الأميش (بالإنجليزية: Amish أو Amisch) هي طائفة مسيحية تجديدية العماد تتبع للكنيسة المنيونية. نشأت الطائفة في العصور الوسطى، وهي فترة شهدت بروز حركات إصلاحية مسيحية كثيرة، منها الطائفة التي كانت تعرف حينذاك باسم المسيحيين الجدد الآنابابتيست التي يعتبر الآميش جزءا منها. ويبلغ عدد الأميش حالياً زهاء 249.000 موزعين على 22 منطقة مأهولة في الولايات المتحدة وفي ولاية أونتاريو في كندا.
أتباعهم
تعيش أقدم جماعة من الاميش في مقاطعة (لانكستر)، وهي منطقة زراعية نائية استوطنها الأميشيون الأوائل في العشرينات من القرن الثامن عشر، ويقدر عدد افرادها بـ 16 ألفا.
وكان الكثير من الآميش قد لجأوا إلى تلك المقاطعة هربا من الاضطهاد الديني في أوروبا.
ويتوزع أفراد طائفة الآميش على عشرات المستوطنات التي تعيش كل منها باستقلالية تامة وفقا لقوانينها الخاصة غير المكتوبة والمعروفة باسم "أوردنانج" ويتسم أفراد طائفة الآميش بنبذهم للتكنولوجيا وانعزالهم عن العالم.
يتحدث معظم الآميش ثلاث لغات: لغة قريبة من الألمانية تسمى "بنسلفانيا داتش" في المنزل، ولغة قريبة أيضا من الألمانية تدعى "هاي جيرمان" في صلواتهم، والإنجليزية في المدارس.
عقيدتهم
يؤمنون بالتحفظ الشخصى وبالانعزال عن العالم الخارجي وعن أي محاولات لدمجهم أو خلطهم بمجتمعات وتعاليم أخرى ولا يعترفون بالنقود أو التكنولوجيا وحتى تعليم الأطفال وركوب السيارات.
تاريخهم
حركة الآنابابتيست قوبلت بـ "التكفير" من قبل طوائف الكاثوليك والبروتستانت وتم الحكم عليهم بالإعدام وتم بالفعل إعدام الكثير منهم مما حدا بهم للفرار بـ "دينهم" في بداية الأمر من سويسرا وإقليم الألزاس الفرنسي وجبال جنوب ألمانيا. إلى أمريكا.
في عام 1536 وعلى يد قسيس كاثوليكي اسمه مينو سيمُنز تأسست حركة المينونايت والتي وحدت وبلورت حركة الآنابابتيست.
وفي عام 1693 أسس مسيحي سويسري اسمه يعقوب آمان "یاكوب آمان" طائفة الآميش والتي انفصلت فيما بعد عن المينونايت.
ومنذ ذلك الحين، أصبحت تلك الطائفة عرضة للملاحقة من قبل الكاثوليك والبروتستانت الذين اتهموهم بالكفر، مما حدا بهم إلى الفرار بدينهم إلى أمريكا وبالتحديد إلى ولاية بنسلفينيا نظرا لكون أمريكا حينئذ بلدا غير مأهول بشكل كبير ولأن فرص مضايقتهم تكاد تكون معدومة .
وبالفعل استوطنت طائفة المينونايت بنسيلفينيا في عام 1720.
طائفة الآميش لا تؤمن بالتغيير فهم يؤمنون بالالتزام بالعيش كما جاء بالإنجيل الذي بين أيديهم بحذافيره, ولديهم مجلس "فتوى" يطلق عليه "أولد أوردر" وهم مجموعة من كبار السن المتدينين "المشايخ" يدرسون أي طاريء ويصدرون فتوى وفقا لما يرونه مطابقا لتعاليم الإنجيل وما يعرف فيما بينهم باسم "الأوردينان" وهي تعاليم إنجيلية تتبع بحذافيرها.
طائفة الآميش لا تؤمن بالكهرباء واستخدامها ولا بالسيارات بل ولا النقود الحكومية الورقية – إلا في حالات طارئة !
طبعا التطور أجبر مجلس الفتوى عندهم على إصدار فتوى بإنه يجوز للآميش أن يركب سيارة للضرورة ما دام أنه لا يقودها، وهم يستخدمون عوضا عنها الأحصنة أو العربات التي تجرها الأحصنة.
الآميش لا يؤمنون بإدخال أطفالهم للمدارس، وفي عام 1972 تم إصدار قانون خاص بهم يستثني طائفة الآميش من التدريس الإلزامي،.
