Hutterian Brethren

Hutterian Brethren, communitarian religious sect that originated among Anabaptists in Moravia (now the Czech Republic) during the Reformation and is now located chiefly in the United States and Canada. Also known as Hutterites, they took their name from their original leader, Jakob Hutter, who was burned as a heretic in 1536. Throughout most of their history, the Hutterites have formed agricultural colonies, called Bruderhöfe. Their way of life is rural and conservative. On the basis of the New Testament, they are pacifists and shun political participation. As a result, they have often been subject to social pressure and persecution. Over a period of centuries they sought to escape persecution by moving eastwards, finally reaching Russia, before migrating (1874-1879) to the northern United States, from where they fanned out to Canada.