mandate of the Emperor Charles V of January 4, 1528, extended the persecution to the whole Empire. Already in March 413, the death sentence for “re-baptizing” was established under Roman law, and incorporated anew in the Byzantine Emperor Justinian I’s body of laws.

Footnote 1 Die Täufer, Hans-Jürgen Goertz 2 zur Täufergeschichte, Beroä 3Loserth Reichsabschiede

The Executioners of the Tirol

The executioners wore such masks to hide their identity There were two executioners in the Tirol in the sixteenth century, one in Meran and one in Hall. An executioner had to learn his trade, just as you learned any other profession. After a time of apprenticeship he set out as a journeyman, practicing his trade in other districts and lands. He could only be appointed to his profession after he had earned his Master’s Diploma. If a criminal had been tried by the responsible bailiff or judge, and it had been established that he had “forfeited his life,” the executioner had to be called. He alone could carry out the death sentence.[1] Historians reckon the number of “Anabaptists” in the years 1525-1627 to be about 20,000. There were said to be 125 congregations in the Tirol. With a population of 275,000 persons (who had received the sacrament at the altar), about 7% were of Baptizer persuasion. In the year 1532 the Upper Austrian Government in Innsbruck speaks of 600 Anabaptists who were put to death. [2] If you reckon that the trials began around 1520, 50 executions had to be carried out by the two executioners. Altogether some 2000 innocent people may have been subject to a cruel death. [3] Order for the Execution of Malefactors or Cutthroats, of 1499 provided as follows: “Each Murderer should be broken on the Wheel. “A Traitor should be Drawn and Quartered “A Robber with the Sword, a Heretic or Forger of Money, Silver or Gold, with Fire i.e. burned at the stake.” An elder of an Anabaptist congregation was always burned alive, while an ordinary believer could reckon with a milder sentence, i.e. he was executed first. Towards the end of the 16th century, the latter were more often sentenced to the galleys. Women were regularly drowned in a trough.

Footnotes 1 Die Scharfrichter von Tirol. Moser 2 Loserth Anabapatismus 3 Die Hutterer in Tirol Pakull

Jakob Hutter

After this, as the love of truth was kindled, many were killed in Tirol for their witness to it, especially in the following places: in the district of Gufidaun and at Klausen, Brixen, Sterzing, Bozen, Neumarkt, Kaltern, Terlan, on the Kuntersberg; similarly in the Inn Valley, at Steinach, Imst, Petersberg, Stams, Innsbruck, Hall, Schwaz, Rattenberg, Kufstein, and Kitzbühel. In these places a great number of believers witnessed steadfastly to the truth with their blood and were killed by fire, water, or the sword. In spite of all this suffering, the people of God increased from day to day. Around that time a man named Jakob appeared, a hatter by trade, born at Moos in the Puster Valley, half a mile from Bruneck. He accepted the covenant of grace, the covenant of a good conscience in Christian baptism, promising to live in true surrender and to go the way of Jesus. When after a time it was felt that he had abundant gifts from God, he was chosen for and confirmed in the service of the Gospel.

Hutter’s Childhood

Very little has been passed down about Hutter’s childhood. Nothing has been conveyed concerning his parents’ religious attitude, only that his sister Agnes also belonged to the community. We know that he had a scant education in Bruneck and that he learned the hat-maker’s trade in Prag. Then he took his wandering staff and traveled as an apprentice through the world, until he eventually settled in Carinthia. His first contacts with the new Protestant direction of faith were in Stegen. Wölfl von Götzenberg later testified for the records that he had been with Hutter in Stegen, had preached there in the presence of many people. Another guide upon his way is said to have been the teacher Georg Weber from Plaurenzen, next to his home place, Moos. Jakob bought his first “new Testament” at the market in Bozen and immersed himself deeply in studying it. He put his craft aside, “accepted the covenant of grace, of a good conscience in Christian baptism, promising to live in true surrender in the way of God” and dedicated himself with utter intensity to the building up of the church.

Footnotes: 1 The Chronicle 82-4 2 FBHA Hofsratprotokoll Brixen

Jakob Hutter becomes the Elder of the Church in Welsberg

The first church of which Hutter became the elder arose in Welsberg. Hutter gathered the church there, alternately in the house of his relative, Balthasar Hutter, or in the house of the scythe-smith, Andre Planer, or at Caspar Schwarz, a tailor. He baptized ten people in one day in the house of Balthasar. The government in Innsbruck reacted on May 23 1529 with a sharp rebuke to the bailiff of the district court in Toblach: “These people are not only spreading Lutheran and other forbidden teachings, they are also offering forbidden books for sale and are holding secret meetings and synagogues in the night, where they pour out these false and forbidden teachings and preach them. They have also torn down a column on the road to Welsberg, on which an image of Our Lady was carved. These people are to be seized, and put in prison and well guarded.”[1] This writing had not even reached Toblach, when, on May 21, that is, two days before the rebuke to him was written, the bailiff had dispatched a letter to the government in Innsbruck informing them of the capture of “14 Anabaptists and Lutherans.”[2] Some were able to escape from capture, among them Jakob Hutter. On the 24th of July the recorded statements of the captives, obtained free willingly or under torture at the interrogation, were sent to Innsbruck. One can read there, among other things, that “Balthasar Hutter and Andre Planer had not been re-baptized. Jakob Hutter was a proper elder and had baptized for money.[3] He had escaped imprisonment by fleeing. They had celebrated the Lord’s Supper, which they call the Breaking of Bread, in the lower room. Ursl, daughter of Tille, and others, had read from a Gospel. The wives of Andre Planer and Balthasar Hutter, who had had themselves baptized, and who had at present nursing children, were permitted to stay at home, but when their children no longer need to be nursed, you can take them captive.” [4] We do not know anything else about the fate of the prisoners, because the government in Innsbruck did not take any position on their cases. But we can assume that they all were sentenced to death. We do learn something however about Agnes Hutter, sister of Jakob Hutter. She also lived in the district of Toblach and was, at the same time handed over to the criminals’ court and sentenced.