البنات البالغات والنساء عند الأميش يلبسن زيا محافظا جدا، فهن لا يلبسن إلا الأكمام الطويلة واللباس الفضفاض الطويل، متحجبات ولا يسمح لهن بقص شعورهن، يلبسن غطاء الرأس الأبيض إذا كن متزوجات وأسود إذا كانت غير متزوجة
الرجال لا يحلقون لحاهم أبداً.
طائفة الآميش تحرّم التصوير. والدليل عند الجماعة مأخوذ من سفر الخروج 20:4. بل إن لعب البنات (الباربي) التي يلعب بهن البنات ممحي عنها صورة الوجه.
الآميش يحرمون الموسيقى والمعازف.
طائفة الآميش لا يؤمنون بالتأمين، فهم يعتبرون كل شيء قضاء وقدر.
يجتمع الآميش عند حصول مصيبة لأحدهم، كاحتراق حظيرته فمثلا، فيقوم الجميع عندئذ بالمشاركة ببناء حظيرة جديدة للمتضرر.
الآميش لا يستخدمون الهواتف النقالة بل ولا حتى الهواتف الأرضية.
وقد تبرعت الحكومة وبنت لهم خارج بيوتهم كبائن على شكل أكواخ للاتصال في حالة وجود طارئ أو ما شابه.
الآميش عندهم التبديع والهجر (يطلق عليها بالإنجليزية: شانينج "Shunning").
فعند الآميش كل من لا يتبع طريقتهم فهم مبتدعة ويهجرونه ويحرم على كل الآميشيين التعامل معه, وإذا كان "المبدَّع" الزوج يحرم على الزوجة أن تقربه أو تكلمه.
والآميش لا يشربون الكحول ولا يؤمنون بالمعاشرة الجنسية قبل الزواج.
لا يسمحون للنساء بقيادة العربات (الآميش لا يقودون السيارت أصلا، ويوجد بعض من الآميش في غير بينسيلفينيا يسمحون للنساء بالقيادة بشرط أن يكون معها نساء أو بالغين).
The Amish (/ˈɑːmɪʃ/; Pennsylvania German: Amisch; German: Amische) are a group of traditionalist Christian church fellowships with Swiss German Anabaptist origins. They are closely related to, but distinct from, Mennonite churches. The Amish are known for simple living, plain dress, and reluctance to adopt many conveniences of modern technology.
The history of the Amish church began with a schism in Switzerland within a group of Swiss and Alsatian Anabaptists in 1693 led by Jakob Ammann. Those who followed Ammann became known as Amish. In the second half of the 19th century, the Amish divided into Old Order Amish and Amish Mennonites. The latter mostly drive cars as does the main society during the 20th century, whereas the Old Order Amish retained much of their traditional culture. When it is spoken of Amish today, normally only the Old Order Amish are meant.
An Amish family riding in a traditional Amish buggy in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania
In the early 18th century many Amish, and Mennonites, immigrated to Pennsylvania for a variety of reasons. Today the Old Order Amish, the New Order Amish, and the Old Beachy Amish continue to speak Pennsylvania German, also known as "Pennsylvania Dutch", although two different Alemannic dialects are used by Old Order Amish in Adams and Allen counties in Indiana.
As of 2000, over 165,000 Old Order Amish lived in the United States and about 1,500 lived in Canada. A 2008 study suggested their numbers had increased to 227,000, and in 2010, a study suggested their population had grown by 10 percent in the past two years to 249,000, with increasing movement to the West. Most of the Amish continue to have six or seven children, while benefitting from the major decrease in infant and maternal mortality in the 20th century. Between 1992 and 2017, the Amish population increased by 149 percent, while the U.S. population increased by 23 percent.
Amish church membership begins with baptism, usually between the ages of 16 and 23. It is a requirement for marriage within the Amish church. Once a person is baptized within the church, he or she may marry only within the faith. Church districts average between 20 and 40 families and worship services are held every other Sunday in a member's home. The district is led by a bishop and several ministers and deacons. The rules of the church, the Ordnung, must be observed by every member and cover many aspects of day-to-day living, including prohibitions or limitations on the use of power-line electricity, telephones, and automobiles, as well as regulations on clothing. Most Amish do not buy commercial insurance or participate in Social Security. As present-day Anabaptists, Amish church members practice nonresistance and will not perform any type of military service. The Amish value rural life, manual labor, and humility, all under the auspices of living what they interpret to be God's word.
