II. Ecclesiastical Statistics. — The city of Bremen, with a small territory comprising a space of 1(16 square miles, had a population, in 1864, of 104,091 souls, the large majority of which arc Lutherans, about 15,000 Re- formed, 2000 Roman Catholics, 100 Jews. The Meth- odist Church had, in 1865, within the territory of Bre- men about 433 members. Only recently the members of the Lutheran Church have received equal rights with the Reformed, who formerly, though in a minority, were alone eligible to public offices. The senate of the republic exercises the supreme episcopal rights through
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a commission, and only occasionally delegates clergy- men for this purpose. There are six Lutheran clergy- men in the city and eleven in the country. The minis- ters in the city constitute the Venerandum Ministerium, •which body has to examine and to ordain candidates for the ministry. The Roman Catholics are under the jurisdiction of the bishop of Minister, Prussia. Brem- en has a large number of religious associations, and is the centre of the North German Missionary Society. The Methodist Episcopal Church has established there a book concern, which issues 3 periodicals, and a Mis- sionary Institute for the training of German Metho- dist preachers. Bremen is thus the centre of the nour- ishing Methodist missions in Germany. — Reports of Miss. Soc. qfMeth. Ep. Ch.
Brentius, Andreas. See Altiiamer.
Brentius or Brenz, Johann, one of the German reformers, was born at Weil, in Suabia, June 24, 1499. He received his education at Heidelberg, and was led by the perusal of Luther's writings, and especially by the impression made on him by Luther at the Heidel- berg disputation of 1518, to espouse the Reformation. He became a very popular preacher, and was appoint- ed pastor at Halle in his twenty-third year. In 1530 he attended the Diet of Augsburg. The emperor Charles V having declared that he would destroy the city of Halle if Brentius were not given up to him, he was compelled to seek safety in flight. He found an asylum with duke Ulrich of Wurtemberg and his suc- cessor Christopher at Stuttgard, and at the request of the latter drew up the Confession of Wurtemberg. In 1557 he attended the conferences at Worms, and died at Stuttgard, Sept. 11, 1570. He taught the doctrine of the ubiquity of the bod}' of our Lord ; hence his fol- lowers were called Ubiquitarians (q. v.). His opinions, in the main, agreed with those of Luther. Brenz was a man of immense capacity for work, as preacher, re- former, administrator, and author. His works were printed at Tubingen in 1576-1590 (8 vols, fol.), and again at Amsterdam (1666). They consist chiefly of commentaries on the O. and N. T. in the form of lec- tures or sermons, and are still held in great esteem. See Hartmann and Jager, Joh. Brentz (Hamb. 1840-42, 2 vols. 8vo) ; Hartmann, Joh. Brenz. Leben u. ausg. Schriften (Elberfeld. 18G2) ; D'Aubigne, Hist, of lief. ormation, i, 11 ; Gieseler, Ch. Hist. per. iv, pt. ii, § 37.
Brenton, Samuel, was born in Gallatin county, Ky., in 1810. He was converted in early life, and was admitted into the Illinois Conference of the M. E. Church in 1830. In 1834 he located because of ill health, and continued as a local preacher until 1841, during which time he studied law and was admitted to the bar. In 1841, his health having been restored, he returned to the itinerant ministry, and in 1848 was a delegate to the General Conference. During this year he lost the use of the right side of his body by palsy, resigned his work, and was appointed register of the land-oflice at Fort Wayne. In 1851 he was elected representative in Congress from the tenth Con- gressional district of Indiana, and served two sessions ; in 1853 elected president of the Fort Wayne College, and served with great acceptability; in 1854 elected again to Congress, and served two sessions; and in 185(5 was again re-elected to Congress. Mr. Brenton died on the 29th of March, 1857.— Minutes of Confer- ences, vi, 249.
Brethren (adeXfoi), one of the common appella- tions of Christians. It occurs frequently in the N. T., and was current at the date of the apostolical epis- tles. Subsequently it became a title of respect and affection by which the baptized, or faithful, or complete members of the Church were distinguished from the catechumens. They were accosted or described by other titles, such as "the enlightened," " the initiated," "the perfect," "elect," "beloved," "sons of God," " beloved in Christ," etc. See Brother.
Brethren, Bohemian. See Bohemia.
Brethren of the Common Life (Fratrei Vita
Communis), a religious fraternity which arose about the end of the fifteenth century. It was formed by Gerard de Groot at Deventer (1374 ?), and began to flourish after it had obtained the sanction of the Coun- cil of Constance. It was divided into two classes, the lettered brethren, or clerks, and the illiterate : they lived in separate habitations, but maintained the closest fraternal union. The former devoted themselves to preaching, visiting the sick, circulating books and tracts, etc., and the education of youth, while the lat- ter were employed in manual labor and the mechanical arts. They lived under the rule of St. Augustine, and were eminently useful in promoting the cause of relig- ion and education. Thomas a. Kempis was one of the luminaries of the order. On the death of Gerard, his disciple Florentius Radewins became head of the order (1384). More active than Gerard, he spread the order widely, founding a central cloister, or monastery of regular canons, at Windisheim, another in St. Agnes- berg, near Zwoll, to which Kempis belonged, and ad- ditional ones at Deventer. He was greatly assisted 1 >y Zerbol-t (died 1398), who labored earnestly to introduce the use of the vernacular Bible among the common people, and the use of the mother tongue instead of Latin in the prayers. The theory of this community was that unity should be sought rather in the inward spirit than in outward statutes. Vows were not bind- ing for life. Property was surrendered, not on com- pulsion, but voluntarily. All the brother-houses were kept in communion with each other, and the heads of houses met annually for consultation. Particulars of their rule, domestic arrangements, etc., may be found in Dllmann, Reformers before the Reform' itiav, ii, si) sq. Luther and Melancthon spoke with approval and sympathy of the brotherhood in their time. Its flour- ishing period extended from 1400 to 1500. Most of their houses were built between 1425 and 1451, and the}' had, in all, some thirty to fifty establishments. During the sixteenth century the Reformation broke them down, in common with other monkish establish- ments, or, rather, they crumbled to pieces as needless amid the new developments of the age. By the mid- dle of the seventeenth century the brotherhood was ended. Man}' of the brothers became Protestants, the rest were absorbed by the Roman orders, especially the Jesuits. — Ullmann, Reformers before the Reformation, ii, 57, 184; Bohringer, Kirchen-fleschichte in Biograph- ien, vol. ii, pt. iii ; Delprat, (/. Briiderschaft d. gemein- samen Lebens (Leipz. 1840) ; Bibl. Sacra, ii, 201.