Footnotes 1 & 2 LRAT 1527-1529 Mecenzeffy 3 The first mention of community of goods. Upon baptism the undertaking was made to reject private property. As at the time of the Early Christians, the elder spread out a mantle and every one put on it what he possessed. For this reason, one often reads that a brother sold all he had, was baptized and straightway fled to Moravia.

Hutter looks for a new home for the persecuted Church

The Hutterian Chronicle relates further, that the persecution of the “devout in the land” became daily more unbearable. A contemporary of those days wrote that every day one could see, somewhere in the land, the white smoke from the burnings at the stake, and could smell the sickly odour of burning human flesh. The prisons and dungeons were sometimes so overfilled, that other accommodation had to be found for new prisoners. Children and old people, left behind by those who had fled, were a daily occurrence. Usually the possessions of those who had fled were confiscated and sold by the bailiffs to pay the resulting rise in costs for the district. Property was also appropriated for the education of the orphaned children. The money of well-off Baptizers was used by the government to further the building of church institutions.[1] It was not unusual for irregularities to be committed and the confiscated wealth to be misappropriated.[2] The Margravate (Land) of Moravia The Church remembered then, “that at Austerlitz in the Margravate of Moravia, God had gathered a people in his name to live as one in heart, mind, and soul, each caring faithfully for the other. So they were moved to send Jakob Hutter with Simon Schützinger and some companions to the church at Austerlitz to make inquiries about all that had taken place.”[3] Hutter passed on the leadership of the church in his absence to Jörg Zaunring, an elder from Ritten.

Footnotes 1 Therefore the Bishop had commanded that all goods that had been confiscated should be turned in, to meet the costs.” FBHA Brixen. “Remigius and Christoff Heug of Eyrs in the district of Schlanders gave shelter to Anabaptists against the ban and were fined 1000 florins. This sum was paid out to the Chamberlain of the Tirol, Hans Schrauber. As the money is to be used for the building of the convent and college (collegiate church where the statues of Maximilian I and Ferdinand I are) in Innsbruck, it should be taken over by the Salt Steward. [Salzmeier] TLA 2 As in the case of Augustin Heyrling, Bailiff of Stein on the Ritten. 3 The Chronicle, 84 4 Das Täufertum im Pustertal, K. Sinzinger Dissertation.

The Promised Land of Freedom

The Baptizers were driven more and more beyond the pale of the law, and so they had to learn to keep their convictions secret, and to relocate their meetings to the “Underground.” Thus there are many accounts of them holding their worship meetings in caves [1], at night in the middle of the woods, or on boats in the middle of a lake. It is characteristic of all Christian movements since Pentecost, that the people of God has always increased under persecution, in spite of fatal hindrances. The first climax of growth took place between 1527 and 1530, the second between 1570 and 1580. Already early on, those of Anabaptist convictions began looking for lands outside the (Holy Roman) Empire, where a tolerant ruler might possibly allow free practice of one’s religion. In this way, the Margravate of Moravia became the Promised Land of the baptizers for nearly 100 years. The area still belonged to the Habsburg Empire, but after the Hussite Wars [2] there had arisen among the Moravian nobility, most of them Protestant (Utraquists), a situation of religious tolerance, in which a “legally secured tradition of varied religious beliefs” could develop. In Moravia the German Baptizers were offered along with freedom of religion, also land to settle on, freedom from forced labor, and from interest and taxes, and help to build houses.[3] Numerous families of baptizers in the South German lands left house and home under cover of night and mist and set off for Moravia. So the first settlements of Anabaptist refugees arose in Nikolsburg and Austerlitz in Moravia before Jakob Hutter’s first visit. There was already very strong missionary activity from the Baptizers in Nikolsburg under Dr. Balthasar Hubmaier. The whole town was ‘reformed’ under the rule of Leonhard of Liechtenstein. He himself was even ‘re-baptized.’

Footnotes. 1 The government complained to Georg, Lord of Firmian, that in a cave near a bridge and the smelting place in the district of Gufidaun, about a hundred men and women had gathered. The remains of a cave that has collapsed are still preserved to this day near the old smelting place at the entrance to the Vilnösser Valley. 2 Jan Hus was a Czech Reformer around 1370. In 1414 he was invited by the Emperor Sigismund to attend the Council at Constance. The Emperor promised him safe passage and protection from molestation. In spite of the Emperor’s promise, he was apprehended and cast into a prison. To justify this action, the Council solemnly proclaimed the “decision of the Holy Spirit,” that “does not bind the Church to keep its word to a heretic.” He was burned at the stake in Constance in 1415. There followed the Hussite Wars, against which the Pope sent several crusades. 3 The Liechtenstein noble family had its seat in Nikolsburg, and they were in the service of Ferdinand I. They took part in the Turkish Wars and were Protestant.