Part of a series on Anabaptism
Members who do not conform to these community expectations and who cannot be convinced to repent are excommunicated. In addition to excommunication, members may be shunned, a practice that limits social contacts to shame the wayward member into returning to the church. Almost 90 percent of Amish teenagers choose to be baptized and join the church. During an adolescent period of rumspringa ("running around") in some communities, nonconforming behavior that would result in the shunning of an adult who had made the permanent commitment of baptism, may be met with a degree of forbearance. Amish church groups seek to maintain a degree of separation from the non-Amish world, i.e. American and Canadian society. Non-Amish people are generally referred to as 'English'. Generally, a heavy emphasis is placed on church and family relationships. They typically operate their own one-room schools and discontinue formal education after grade eight, at age 13/14. Until the children turn 16, they have vocational training under the tutelage of their parents, community, and the school teacher. Higher education is generally discouraged, as it can lead to social segregation and the unraveling of the community. However, some Amish women have used higher education to obtain a nursing certificate so that they may provide midwifery services to the community.
History
Anabaptist beginnings
The Anabaptist movement, from which the Amish later emerged, started in circles around Huldrych Zwingli (1484–1531) who led the early Reformation in Switzerland. In Zurich on January 21, 1525, Conrad Grebel and George Blaurock practiced adult baptism to each other and then to others. This Swiss movement, part of the Radical Reformation, later became known as Swiss Brethren.
Cover of The Amish and the Mennonites, 1938
Emergence of the Amish
The term Amish was first used as a Schandename (a term of disgrace) in 1710 by opponents of Jakob Amman. The first informal division between Swiss Brethren was recorded in the 17th century between Oberländers (those living in the hills) and Emmentaler (those living in the Emmental valley). The Oberländers were a more extreme congregation; their zeal pushed them into more remote areas and their solitude made them more zealous.
Swiss Anabaptism developed, from this point, in two parallel streams, most clearly marked by disagreement over the preferred treatment of "fallen" believers. The Emmentalers (sometimes referred to as Reistians, after bishop Hans Reist, a leader among the Emmentalers) argued that fallen believers should only be withheld from communion, and not regular meals. The Amish argued that those who had been banned should be avoided even in common meals. The Reistian side eventually formed the basis of the Swiss Mennonite Conference. Because of this common heritage, Amish and Mennonites from southern Germany and Switzerland retain many similarities. Those who leave the Amish fold tend to join various congregations of Conservative Mennonites.
Migration to North America
Amish began migrating to Pennsylvania, then known for its religious toleration, in the 18th century as part of a larger migration from the Palatinate and neighboring areas. This migration was a reaction to religious wars, poverty, and religious persecution in Europe. The first Amish immigrants went to Berks County, Pennsylvania, but later moved, motivated by land issues and by security concerns tied to the French and Indian War. Many eventually settled in Lancaster County. Other groups later settled elsewhere in North America.
An old Amish cemetery in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, 1941
Most Amish communities that were established in North America did not ultimately retain their Amish identity. The major division that resulted in the loss of identity of many Amish congregations occurred in the third quarter of the 19th century. The forming of factions worked its way out at different times at different places. The process was rather a "sorting out" than a split. Amish people are free to join another Amish congregation at another place that fits them best.
In the years after 1850, tensions rose within individual Amish congregations and between different Amish congregations. Between 1862 and 1878, yearly Dienerversammlungen (ministerial conferences) were held at different places, concerning how the Amish should deal with the tensions caused by the pressures of modern society. The meetings themselves were a progressive idea; for bishops to assemble to discuss uniformity was an unprecedented notion in the Amish church. By the first several meetings, the more traditionally minded bishops agreed to boycott the conferences.
The more progressive members, comprising roughly two-thirds of the group, became known by the name Amish Mennonite, and eventually united with the Mennonite Church, and other Mennonite denominations, mostly in the early 20th century. The more traditionally minded groups became known as the Old Order Amish. The Egli Amish had already started to withdraw from the Amish church in 1858. They soon drifted away from the old ways and changed their name to "Defenseless Mennonite" in 1908. Congregations who took no side in the division after 1862 formed the Conservative Amish Mennonite Conference in 1910, but dropped the word "Amish" from their name in 1957.
Because no division occurred in Europe, the Amish congregations remaining there took the same way as the change-minded Amish Mennonites in North America and slowly merged with the Mennonites. The last Amish congregation in Germany to merge was the Ixheim Amish congregation, which merged with the neighboring Mennonite Church in 1937. Some Mennonite congregations, including most in Alsace, are descended directly from former Amish congregations.
20th century
