PADELAWA-L Archives

From: "TwoWolvesDancing" <>
Subject: A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE SCHWENKFELDERS
Date: Sun, 20 Jan 2002 13:42:03 -0500

A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE SCHWENKFELDERS


The Schwenkfelders are a Protestant religious sect centered in Southeastern Pennsylvania. The name "Schwenkfelder" originated from a German nobleman, Caspar von Schwenkfeld, of Silesia, Germany, who was a contemporary of Martin Luther during the period 1490 to 1561, and who played a part in the Protestant Reformation, founding the movement known as the "Reformation of the Middle Way." Schwenkfeld's
religious interpretation differed somewhat from that of Luther, and as a result Schwenkfeld and his followers eventually suffered religious persecution by both Catholics and Lutherans for their beliefs. Schwenkfeld himself was a layman, was well educated and highly regarded by the aristocracy of his day. While he never actually formed a church in his lifetime, his religious views and interpretations of the Bible were widely accepted in many areas of Germany. However, the politics of both major religions of the time (Catholicism and Lutheranism) would not accept yet a third view, and the Schwenkfeld followers suffered hardship and persecution. Some 150 years after Schwenkfeld's death, his followers had dwindled to a small nucleus of only a few hundred Silesians.

In 1719 the Schwenkfelders were told to either cease their religious activities entirely or leave their province, taking with them only what they could carry. After suffering the abuses of the establishment they finally left their homes and property and fled to Saxony which was then under the rule of Count Zinzendorf. In 1733 the Count told the Schwenkfelders they would have to leave Saxony within a year.

At this point in time, having suffered religious persecution and much physical hardship because of their strong religious beliefs, the Schwenkfelders felt their only hope for religious freedom was to emigrate to another country. The new land called America that they had heard about seemed to offer the most hope for their resettlement,
so they decided, as a group, to settle in Pennsylvania.

So it was that on June 21, 1734, the good ship "St. Andrew" left Holland with 184 German Schwenkfelders on board, bound for the new land of Pennsylvania. The ship arrived in Philadelphia on September 22, 1734, and the survivors of the journey established their homesteads in an area west of Philadelphia (now the Worcester area),
enduring the hardships of pioneer life, but with their religious beliefs intact.

In 1742, Frederick the Great sent a proclamation to America inviting the Schwenkfelders to return to the fatherland with full restoration of their rights and possessions, but they declined his offer and remained in Pennsylvania, where they had found a refuge from the
religious persecutions they had endured for so long in Germany.

Sent to me by Robert Phifer

This thread:

• A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE SCHWENKFELDERS by "TwoWolvesDancing" <>