PRINTER'S NO. 1165
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
SENATE RESOLUTION
No.
181
Session of
2017
INTRODUCED BY ARGALL AND MENSCH, SEPTEMBER 19, 2017
INTRODUCED AND ADOPTED, SEPTEMBER 19, 2017
A RESOLUTION
Commemorating the 283rd anniversary of "Schwenkfelder
Thanksgiving Day" on September 24, 2017, in Pennsylvania.
WHEREAS, The Schwenkfelders are the only Protestant sect of
the Spiritualist branch of the Radical Reformation, with roots
in the Protestant Reformation that still exist today; and
WHEREAS, The Schwenkfelders are named after Protestant
Reformer Caspar Schwenckfeld von Ossig, a contemporary of Martin
Luther; and
WHEREAS, The Schwenkfelders originally lived in Silesia, a
region annexed to Poland after World War II, and were
periodically persecuted for their religious faith after the
death of Schwenckfeld von Ossig in 1561; and
WHEREAS, In order to avoid further persecution, the
Schwenkfelders fled their homeland in 1726 and emigrated to
Saxony, Germany, under sanctuary provided by Count Nicholas
Zinzendorf, the founder of the Moravian Church; and
WHEREAS, With the assistance of Mennonites in Holland, the
Schwenkfelders emigrated to Pennsylvania between 1731 and 1738;
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