Schwenkfelder

[shfengk-fel-der, shvengk-]

noun

1. a member of a Protestant group that emigrated in 1734 from Germany and settled in Pennsylvania, where they organized the Schwenkfelder Church.

Word History and Origins

Origin of Schwenkfelder¹

1780–90, < German, after Kaspar von Schwenkfeld (1490–1561), German mystic; -er ¹

Example Sentences

His family was descended from members of the Schwenkfelder Church who came to the United States in the 18th century, fleeing persecution in Germany.

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Our Schwenkfelder Church now has about 2,000 members, with five separate churches all located in the Montgomery County-Philadelphia area.

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Their descendents there preserve the customs of their fathers, and are the only representatives of the Schwenkfelder form of doctrine, the sect having become extinct in Europe.

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