Miloradovka Mennonite Brethren Church (Ekaterinoslav, Ukraine)
Miloradovka Mennonite Brethren Church was located 105 km (65 miles) west of the city of Dnepropetrovsk, earlier known as Ekaterinoslav, in South Russia, in the midst of rolling prairies and fertile valleys. Gerhard Pries, Bernhard Rempel, Daniel Lowen, Gerhard Dyck, Jakob Unger, Johann Funk, Peter Driediger, and Johann Penner were among the first settlers who arrived in 1889, a group of young farmers who were unable to acquire farms in the older settlements because of the scarcity of land. The church was organized in 1895, and built its first meetinghouse of brick with a seating capacity of 250 about 1908. Most of its members were farmers and used the Plattdeutsch in their homes and the High German in their worship services. The membership reached a peak of 110, with the following ministers serving this congregation: Abraham Wall (leader), Johann Funk, Gerhard Dyck, Johann Funk, Jr., Isaac Funk, David Dyck, and Jakob Bergen. Peter Rempel was one of their outstanding choir directors.
This congregation experienced two great revivals, one in 1911 and another in 1921, through Baptist influences. A mass funeral became necessary in 1918 when a minister of the church and six young men of the village were murdered by bandits. In 1929 severe persecution began. The last known membership was given as 25, but the church disintegrated completely in the fall of 1933, when the last leaders left and the believers were subjected to severe persecution. David Dyck, a former minister of this congregation, lived in Grassy Lake, Alberta.
| Author(s) | Jacob J Toews |
|---|---|
| Date Published | 1957 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Toews, Jacob J. "Miloradovka Mennonite Brethren Church (Ekaterinoslav, Ukraine)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1957. Web. 16 Apr 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Miloradovka_Mennonite_Brethren_Church_(Ekaterinoslav,_Ukraine)&oldid=58909.
APA style
Toews, Jacob J. (1957). Miloradovka Mennonite Brethren Church (Ekaterinoslav, Ukraine). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 16 April 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Miloradovka_Mennonite_Brethren_Church_(Ekaterinoslav,_Ukraine)&oldid=58909.
Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 3, p. 694. All rights reserved.
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