Hutter’s First Visit to Moravia

After the execution of the founder of the church in Moravia, Balthasar Hubmaier, Jakob Wiedemann from Upper Austria became their elder. Hutter dealt with him regarding the taking in of brothers from the churches in the Tirol, and received a firm promise straightaway. He appointed Jörg Zaunring to head up the first emigration, and gave him the task of gathering the brothers continuing to arrive in Moravia and to care for them. Hutter sent off from Tirol “one company after another, with all they possessed, to have community with the believers in Moravia.” Power Struggles in Moravia. The unity of the churches in Moravia broke up very soon through the streaming together of diverse elements. Jakob Hutter, full of concern, admonished them “to continue in the grace thus far received.” Meanwhile the disintegration continued further. There arose divisions on account of doctrine. Some said you could not renounce your civil duties and the oath, for Christ Himself was a citizen of Capernaum, and as such honored his commitment. Finally it came about that the party of those who were dissatisfied gathered around the Swiss Reublin and, on the 8th of January 1531, they left Austerlitz in protest. The Abbotess of the convent of Mariasaal in Brünn made room for them to settle in Auspitz. They then sent two messengers from each place to the Tirol, to ask for someone to look into the matter. Jakob Hutter was entrusted with the important mission of resolving the conflict. He arrived at the churches in Moravia in the spring of 1531, accompanied by his helper, Simon Schützinger. After thorough examination of the issues at dispute, they found those at Austerlitz in the wrong, as they had allowed freedom of the flesh, in returning to private property, and had allowed marriages with unbelievers. In the time that followed it was necessary to see to it, that Reublin did not appropriate to himself the role of the leader of the “true, pure Christians.” Hutter then proposed Jörg Zaunring as leader for the church at Austerlitz, and after the choice was confirmed, he returned to the Tirol, “since God had a great work there.” It was not long before Hutter and Schützinger were called back to Moravia, as the elders had once again committed new transgressions and had to be removed from their offices as unworthy. Zaunring himself was sent away from the church by Hutter, because he had come together again with his adulterous wife without permission.[1]

Footnotes 1 Das gr. Geschichtsbuch der hutterischen Brüder 70-71 (also in Chronicle) --62.101.126.216 19:17, 1 December 2006 (UTC)

Jakob Hutter becomes Bishop and Shepherd

At the beginning there was no one to take the lead among the “Stäbler” [‘staff-bearers’ who would not carry the sword.] and no definition of the spiritual functions within the church. This was only to change when a severe struggle for the leadership of the movement broke out. Some were for Jakob Hütter, others for Simon Schützinger. “Gabriel, a servant of the Word could not be stopped, but he warned the people, using the terrible example of Korah: if they looked down on Simon’s simplicity and preferred Jakob’s fine speaking, God would punish them as he did Korah and his company. He warned the people to guard against making an idol of Jakob, who to him seemed proud and arrogant. After many words, he declared that Jakob did not have the gifts to serve the people as a shepherd, but only as an apostle.” [1] To put the matter to the test, Hutter requested a house-search, and when they found in the house of Simon Schützinger, his opponent, “in a chest, a too-plentiful supply of bed-linen and shirts and four pounds in Bernese money, all in small coins, Jakob pleaded with him in the name and power of the Lord, asking him to unburden his heart, to tell whether he knew anything about the money and not to conceal anything else that was there. Simon then confessed that he had known about it. So saying, he reached under the roof and brought out forty gulden.” [2] With this, the struggle for power was decided in Hutter’s favor. “As they persevered so in prayer, God gave them all a united heart and mind. They accepted Jakob as a gift from God to be their shepherd and were all united in great love…” [3] On the grounds of his organizational talents and his connections Hutter soon belonged to the most wanted persons in Austria.

Footnotes 1 Chronicle 102 2 Chronicle 104 3 Hutterian Epistles 1527-1767. [also Chronicle 105]

Bruderhofs in Moravia

In view of the constant addition from without, the churches faced the task of integrating constantly new brothers and sisters, who were mostly without means, into their “households.” Everyone was given a place in the community in accordance with his knowledge and abilities. In this way the agricultural and craft skills of the new arrivals were shared among the strongly growing settlements. The Hutterians called these settlements, “Households” or “Bruderhofs.” Between 200 and 400 people lived on a Bruderhof. If the household grew larger, then it was divided and a new household founded. By the end of the peaceful period in Moravia there were over 100 households or Bruderhofs, each one of which was a functioning community of life and work. The number of adults towards the end of the 16th century could be put at as many as 25,000. Within these communities of life, much of what Michael Gaysmair wanted to bring about through military means in the Tirol, was in fact achieved. While Gaysmair was still fighting against the Emperor and on the side of the Venetians, members of his family were experiencing on the Bruderhofs the fulfillment of his dream of a just and classless society.[1]

Footnotes 1 Erhard Gaysmair, a cousin of Michael, farmed the Gaysmairhof, “Oberflas”near Sterzing. Together will his family, he went over “to Anabaptism.” Codex 1460 f.1. Die Wiedertäufer im Eisacktal, Kuppelweiser, S.146

Skilled Trades

The Hutterian households became one of the most important economic factors in Moravia. Agriculture, cattle-raising, gardening and work in the vineyards flourished. They built mills, were smiths, copper-smiths, smiths making sickles and scythes, clockmakers, cutlers, carpenters, joiners, waggoners, tanners, saddlers, bookbinders, tailors, hatmakers, rope makers, masons, bakers, farmers and so on. The Moravian Bruderhofs became especially well known for the manufacture of ceramic products and through the activities of their surgeons (at that time still a skilled trade). Hutterian (Habaner) ceramics are still on display in many museums in Slovakia and the Czech Republic. In the time of their flourishing, they delivered dishes, vases, and jugs to the courts of princes and kings. In the area of ceramics they made use of the technical knowledge of the North Italian faience producers, and at the same time used the preferred raw materials of Moravia, and brought this whole line to a surprisingly high level.[1] Their artistically designed table ware became fashionable, for it met best of all the hygienic and aesthetic demands of the people of the Renaissance, and replaced the old pewter ware in the discriminating households of the nobility and the bourgeois. The Anabaptists won over especially their clients among the nobility, from among whom came their mighty protectors, on account of their more than average products. The ordinary products of the craft guilds could not match them, and they would otherwise have to be imported from abroad. The nobles entrusted them with the administration of their farms, mills, vineyards and other economic enterprises. They also sought their services as doctors, apothecaries and barber-surgeons.[2]

