The Bruderhof community movement started in Germany in 1920 and has since spread to four continents.
I congratulate the members of the Bruderhof on their community’s
new constitution, Foundations of our Faith and Calling. Since my
appointment as Archbishop of New York, it has been a joy for me to
visit the Bruderhof communities and to work together with them in
proclaiming the gospel message, especially in regard to marriage,
the family, and the sanctity of life. I treasure the Bruderhof’s
Christian witness as a significant contribution to the wider church
today.
The Bruderhof, as a religious community that includes families,
seems part of the great and venerable tradition of Christian
monasticism. Foundations thus is similar to the Rule of St.
Benedict: visionary yet practical, theologically profound yet
always down to earth. Deeply anchored in Scripture, Foundations
calls the church to renewal and testifies to the world what it
means to live as brothers and sisters in Christ. (October 2012)
Cardinal Dolan, Archbishop of New York
In Foundations, the Bruderhof gives a clear and engaging account of
its faith and calling as a church community. Nothing is included
that I would want to see omitted, or omitted that I would want to
see included. Like other Bruderhof publications that I have
applauded over the years, this book seems to me to be a very
worth-while effort to challenge worldliness and superficiality in
the Christian world. I trust that God will continue to bless the
Bruderhof communities, both in the living out of their own defined
identity and in stimulating the rest of us to be really real with
God. (April 2013)
J.I. Packer, Board of Governors and Professor of Theology, Regents
College
One group who has attempted to form a faith rooted in fellowship is
the Bruderhof….I received a copy of their new and beautiful
Foundations of our Faith and Calling. It was a delightful read, the
kind of book that slows you down because you sense a text drawn
from decades of experience and wisdom and discussion. What I
learned most from this book is what faith looks like when it
emerges, not from theological discussions and debates and settled
conclusions, but from a community and a fellowship….I’ve not seen
any statement like this that had a better emphasis on love for one
another and the neighbor. (January 2013)
Scot McKnight, Professor of New Testament, Northern Baptist
Theological Seminary
I’ve read and re-read Foundations, and each time I am impressed and
thrilled. What’s especially powerful is the way that this document
is so clearly shaped by the Bible. The chapter on your “Heritage”
is helpful in describing your roots and your place among other
Christian churches. I was also grateful for the wise discussion of
the calling of pastoral leadership – those entrusted with
leadership work together as a team with others, not making
single-handed decisions, and every member is able to speak up if
there is a problem.… Foundations is a book that triggers important
questions about what it means to follow Jesus. (February 2013)
Regina Claas, Vice President of the Baptist World Alliance
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