Schwarzenau Brethren in the context of "Old Order Anabaptist"

Believer's baptism (also called credobaptism, from the Latin word credo meaning "I believe") is the practice of baptizing those who are able to make a conscious profession of faith, as contrasted to the practice of baptizing infants. Credobaptists believe that infants incapable of consciously believing should not be baptized.

The mode of believer's baptism depends on the Christian denomination, and is done either by pouring (the normative method in Mennonite, Amish, and Hutterite churches) or by immersion (the normative method practiced by Schwarzenau Brethren, River Brethren, Baptists, and the Churches of Christ, among others). Among those denominations that practice immersion, the way that it is practiced depends on the Church; the Schwarzenau Brethren and the River Brethren for example teach "trine immersion, that is, dipping three times forward in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit."

A kapp (/kɒp/, Pennsylvania German from German Kappe meaning cap, cover, hood) is a Christian headcovering worn by many women of certain Anabaptist Christian denominations (especially among Amish, Mennonites, Schwarzenau Brethren and River Brethren of the Old Order Anabaptist and Conservative Anabaptist traditions), as well as certain Conservative Friends and Plain Catholics, in obedience to Paul the Apostle's command in 1 Corinthians 11:2–10.

Primitive forms of the kapp are seen in the depictions of early Christian women as portrayed in the "etchings in the Catacomb of Domitila in Rome—dating as far back as A.D. 95". The 12th century Waldensians wore the kapp in France and Italy, as did the early Anabaptists of the 16th century—a practice continued down to the present-day by Old Order Anabaptists and Conservative Anabaptists.

The Fancy Dutch (German: Hoch-Deutsche), also known as the High-Dutch, and historically as the Pennsylvania High Germans (German: Pennsylvanisch Hoch-Deutsche), are the Pennsylvania Dutch who do not belong to Plain Dutch sects. Unlike the Amish, the conservative Dunkards, or Old Order Mennonites, they do not wear plain clothing, and can fight in wars. Many popularly associated characteristics of Pennsylvania Dutch culture, including spielwerk, hex signs, and other aspects of Pennsylvania Dutch art, music, and folklore, are derived from the Fancy Dutch. The tourism industry and mainstream media often erroneously attribute such contributions to the more conservative Plain Dutch, though they would reject these aspects of their more worldly Fancy counterparts.

For most of the 19th century, the Fancy Dutch far outnumbered the Plain groups among the Pennsylvania Dutch. But since the two World Wars and the subsequent suppression of the German language in the US, as well as socioeconomic trends generally, there was substantial pressure on the Pennsylvania Dutchmen to assimilate. All the while, the Amish population has grown, especially in recent decades.

Old Order Anabaptism is a collection of communities that have preserved the old ways of Anabaptist Christian religion and lifestyle.

Historically, an Old Order movement emerged in the second half of the 19th century among the Amish, Mennonites of South German and Swiss ancestry as well as the Schwarzenau Brethren and River Brethren in the United States and Canada. The Hutterites are additionally regarded as being Old Order Anabaptists, as they continued the practice of communal living. The Old Order movement led to several Old Order divisions from mainstream Anabaptist groups between 1845 and 1901. All Old Order Anabaptist groups that emerged after 1901 divided from established Old Order Anabaptist groups or were formed by people coming from different Old Order Anabaptist groups.

Anabaptist theology, also known as Anabaptist doctrine, is a theological tradition reflecting the doctrine of the Anabaptist Churches. The major branches of Anabaptist Christianity (inclusive of Mennonites, Amish, Hutterites, Bruderhof, Schwarzenau Brethren, River Brethren and Apostolic Christians) agree on core doctrines but have nuances in practice. While the adherence to doctrine is important in Anabaptist Christianity, living righteously is stressed to a greater degree.

Important sources for Anabaptist doctrine are the Schleitheim Confession and the Dordrecht Confession of Faith, both of which have been held by many Anabaptist Churches throughout history.