Footnotes 1 J. Kybalova – J.Novotna 2 F Hruby Die Wiedertäufer in Mähren, S 23 ff

Hutterian Education

A further pioneering achievement was the introduction of universal education [on the Bruderhofs]. In the 16th century, only the children of the nobility or children of rich merchant families received an education. Peter Walpot (1521-1578) the first Hutterian schoolmaster, taught in his School Orders about hygiene as well as pedagogy. Here is an interesting extract: “When a child is brought to school, his condition of health must be most carefully examined. If he has a bad disease, like foulness or syphilis or the like, he must be separated from the other children during sleeping, eating, drinking or washing. If a child has some defect, it is not to be hidden. When the school mother has cleaned the mouth of a sick child, she may not examine the mouths of healthy children with unwashed fingers. The children should not be bathed in water that is too hot. No sick child should bathe with the healthy. The sisters have to watch over the sleep of the little children. One should not beat them if they cry out in their sleep. The girls should be woken up for spinning at 5 o’clock in the winter, the boys at 6 o’clock. In the evenings one should see that the children do not go to bed too soon after eating, in the summer they can stay up until sunset. The schoolmaster will share out bread and meat to the bigger children, apples and pears with the agreement of the school mother. The food should be offered to the children, as they want it, without forcing it on them. One should not be unnecessarily strict with the children. If a child makes a mistake in spinning, be careful not to straightaway beat her up. The schoolmaster will discipline the big boys and the school mother the girls. Wherever the rod is necessary, it should be used in the fear of God, against mischievous, lying or thieving children, in all earnest, according to the appropriate punishment for their actions. They should not be locked in a dark room. All too severe punishment, like striking on the head or on the mouth is strictly forbidden. You should not be too hard on [?Kopf brechen] the little ones when they come to school for the first time. The schoolmasters have the task of teaching the children to read and write.[1] Many of the refugees who came to Moravia could not read or write. Right from the beginning they attended classes so that they could read the Bible. Daily life in a school began for the children already in the cradle. Since all the women worked, they brought their children after the 8th week to the “Little children’s school,” where they stayed to the age of 5. After that, they had compulsory schooling to 15. It is worth mentioning in this regard that the Hutterians of the 16th century were the inventors of the Kindergarten.

Footnote [1] Aus den hutterischen Epistel ( the Hutterian Epistles) Vol 2

Hutterian Catacombs

A further resource from the experience of the homeland was specific knowledge about mining. There were many mines, and thousands of miners in the Tirol of the 16th century. Since the Bruderhofs were never safe from the plundering mercenary armies of the Emperor or the pillaging and burning Turks, a cunning system of caves was developed underneath the Bruderhofs, which have only been discovered in our century. In these they escaped in some measure the attacks and could bring their treasures and writings into safe keeping. 8. Persecution and Flight from the Tirol In Tirol meanwhile a bitter struggle was raging against the further spread of Anabaptism More and more effective mandates were issued. Thus you can read a communication from the government of King Ferdinand I to the administrator of Rattenburg e.g.: It should be borne in mind that the Anabaptist persons and leaders cross the Vochental bridge at night. The bridge has to be guarded and any suspect persons are to be arrested. In our opinion the bridge by the Voldöpp monastery should be dismantled to prevent people from using that one instead.”[1] So the Anabaptists had to use the Vochental bridge and the King had this one watched

Footnote: [1] TLA 1532-6

Escape Routes from the Tirol

Most Baptizers fled either across the Brenner Pass or via the Krimmler Tauern. When the escape routes had been detected and it got more and more difficult to come through, they tried to find other escape routes.. The following event gives a picture of the difficult situation of the refugees. “Christl from the Adige area conducted them over the Schladerer Joch (mountain saddle). She had with her a peasant’s wife, who is also a sister, and several children. Up on the “saddle” a peasant by the name of Stainer came upon them and wanted to make the children and the woman go back, who, however, were unwilling, and he bawled them out quite terribly. The peasant went with them to a mountain hut and sent back nine of the children, two being left with the woman. [1] In Hall, Schwaz, Rattenberg, and Kufstein the Baptizers would board ships plying the Inn River and in that way traveled via the Inn, into the Danube and so on to Vienna. From there the journey went on by foot to Austerlitz. Jakob Hutter and many other church leaders and servants of the Word had a masterly way of organizing these escape routes. The hunts on the high pastures all along the routes were regularly equipped with bread, sausage, bacon, and other victuals. Also the men operating the Inn barges and rafts, who were forbidden to accept refugees, were suitably rewarded for their services. “The government,” it was announced, “would no longer just look on while night after night on the Inn and the Danube Anabaptists make their way out of the country on barges and rafts. Any persons assisting them in this will be punished in body and goods. Every bargeman has to ask his passengers if they are Anabaptists, and those confessing to it are to be arrested. Any bargeman knowingly transporting an Anabaptist can expect the same punishment for himself.” The refugees were also supplied with the financial means needed to keep them from suffering privation on their long and perilous journey. Among the bargemen, the Baptizers must have found a good deal of understanding and support. Otherwise there is no explanation for an exodus on so large a scale. So successful an emigration presupposes not only the good will of the bargemen but also an organisation functioning so well that the authorities were never really able to control it. The refugees would gather in the Volderwald (Volder Forest); for four Bernese pounds they would get a place on the barge.

