The Bruderhof is a Christian community movement in the Reformation tradition founded in 1920 in Germany. Inspired by the example of the first church in Jerusalem as described in the New Testament, we seek to put into action Christ’s command to love God and neighbor. Bruderhof communities include both families and single people.
Our community life is based on faith in Jesus Christ. We recognize the authority of the Old and New Testaments for all aspects of our belief and life and affirm the rule of faith stated in the Apostles’ and Nicene Creeds. We also draw inspiration from the Anabaptists of the Reformation era who revived the early Christian example of discipleship in full community.
Membership in the Bruderhof is open to any adult over the age of 21 who has a vocation to this way of life. Members pledge to live a life of poverty, chastity (in the form of marital faithfulness if married), and obedience. Known as the Bruderhof (“place of the brothers”) we are now over 2,600 men, women, and children living in twenty-three communities of varying sizes on four continents.
Our faith and the rule of life we follow are described in Foundations of our Faith and Calling. This document, published in June 2012, is the result of several years of discussion and study within the Bruderhof communities about the basis of our life together.
