Encyclopedia of Early Modern History Online

Get access

Free church
(1,943 words)

1. Definition and origin

The centuries following the Reformation witnessed an internal fragmentation within Protestantism that gave birth to the phenomenon of free churches. Earlier scholarship saw the cradle of this movement in Zürich, where the Anabaptists first appeared (Fritz Blanke). It is noteworthy that the term itself first appeared in 1843 in Scotland and in 1847 in Switzerland…

Cite this page
Geldbach, Erich, “Free church”, in: Encyclopedia of Early Modern History Online, Editors of the English edition: Graeme Dunphy, Andrew Gow. Original German Edition: Enzyklopädie der Neuzeit. Im Auftrag des Kulturwissenschaftlichen Instituts (Essen) und in Verbindung mit den Fachherausgebern herausgegeben von Friedrich Jaeger. Copyright © J.B. Metzlersche Verlagsbuchhandlung und Carl Ernst Poeschel Verlag GmbH 2005–2012. Consulted online on 19 March 2024 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/2352-0272_emho_COM_019437>
First published online: 2015
First print edition: 20180126



▲   Back to top   ▲