Persecution and Expulsion in Moravia

It became more and more difficult for the Baptizers to retain a foothold even in Moravia, their land of refuge, Not only had they to contend with internal power struggles between the various Baptizer groups from Germany that sought refuge in Moravia, but, more than that, with a new imperial edict in the year 1535 explicitly demanding that the Baptizers be driven out of Moravia. In Austria and Bavaria King Ferdinand I had started a new wave of persecution against the Baptizers, which also spread to the Nikolsburg district. The already tense relationships to their previous sponsors, the Moravian nobles, worsened still more when the Abbess of Queen’s Cloister (Königinkloster) asked the Hutterians to pay rent for her landed possessions. Hutter refused payment and pointed out that the money was needed for their church. Thereupon the abbess seized the three elders—Jakob Hutter, Hans Amon, and Jeronimus Käls—as well as other members of the church and for a time kept them imprisoned. It was presumably during this conflict that Hutter and his adherents came to the conclusion that it was wrong to pay rent to a monastic institution, seeing that “the pope, the priests, monks, and nuns and all “belly preachers” were the chief cause of idolatry and of the hypocriticl, sinful, and wholly corrupt life before God.” [1] The Hutterian History Book contains the following description of this perilous time: “So Jakob Hutter took his bundle on his back. His assistants did the same, and the brothers and sisters and all their children went in pairs, following their shepherd, Jakob Hutter through the crowd of ungodly, villainous robbers, who ground their teeth in rage, full of lust to rob and attack…The little band of the righteous were driven into the open like a herd of sheep…After their move into the open country, while they were encamped on Lords of Liechtenstein’s land…they were denounced to the authorities and falsely accused of carrying guns. The governor sent his couriers to the camp to find out if it was true, but instead of muskets and spears they found many children and sick people. So Jakob Hutter, who at that time was the leading servant and shepherd of the believers, wrote a letter to the governor and sent it by his messengers” [2[

Footnotes 1 Compare: Die Hutterer in Tirol, Packull 2 Chronicle 136/7

Hutter’s Letter to the Governor of Moravia

We are brothers who love God and his truth, we are true witnesses of our Lord Jesus Christ, and we have been driven out of many countries for the sake of God’s name. We arrived here in Moravia, where we have been living together under the lord marshal through God’s protection. To God alone we give praise forever. This letter is to let you know, dear governor of Moravia, that we received the order delivered by your servants. We already answered you by word of mouth, as you know, and now want to do the same in writing. We have left the world and all its wrong and ungodly ways. We believe in God the Almighty and in his Son, Jesus Christ…Because we serve him, do his will, keep his commandments; we are despised by the whole world and robbed of all our goods. King Ferdinand, that cruel tyrant and enemy of God’s truth and justice, has mercilessly put many of our innocent brothers and sisters to death. He has robbed us of our homes and all our goods and persecuted us terribly. So now we find ourselves out in the wilderness, under the open sky on a desolate heath. This we accept patiently, praising God that he has found us worthy to suffer for his name…It is rumoured that we took possession of the heath with so many thousands, as if we were going to war, but only a callow, lying scoundrel could talk like that. As any one can see, we have no physical weapons, neither spears nor muskets…Therefore, threefold woe to you Moravian lords into all eternity! You have given in to Ferdinand, the awful tyrant and enemy of divine truth – you have agreed to drive those who love and fear God out of your lands. You fear a weak, mortal man more than the living, eternal, almighty God and are willing to expel and ruthlessly persecute the children of God, even the Lord’s widows and orphans…May God the Lord allow you to understand his fatherly chastisement, and may he be merciful to you through our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Footnotes 1 Chronicle, 137-141, extracts

Hans Tuechmacher (Amon) new leader in Moravia

The governor read this letter from the church, brought to him by his couriers, and immediately sent his servants back with strict orders to arrest Jakob Hutter. They did not find him in the house at Schakwitz, or among the people in the camp. So they arrested Wilhelm Griesbacher of Kitzbühel, a servant of temporal affairs, and Loy Salztrager of Hall in the Inn Valley, and took these two to Brünn, where they racked and burned them, questioning them under torture about money or goods…On the basis of this confession, Wilhelm was sent, guiltless, to be burned alive. Loy gave way under the great agony of torture. Later, however, he repented deeply and in the end fell asleep in the Lord. Since Jakob Hutter was in such great danger that he could no longer serve the church by teaching in public, it was unanimously decided by the church of God that he should move for a time to Tirol, there to gather the saints of the Lord. Jakob Hutter entrusted the church to Hans Amon . They commended Jakob to the grace of God with many tears and sorrowful hearts, and after a solemn leave-taking, they sent him on his way with the prayers of the church. The people on the heath moved from one place to another. But when at last they were refused all provisions and even water, they at last had to separate into groups of eight or ten. The separation was quite pitiful; with many tears they set off, not knowing where God would give them a place to live. Hans Tuechmacher and his assistants made every effort for a whole year, to visit the people where they were, up and down the country, and faithfully providing for their needs, as far as was possible.[1] In this difficult time, a few returned to their homeland. When, however, the Emperor was again occupied with the Turkish Wars, the Baptizers returned to their “Households,” and the influx from the “Oberland” (South German language region), started up again undiminished.

Footnotes 1 Chronicle 141-2

Jakob Hutter returns to the South Tirol

Hutter and other leading servants of the church visited the churches in the “Oberland” every year. This happened mostly in the summer months. They wanted to be back in Moravia by the beginning of winter. In the summer they could move freely and speedily in the woods and mountains and leave no trace behind them. So it is not surprising that the most Anabaptists were caught in the winter months. This was the fifth mission journey for Jakob Hutter.

