Old Colony Mennonites

The name Old Colony Mennonites (German: Altkolonier-Mennoniten) is used to describe that part of the Russian Mennonite movement that is descended from colonists who migrated from the Chortitza Colony in Russia (itself originally of Prussian origins) to settlements in Canada.

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Background Christianity Protestantism Reformation Radical Reformation Sermon on the Mount German Peasants' War Martin Luther Thomas Müntzer Ulrich Zwingli
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Documents Schleitheim Confession Dordrecht Confession Ausbund Martyrs Mirror
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Since Chortitza was the first Mennonite settlement in Russia, it was known as the "Old Colony". In the course of the 19th century the population of the Chortitza Colony multiplied, and daughter colonies were founded. Part of the settlement moved to Canada in the 1870s, and the Canadian community, whose church was officially known as the "Reinländer Mennoniten Gemeinde", was still informally known by the old name.[1][2] When members of the Old Colony Mennonites then moved from Canada to other places, the name was kept.

Old Colony Mennonites are typically more conservative than most other Russian Mennonites in North America.

As of 1990, Old Colony Mennonite communities could be found in Mexico, Bolivia, Belize, Paraguay, Canada, the United States of America.[3]

In 2013 the vast majority of Old Colony Mennonites lived in Mexico, where about 60% of the 100,000 Mennonites are affiliated with the Altkolonier Mennonitengemeinde[4] and Bolivia, where about 75% of about 70.000 are affiliated with the Altkolonier Mennonitengemeinde.[5] A smaller group lived in Belize, where about 50% of the 10,000 Mennonites are affiliated with the Altkolonier Mennonitengemeinde.[6] Smaller groups of Old Colony Mennonites also lived in Paraguay, Argentina, Canada and the US.