Duisburg (Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany)

Duisburg is a city in the Ruhr district, Rhine Province, Germany. There is evidence of some participation of Duisburgers in the Münsterite affair and its sequels 1534-1538. No actual peaceful Anabaptist congregation was ever established in Duisburg in the 16^th century, although as late as 1560 Duke Wilhelm of Cleve called the noted Catholic scholar George Cassander to Duisburg to convert the Anabaptists there. There may have been some continuing traces of Anabaptism in Duisburg throughout the 17^th century, but it was apparently not until the 18^th century that a regular Mennonite congregation existed. When there was no minister, the baptisms were apparently conducted in the Krefeld Church, whose church book records the names of 17 persons from Duisburg baptized. Risler reports 20 families definitely identifiable as Mennonites in the early 18^th century. Most of these were refugees from persecution elsewhere. Evidence shows that there was at this time considerable interconnection between Duisburg and Krefeld, Kleve, Goch, and Emmerich, the other Mennonite congregations along the Lower Rhine.

The first evidence of an organized congregation is the record in the church book of the Mennonite congregation at Goch, under date of 14 October 1706, that Christian Kray was a preacher of the Duisburg Mennonite congregation.

According to the [[Naamlijst der tegenwoordig in dienst zijnde predikanten der Mennoniten in de Vereenigde Nederlanden|Naamlijst]] of 1731, which calls this town Doesburg, there was here a Mennonite congregation, which had no minister at that time but was served by the minister of Krefeld. In the Naamlijst of 1743 two preachers of Duisburg are mentioned, Johan Pryer and Gerhard Decker. In the Naamlijst of 1755 no mention is made of this congregation; the congregation must have died out between 1743 and 1755. In 1726 the widow of Pieter Andriessen of Duisburg requested financial support from the Amsterdam congregation.

Bibliography

Hoop Scheffer, Jacob Gijsbert de. Inventaris der Archiefstukken berustende bij de Vereenigde Doopsgezinde Gemeente to Amsterdam, 2 vols. Amsterdam: Uitgegeven en ten geschenke aangeboden door den Kerkeraad dier Gemeente, 1883-1884: I, No. 1446.

Risler, W. "Mennoniten in Duisburg." Mennonitische Geschichtsblätter 8 (1951): 2-18.

Author(s)	Nanne van der Zijpp
Date Published	1956

Cite This Article

MLA style

Zijpp, Nanne van der. "Duisburg (Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1956. Web. 16 Apr 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Duisburg_(Nordrhein-Westfalen,_Germany)&oldid=118128.

APA style

Zijpp, Nanne van der. (1956). Duisburg (Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 16 April 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Duisburg_(Nordrhein-Westfalen,_Germany)&oldid=118128.

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Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 2, p. 107. All rights reserved.

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