The Hunt for Jakob Hutter

Hutter’s arrival in the Tirol was reported to the government by spies. On October 10, 1535, the government of the Prince Bishop in Brixen wrote to the government in Innsbruck: “Some of the Anabaptists who have been expelled from Moravia are said to have returned to the land around the River Etsch and to the Eisack Valley. It is said they hold meetings and have baptized. Jakob Hutter and another leader are said to be among them. They should be searched out, so that the sect can be rooted out, as the royal mandate has commanded.” [1] It is further reported: “Jakob Hutter is accompanied by his wife, who is to give birth very soon. He is looking for a place for her, so a letter should be written to the judges, telling them to look out for a poor girl lying in childbirth.” [2] “It is most urgently ordered that this sect is rooted out, because its numbers increase daily The leaders and members of the sect, as well as those who give them shelter, are to be unearthed and arrested, no matter what the cost. The Prince Bishop’s government will give any assistance requested.”[3] “The attention of the bailiff of Gufidaun should also be drawn to the fact that Anabaptists are present in his district too, and he should search for them.[4] Although subjects are forbidden, under threat of severe punishment, to shelter Anabaptists, the population of Lüsen encourages the Anabaptists and their leaders. Therefore, one can assume that the majority of them belong to this sect.” [5]

Hutters last days in Freedom

Hutter traveled as a merchant, to remain incognito. In Bruneck, he mingled among the people going to church and listened to the sermon of the curate, Stefan. To this he said, “The priest undoubtedly knows the truth, but his mouth is gagged, so that he is not permitted to speak it.”

Footnotes: 1,2,3,4,5, FBHA Brixen

Hutter’s Farewell Letter to the Church in Moravia

“Beloved brothers and sisters, about ourselves I can say that we are living in love and faith and in the peace and unity of the Holy Spirit. But in our hearts there is great pain and sorrow for your sake, and outwardly, we, too, are suffering great persecution. The horrible raging dragon has opened its jaws wide to devour the woman robed with the sun, who is the church and the bride of Jesus Christ. After our meeting on Sunday, a beloved brother from Taufers was captured on his way home. Soon afterward, the judge of Brixen rode into the village of Lüsen, summoned all the men, women, and children able to walk, and read out to them a cruel mandate that forbade them to house or shelter any of us. When the judge saw that his orders had no effect on the faithful, he set out and captured five or six of our brothers and sisters and took them to Brixen. Our dear brother Hieronymus [Käls 1] will surely tell you what our situation is, and whatever there is to report. He is as well informed about everything as I am at the moment, and knows what you need to be told. He is our living letter to you, and will answer all your questions. For the rest, let us all wait patiently for the Lord. And I, Jakob, your servant, your brother and companion in the suffering of Jesus Christ, I too greet you all together, each one personally. May God the Father in Heaven, who is all grace and mercy, comfort and bless you with His Holy Spirit, through Jesus Christ in all eternity. Amen. You beloved and chosen ones, we give our body, soul, and spirit to the Lord and to you. May God keep us in His love and the covenant of His peace for ever. Amen.” [2] “You should know that our being here is no longer a secret; godless people know it and are very hostile, raising a great hue and cry. The clergy, those messengers of destruction, are already raging about us from their pulpits, warning people that we are in the country and up in the mountains, and ordering them to attend their sacraments and worship their idols. They threaten us with their judges, bailiffs, and executioners. So the sea of the wicked is raging and roaring. And I am afraid it will not rest until Jonah is cast in and the terrible whale has swallowed him.” [3]

Footnotes 1 One of the authors of the Chronicle 2 Die hutterischen Epistel 1527 –1767 Vol 1 64-74 Translation from Chronicle 144

Jakob Hutter’s Execution

Jakob Hutter was interrogated under torture: On December 9, Hutter was brought to Innsbruck in the coldest winter weather and locked up in the Kräuterturm. [‘herb tower.’] “They tortured him and caused him great agony by all they did to him, yet they were not able to change his heart or make him deny the truth. Even when they tried to prove him wrong with Scripture, they could not stand up to him. Full of hatred and revenge, the priests imagined they would drive the devil out of him. They put him in ice-cold water and then took him into a warm room and had him beaten with rods. They lacerated his body, poured brandy into the wounds and set it on fire. They tied his hands and again gagged him to prevent him from denouncing their wickedness. Putting a hat with a tuft of feathers on his head, they led him into the house of their idols [church] and in every way made a laughingstock of him. After he had suffered all their cruelty he remained firm and upright, a Christian hero steadfast in faith.” [1] A long list of questions had been prepared by the government, which Hutter was meant to answer. But in spite of all the torture, he gave them nothing for their records and betrayed none of his brothers. Execution When, on February 25 1536, Hutter was led to the fire in Innsbruck below the Goldenes Dachl [Golden Roof] and in the presence of many people, he said, “Come closer, you who would gainsay me! Let us test our faith in the fire. This fire will harm my soul as little as the fiery furnace harmed Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego” [2] Jakob Hutter was burned alive.

