ProQuest Dissertations - The University of Arizona Campus Repository

Christian principles were to be expressed during everyday life. Second, opposing
congregations were members of different ethnic groups with contrasting characteristics.
While the Friesian groups and their churches valued individual independence, the
Flemish accepted regulations binding for the individual that were agreed upon during
church meetings. Since these Flemish groups that had fled persecution to Friesia were not
easily accepted by their Friesian brothers and sisters, they formed their own
congregations. The mistrust among the two congregations and those that had split off
from them went so far that mixed marriages were punished with the ban (Wedel 1901:21 -
24).
Amongst such religious disagreements, two men. Luebert Gerrits and Hans de Ries.
made a name for themselves through their struggles for peace. In 1610 these two men
worked out a creed that served as basis for all following Mennonite creeds. The twelve
articles of the 1639 document reflect the moral status quo of that time; faith and tradition
should be guarded; preachers should be supported, as well as the poor; before the
remarriage of a widow or widower the children should receive their part of the
possessions; the youth should not be in contact too freely: the youth should not marry
without their parents' permission; marriages should not be fancy; commerce should lake
place outside of taverns; alcohol and tobacco should be avoided; business should be
conducted honestly; clothing should not be luxurious, neither should houses nor boats;
brothers or sisters who move away should receive a letter of reference; one should
admonish others about unbefltting behavior (Wedel 1901:2S-27).
The most influential creed, however, was written in Dortrecht, Holland in 1632. The
eiders and preachers of seventeen mostly Flemish parishes signed its eighteen articles.
This creed later was accepted by other Mennonite groups, including Prussian Mennonites
(Wedel 1901:28).
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