| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 3,402 members in 2020[1] | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Meta Department | |
| Religions | |
| Anabaptist | |
| Scriptures | |
| The Bible | |
| Languages | |
| Spanish · Plautdietsch · Standard German · Wounaan language |
Mennonites in Colombia were, until 2016, almost solely converts from the general andindigenous Colombian population to theMennonite faith. Since then,conservativePlautdietsch-speakingethnic Mennonites, who belong to the so-calledRussian Mennonites, started to immigrate toColombia.[citation needed]
Converts to theMennonite faith are both people who speakSpanish and groups with an indigenous background, notablyEmbera-Wounaan. These converts do not differ much from otherProtestants in Colombia.
Ethnic Mennonites have their own customs and language (Plautdietsch) and live in colonies. Conservative ethnic Mennonites normally look for a quiet and remote place where they can live according to their tradition.
Mennonites as a religious group can trace back their roots to the time of theProtestant Reformation. They belonged to theradical wing of the Reformation who tried to base its faith only on the Bible as God's word and live according to it.
Starting in 1683 (Germantown, Pennsylvania), Mennonites from Europe migrated to North America, but most came in the 18th and 19th centuries. Mainly since the second half of the 19th century they split into different groups ranging from extremely conservative to very liberal.
Liberal and moderately conservative Mennonites engaged in worldwide missionary work like other North American Protestant denominations. In 1945 theMennonite Brethren started missionary work among theAmerindian and general population inLa Cumbre inValle del Cauca and thecorregimiento Noanama inIstmina,Chocó Department. In 1949 there were 50 believers and a missionary staff of 16 members.
The missionaries learned the indigenous language und started to write religious texts in this language. Linguistic work on theChoco languages was done by Mennonite missionary Jacob Loewen.
Mission and social work was also done by theGeneral Conference Mennonite Church nearCachipay,Anolaima andLa Mesa, all in thedepartment of Cundinamarca and inLa Esperanza in the departmentNorte de Santander. In 1954 there were nine missionary workers and 81 baptized converts.
In 1990 there were fourAnabaptist groups working in Colombia: the Iglesia Evangélica Menonita de Colombia, that resulted from the mission work of the General Conference Mennonites, the Asociación de Iglesias de los Hermanos Menonitas, stemming from the Mennonite Brethren mission work, the Iglesia Colombiana de los Hermanos, stemming from the mission work of the Brethren Church, Ashland, Ohio, starting in 1973, and the Comunidad Cristiana Hermandad de Cristo, stemming from the Brethren in Christ, starting in 1982. The membership of these four groups in 1986 was about 2,300.[1]
 Mennonite colonies established in Meta in 2023 |
Moderately conservative Mennonites ofGerman origin started to settle in Colombia in February 2016, with immigrants coming mainly from the region aroundCuauhtémoc, Chihuahua, in northern Mexico, immigrants toLiveney colony mainly fromManitoba Colony and immigrants toAustralia colony mainly from Ojo de la Yegua Colony (Nordkolonie), some 50 km north of Cuauhtémoc, Mexico, but others came from the United States, Canada andBolivia.[2]Liviney andAustralia were establishedfincas and the Mennonites did not change their names.[1]
In 2018 there were three Mennonite colonies some 90 km fromPuerto Gaitán,Meta Department,Liviney (also known asLos Venados) with about 7,200 hectares,Australia with about 7,000 hectares andLa Florida (also known asSan Jorge) with about 2,000. In 2019, there was a new Mennonite colony namedBuenos Aires (also known asPajuil).[3][4][5] These four Mennonite colonies comprise some 28,000 ha.[6]
These Mennonites are mostly so-called"Russian" Mennonites who formed as anethnic group in the 19th century in what is todayUkraine. They forbid television and radio, but allow cars and many other modern technologies they need for work. They speakPlautdietsch and womendress plain.[7] A 2020 survey found that there are more than 200 Mennonite colonies in nine Latin American countries, with four in Colombia.[6]
In 2012 there were 2,825 members in 67 congregations and in 2020 there were 3,402 members in 73 congregations of Mennonites of the general Colombian population.[1] There are no exact numbers for the Mennonites of German origin, but the number of families is given as around 150 which corresponds to roughly 700 to 1000 people.[8]
Mennonites around the world | |
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