Footnotes:
1 Chronicle 145
2 Hutterian Epistles, also Chronicle, 145 n

Katharina Hutter

Katherina Prust, Jakob Hutter’s wife, was born in Sand in Taufers, a side-valley to the Puster Valley, and grew up there. Her life was characterized by an enthusiasm for the Gospel. Like so many of her companions in the faith, she also had to suffer a martyr’s death. Her life is a mirror of many Baptizer women of that time. After her childhood, Katharina became a maid in the household of Paul Gall and his wife Justina Rumlerin. It was in this house she first met the Baptizers. Many of the persecuted and fleeing Baptizers found accommodation and were cared for here. The master and mistress of the house were themselves zealous followers of the “new teaching.” This made a big impression on the young house-maid. She also took part in the meetings at night, where up to thirty people came. Many Baptizers had to hide in the woods. Jakob Hutter, who was an elder of the Baptizers in the Puster Valley, also visited Gall’s house. At that time, Katharina was in her early twenties and Jakob in his early thirties. Katharina was baptized at the Galls in Trens by Hutter, her future husband.[1] The Bishop of Brixen stopped at no expense to rid his area of the Anabaptists, and therefore appointed “Anabaptist Hunters.” They heard of the night-time meetings in the Gall’s house. As a result, the Gall couple were taken prisoner in the year 1533, along with Katharina Prust. They were imprisoned, first in Sterzing, and later in Rodeneck for their offence.[2] After months of interrogation about members and leaders of the Baptizer movement, about meeting places and questions of faith, all the prisoners were ready to recant. At that time, Hutter was in Moravia. After making a public recantation in the parish church in Rodeneck, the prisoners were all forgiven and set free. Straight afterwards, Justina and Katharina fled to Moravia, where they joined the church. Paul Gall could not follow the two women, because he was re-arrested. Since he had broken his oath of recantation, he was executed on June 25th in Rodeneck. We do not hear anything more of Katharina until she was married to Jakob Hutter at Pentecost, 1535 by Hans Tuchmacher (Amon) in Moravia. At this time persecution also broke out in the “promised land” and they both had to leave the country. The events of Münster cast their dark shadow over the peace-loving Baptizers in Moravia. So the two of them came across the Krimler Tauern to Katharina’s homeland, to Sand in Taufers. The Hutters were constantly in danger in the South Tirol, and could not move around freely. So the places they stayed at can be traced through the capture of their hosts. They went from Sand to Ellen, above St. Lorenzen. But the Waldner at Ellen, a former brother in the faith, did not want to receive them. So the Hutters went on to Hörschwang, where Ober welcomed them. Hutter baptized Ober’s whole household. From Hörschwang they traveled on to Lüsen, where they held “church.” Then they went on to Klausen, accompanied by Anna Stainer. It is possible they escaped for a time to the Bishopric of Trient, which began just beyond Klausen, to avoid pursuit. We do not know the reason for their returning to the Brixen Bishopric. So on November 30 1535 the Hutters came back to Klausen on St Andreas Eve and then went on to Gufidaun where they were captured. They spent their last hours together in the Castle of Brandzoll above Klausen.[3] Katharina’s Flight and Renewed Arrest In the meantime a dispute broke between Adam Preu, the bailiff and judge of Gufidaun and the Bishop of Brixen. According to the agreement, the prisoners should have been handed over to the bailiff of Gufidaun. But the Bishop no longer wanted to keep to this agreement, and kept the prisoners under his jurisdiction in the Castle of Branzoll. But the government in Innsbruck met the request of the bailiff, Preu, and had Katharina Hutter and her companion moved to Gufidaun. The government meanwhile appointed a learned priest to convert the two women. Since Katharina had already recanted once and had “relapsed,” she could not expect any pardon. Nevertheless, we know of no death sentence. On the contrary, a learned priest was to persuade them of their error. Shortly after April 28 1536 Katharina Hutter escaped from the prison in Gufidaun. It is not known where Katharina went after her escape. Nor do we find in the court records or in the Hutterian writings anything about where her child was. As already mentioned, Katharina was expecting to give birth very soon during the time of persecution. We do not know whether she was still pregnant when she was seized. Pregnant women were granted relief in their incarceration until the child’s birth. The child was then usually entrusted to a close relative or some other guardian. The government gave this person part of the property confiscated from the condemned parents. If the child was born before the mother’s capture, it is to be imagined that she would give the child to others of her relatives to raise. It is possible that Katharina’s child was in the district of Schönegg (Pfalzen) where Katharina was captured two years later and executed.[4]

Footnotes 1 Urgicht (court records) Katharina Hutter TA 2 Prozessakten (case against) Paul Gall and his wife Justina Rumlerin TA 3 Profiles of Anabaptist Women, Reforming Pioneers, C. Arnold Snyder,Canadian Corporation for Studies in Religion Vol 3. 4 Die Hutterer in Tirol, Packull

Society

Hutterite communities, called "colonies", are all rural; many depend largely on farming or ranching, depending on their locale, for their income. Often, they own large tracts of land and, since they function as a collective unit, can afford top-of-the-line farm implements. Some also run state-of-the-art hog, chicken or turkey barns. An increasing number of Hutterite colonies are again venturing into the manufacturing sector. Before the Hutterites immigrated to North America, they relied on manufacturing to sustain their communities. It was only in Russia, where the Hutterites learned to farm from the Mennonites. Largely due to the increasing automation of farming (GPS controlled seeding, spraying, etc), Hutterites are again looking to manufacturing to provide work for their people. Many of the colonies, who have gone into manufacturing, have realized that they need to provide their members with a higher level of education.

Hutterite colonies are male-managed with women participating in stereotypically feminine roles such as cooking, medical decisions and selection and purchase of fabric for clothing. The colony's manager is the Minister, with his wife holding the title of Schneider (from German "tailor"), thus she is in charge of clothing making or purchasing. In contrast to the plain look of the Amish and Mennonites, Hutterite clothing can be vividly coloured, especially on children. The colony is virtually or literally self-sufficient, constructing its own buildings, doing its own maintenance and repair on equipment, making its own clothes, etc.

