The persecution of the Anabaptists forced them to flee to the north. Many of them found refuge on the lands of some exceptionally tolerant princes in Moravia. There they founded a long-lasting form of economic community called the Bruderhof, a Christian commune. In part they aimed to follow the pattern of the early apostolic community. But they sought community for practical reasons too — as a means of group survival under persecution. Their communities attempted to show that in the kingdom of God brotherhood comes before self. Consolidated under the leadership of Jakob Hutter, who died in 1536, these groups came to be known as "Hutterites".
[tags]Anabaptists, BlogRodent, Bruderhof, church-history, ChurchRodent, history, Hutterites, Jakob-Hutter[/tags]