View source for Rückenau Mennonite Brethren Church (Rückenau, Molotschna Mennonite Settlement, Zaporizhia Oblast, Ukraine)

Rückenau Mennonite Brethren Church in the village of [[Rückenau (Molotschna Mennonite Settlement, Zaporizhia Oblast, Ukraine)|Rückenau]], located in the heart of the [[Molotschna Mennonite Settlement (Zaporizhia Oblast, Ukraine)|Molotschna settlement]]of South [[Russia|Russia]], became the nerve center in the development of the [[Mennonite Brethren Church|Mennonite Brethren]] (MB) movement. MB interest had concentrated sufficiently in this area in 1874 to buy a tavern and convert it into a meetinghouse. Church activities outgrew this building by 1883 when a new structure, 84 x 42 ft., was erected providing a seating capacity of 600. The highest estimated membership was 3,000, including several affiliated congregations. The early MB leaders also exerted considerable influence in this congregation. After Elder [[Hübert, Heinrich Klaas (1810-1895)|Heinrich Hübert]] left for the [[Kuban Mennonite Settlement (Northern Caucasus, Russia)|Kuban]] in 1873, [[Schellenberg, Abraham (1845-1920)|Abraham Schellenberg]] was elected elder, and when he moved to America in 1879, Johann Fast succeeded him. Jacob Dirksen, [[Schellenberg, David (1852-1919)|David Schellenberg]], David Dürksen, Jacob Reimer, and Jacob Thiessen were other leading personalities. The annual MB Conference was held in this church and from it determining influences radiated into other MB congregations. The congregation remained strong until the [[Russian Revolution and Civil War|Revolution]] in the early 1920's. Many, including a number of the leaders, emigrated when religious liberty was suppressed. During [[World War (1939-1945) - Soviet Union|World War II]], with the retreat of the German army, many of these settlements were wiped out, all the Mennonites leaving. Nothing further is known of the congregation, which at one time was the heart of the Mennonite Brethren movement.
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