Brethren
Anabaptist church movement
Brethren is an archaic or formal plural of brother, now used mainly in religious contexts: The brethren gathered for worship.
It suggests a community bound by shared faith or purpose rather than blood relation.
Outside religious settings, brethren sounds deliberately old-fashioned or ironic: Our brethren in the accounting department have concerns.
Spirit of brotherly connection
- orderMethodical arrangement or request
- lodgeTemporary woodland dwelling
- guildProfessional mutual-aid society
- societyOrganized communal human existence
knights · initiates · members · chapter · oath · ritual · bonds · allegiance
Assembled group of worshippers
- fellowshipMutual goodwill among companions
- parishLocal church community
- parishionersMembers of local congregation
- clergyOrdained religious officials collectively
minister · flock · faithful · believers · worshippers · communicants · church · chapel
Fellow offspring
- kindredRelations by blood
- clanRelated group sharing ancestry
- tribeSocial group sharing ancestry
- familyRelated people together
bloodline · lineage · kin · relations · relatives · ancestry · heritage · descendants
Close allies in cause
- alliesCooperative partners united together
- compatriotsFellow citizens of homeland
- fellowsCompanions or associates
- peersThose of equal status
colleagues · companions · band · cohort · united · common cause · mutual support · camaraderie
fraternity
Spirit of brotherly connection
- orderMethodical arrangement or request
- lodgeTemporary woodland dwelling
- guildProfessional mutual-aid society
society · knights · initiates · members · chapter · oath · ritual · bonds · allegiance · comrades
congregation
Assembled group of worshippers
- fellowshipMutual goodwill among companions
- parishLocal church community
- parishionersMembers of local congregation
clergy · minister · flock · faithful · believers · worshippers · communicants · church · chapel · assembly
siblings
Fellow offspring
family · bloodline · lineage · kin · relations · relatives · ancestry · heritage · descendants · forebears
comrades
Close allies in cause
- alliesCooperative partners united together
- compatriotsFellow citizens of homeland
- fellowsCompanions or associates
peers · colleagues · companions · band · cohort · united · common cause · mutual support · camaraderie · togetherness
- FaithsChristians, Catholics, Buddhists, Hindus, Jews
- Christian GroupsBaptist, Catholic, Lutheran, Methodist, Presbyterian
- ProtestantismLutheran, Protestantism, Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian
- DenominationsBaptist, Methodist, Lutheran, Presbyterian, Episcopal
- Free ChurchesBaptists, Methodists, Quakers, Mennonites, Anabaptists
- nonviolencenonviolence, pacifism, harmlessness, nonviolent, peaceful
BrethrenCatholic
Papal church adherent
Roman Catholic Church · Eastern Orthodox · high church · papacy · Anglican
Brethrenenemies
Hostile opposing parties
foes · adversaries · outsiders · strangers · nonmembers
- Swiss BrethrenEarly Anabaptist movement
- blood brethrenThose united by oath