Association des Eglises Evangeliques-Mennonites de France, Groupe de Langue Francaise

Association des Eglises Evangeliques-Mennonites de France, Groupe de Langue Francaise (Association of the Evangelical-Mennonite Churches of France, French-Language Group; Conference of French-Speaking Mennonites). Those Mennonite congregations formed in French-speaking France maintained close connections with the sister congregations of Alsace, German-speaking Lorraine, the Palatinate, and the Saar. However, the annexation of Alsace-Lorraine by Germany (1871) and the transition to the French language in the congregations remaining on French soil (1875-1900) made it impracticable for French-speaking congregations to participate in the conferences held 1876, 1896, and 1907 by the congregations in Alsace and German Lorraine (see Conference of the Mennonites of Alsace).

On the initiative of Pierre Sommer and Valentin Pelsy a conference was called in Epinal in 1901,and was held annually or biennially from 1901 to 1914. It was officially organized as an Association in 1907. Following World War I and the return of Alsace-Lorraine to France an effort was made to unite this French-language conference with the German-language conference of Alsace-Lorraine, which was considered as the parent body. This attempt was, however, unsuccessful for practical reasons, although a number of meetings were held which were attended by both groups, and a general French Association was organized and legally registered in 1925. The French-language group then resumed separate sessions in 1927 under the name Association des Eglises Evangeliques-Mennonites de France, Groupe de Langue Francaise. This conference met semiannually: at Valdoie on Easter Monday, and at Toul in early November. The conference dealt with all matters of common interest to the congregations, including the use of donated funds, but had no jurisdiction over the internal concerns of the individual congregations. Its affairs were directed by a committee of elders and ministers of whom for some years J. B. Muller (Toul) was the president, and Pierre Sommer, Grand Charmont par Montbeliard, the secretary-treasurer. The official headquarters was Chapelle de la Prairie, Montbeliard (Doubs).

See also Association des Eglises Evangéliques Mennonites de France

Bibliography

Hege, Christian and Christian Neff.  Mennonitisches Lexikon, 4 vols. Frankfurt & Weierhof: Hege; Karlsruhe; Schneider, 1913-1967:  v. II, 530.

Author(s)	John Howard Yoder
Date Published	1953

Cite This Article

MLA style

Yoder, John Howard. "Association des Eglises Evangeliques-Mennonites de France, Groupe de Langue Francaise." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1953. Web. 16 Apr 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Association_des_Eglises_Evangeliques-Mennonites_de_France,_Groupe_de_Langue_Francaise&oldid=121967.

APA style

Yoder, John Howard. (1953). Association des Eglises Evangeliques-Mennonites de France, Groupe de Langue Francaise. Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 16 April 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Association_des_Eglises_Evangeliques-Mennonites_de_France,_Groupe_de_Langue_Francaise&oldid=121967.

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Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 1, p. 670. All rights reserved.

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