The Old Order River Brethren is a small Christian

Christian

A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...

 denomination with roots in the Mennonite

Mennonite

The Mennonites are a group of Christian Anabaptist denominations named after the Frisian Menno Simons , who, through his writings, articulated and thereby formalized the teachings of earlier Swiss founders...

 church and German pietism

Pietism

Pietism was a movement within Lutheranism, lasting from the late 17th century to the mid-18th century and later. It proved to be very influential throughout Protestantism and Anabaptism, inspiring not only Anglican priest John Wesley to begin the Methodist movement, but also Alexander Mack to...

.

This body began about 1778 in Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...

. It shares an early history with the Brethren in Christ Church

Brethren in Christ Church

The Brethren in Christ Church is an Anabaptist Christian denomination with roots in the Mennonite church, pietism, and Wesleyan holiness. They have also been known as River Brethren and River Mennonites.-Background:...

. A group of brethren near the Susquehanna River

Susquehanna River

The Susquehanna River is a river located in the northeastern United States. At long, it is the longest river on the American east coast that drains into the Atlantic Ocean, and with its watershed it is the 16th largest river in the United States, and the longest river in the continental United...

 that had separated from the Mennonites became known as the River Brethren

River Brethren

The River Brethren is a name used to indicate certain Christian groups originating in 1770, during a revival movement among German colonizers in Pennsylvania....

. In 1843, a group left the larger body of River Brethren and established a separate Old Order group. They were sometimes referred to as the York Brethren or Yorkers, because most of the members in 1843 were located in York County, Pennsylvania

York County, Pennsylvania

York County is a county in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. As of 2010, the population was 434,972. It is in the Susquehanna Valley, a large fertile agricultural region in South Central Pennsylvania....

. This minority group believed the majority of the church was becoming lax in nonconformity to the world and non-resistance, and desired to keep the old doctrines and traditions.

The church is composed of five congregations—four in Pennsylvania and one in Iowa

Iowa

Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...

—with 331 members in 2000. They retain many conservative practices that are generally associated with the Amish

Amish

The Amish , sometimes referred to as Amish Mennonites, are a group of Christian church fellowships that form a subgroup of the Mennonite churches...

. They do not erect meeting house

Meeting house

A meeting house describes a building where a public meeting takes place. This includes secular buildings which function like a town or city hall, and buildings used for religious meetings, particularly of some non-conformist Christian denominations....

s, choosing rather to meet in homes or barns.

External links

• Old Order River Brethren – unofficial Web Site
• Reynolds, Margaret. Plain Women: Gender and Ritual in the Old Order River Brethern, Penn State Press, 2001 ISBN 0-271-02138-1