Hutterites practice a near-total community of goods: all property is owned by the colony, and provisions for individual members and their families come from the common resources. This practice is based largely on Hutterite interpretation of passages in chapters 2, 4, and 5 of Acts, which speak of the believers "having all things in common". Thus the colony owns and operates its buildings and equipment like a corporation. Housing units are built and assigned to individual families but belong to the colony and there is very little personal property. Meals are taken by the entire colony in a common long room.

Each colony consists of about ten to twenty families, with a population of around 60 to 150. When the colony's population grows near the upper figure and its leadership determines that branching off is economically and spiritually necessary, they locate, purchase land for, and build a "daughter" colony. When the new colony is complete and ready for habitation, half of the old colony's members are chosen (usually by lot) to depart for the new colony, which they often do the very next day. When an intercolony marriage occurs, the bride goes to live in the groom's colony, where they may be treated to a "shivaree" (see charivari), though it's good-natured and not intended as a note of disapproval.

Although Hutterians attempt to remove themselves from the outside world (televisions are forbidden, though tape, CD players and radios are not (some colonies do not allow radios in the homes or in vehicles); Many of the Lehrerleut and Dariusleut (Alberta) colonies still only have one central phone, but the majority of the Schmiedleut already have phones in each household and place of business. Phones are used for both business and for social purposes. Cell phones are also very common among the Schmied groups. Text messaging has made cell phones particularly useful for Hutterian young people wishing to keep in touch with their peers. Some Hutterite homes have computers and radios; a minority of communities (mostly, liberal Schmiedleut colonies) have some sort of filtered Internet access. Rather than send their children to an outside school, Hutterites build a schoolhouse onsite at the colony to fulfill a minimum educational agreement with the State, which is typically run by an outside hired educator who teaches the basics including English (this person is called the "English Teacher", not because s/he teaches only English but because s/he is an outsider (English speaker)). Traditionally, Hutterite children have left school at 15 years of age to fulfill their adult roles in the colony. This practice is still strictly maintained by the Lehrerleut and most of the Dariusleut colonies. However, an increasing number of Hutterites, especially among the Schmiedeleut in Manitoba, have graduated from high school. In addition, some of these young people have then gone on to attend university; many become teachers for their colonies. Brandon University in Brandon, Manitoba, offers a Hutterite Education Program (BUHEP) to Hutterites that are willing to teach on Hutterite colonies. This program is only available to the Hutterite colonies on the liberal side of the Schmiedleut split.

Music is officially permitted only in vocal form in most colonies, however, some colonies allow instruments. Where instruments are banned, these too are sometimes brought out behind the back of the Minister (with a wink and a nod), to the enjoyment of all.

Just as the Amish and Mennonites often use Pennsylvania German, the Hutterites have preserved and use among themselves a distinct dialect of German known as Hutterite German. Originally based on a Tyrolean dialect from the south-central German-speaking Europe from which they sprang in the 16th century, Hutterisch has taken on a Carinthian base due to their migratory history. In the years 1760 -1763, the Hutterites were joined by a large group of Lutherans who spoke a Carinthian dialect. Eventually, this lead to the replacement of the Hutterite's Tyrolean dialect with the Carinthian dialect. Partly as a result of this, the Amish and Hutterite German dialects are not generally mutually intelligible. In their religious exercises Hutterites switch to a classic Lutheran German.

Hutterites say that in their entire five-century history there have been two murders and one suicide. Young Hutterite men often leave their colony upon reaching adulthood to see and try life in the outside world. The vast majority (according to one Minister, 80%) return disillusioned by the harsh, cold speed of the modern world and are welcomed back to the colony.

Colonies

The mid-2004 location and number of the world's 472 Hutterite colonies:

• Canada (347)
  • Dariusleut (142): Alberta (109); Saskatchewan (31); British Columbia (2)
  • Schmiedeleut (106): Manitoba (105); Alberta (1)
  • Lehrerleut (99): Alberta (69); Saskatchewan (30)
• United States (124)
  • Schmiedeleut (69): South Dakota (53); Minnesota (9); North Dakota (7)
  • Lehrerleut (34): Montana (34)
  • Dariusleut (21): Montana (15); Washington (5); Oregon (1)
• Japan (1)
  • Dariusleut (1)
• Nigeria (1)
  • Schmiedeleut (1)

The Japanese Hutterite community does not consist of Hutterites of European descent, but ethnic Japanese who have adopted the same way of life and are recognized as an official colony. The inhabitants of this colony speak neither English nor German.

In similar fashion, a "neo-" Hutterite group was founded in Germany in 1920, called the Bruderhof, by Eberhard Arnold. Arnold had forged links with the North American Hutterites in the 1930s, continuing until 1990 when the Bruderhof were excommunicated due to a number of religious and social differences.

Current challenges

Lately, the Hutterites have been faced with some daunting challenges. Prices for many of the farm commodities that had sustained them for many years are near or below the cost of production. The advantage they once held over other farms of economies of scale due to their large size, is no longer true in many cases. Many private farms are now as large or larger than Hutterite farms. Some colonies are suffering near mass-desertions of the younger people, who have been lured away by high-paying jobs, particularly in the oilfields .

See also

• Christian anarchism
• Commune (intentional community)
• Pacifism
• Peace church
• Simple living
• Bruderhof

Further reading

• June 2006 issue of National Geographic Magazine

External links

• Further information on the Hutterites
• Some Hutterite Teachings
• Hutterian Brethren (Hutterische Brüder) in Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online
• Hutterite Reference Sites compiled by William Hillman