ordnung

In the Anabaptist tradition, an Ordnung is a set of rules describing the way of life of church members. The term is mostly used by Amish and Old Order Mennonites. Ordnung (pronounced [ˈɔʁdnʊŋ] ) is the German word for order, discipline, rule, arrangement, organization, or system. Because the Amish have no central church government, each assembly is autonomous and is its own governing authority. Thus, every local church maintains an individual set of rules, adhering to its own Ordnung, which may vary from district to district as each community administers its own guidelines. Among the Amish, these rules are largely unwritten, yet they define the very essence of Amish identity. Conservative Mennonites refer to Ordnung by the English terms "discipline" or "standard", and their rules are usually written.

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