Russia - Revision history

SamSteiner at 14:28, 25 February 2023

2023-02-25T14:28:49Z

AlfRedekopp at 21:54, 25 April 2021

2021-04-25T21:54:56Z

SamSteiner: /* Bibliography */

2021-04-07T15:17:38Z

Bibliography

SamSteiner: /* General */

2021-04-07T15:17:09Z

General

SamSteiner at 15:15, 7 April 2021

2021-04-07T15:15:51Z

Show changes

SamSteiner: /* 2011 Update */ added column to table

2021-04-07T15:09:57Z

2011 Update: added column to table

SamSteiner: /* 2011 Update */

2020-04-21T10:46:40Z

2011 Update

SamSteiner: /* Settlements in Russian Poland, including Hutterian Brethren */

2020-04-20T15:20:35Z

Settlements in Russian Poland, including Hutterian Brethren

SamSteiner: /* Mother Settlements */

2020-04-20T15:20:11Z

Mother Settlements

SamSteiner: /* Mother Settlements */

2020-04-20T15:19:32Z

Mother Settlements

@@ Line 699: / Line 699: @@
 Religious life among the Mennonites of Russia was on a comparatively low plane at the outset. Leadership was lacking and had to be selected from an untrained constituency which at times also lacked spiritual qualities. Gradually, with the help of the mother church of Prussia, the church life was organized and made some progress. One of the earliest schisms took place when [[Reimer, Klaas (1770-1837)|Klaas Reimer]] of the Molotschna, an ultraconservative leader, separated and organized the [[Kleine Gemeinde|Kleine Gemeinde]] in 1814.
-Progressive leadership and a more vital religious life came through some of the groups who immigrated to Russia later and established villages and congregations such as Gnadenfeld in the [[Molotschna Mennonite Settlement (Zaporizhia Oblast, Ukraine)|Molotschna]]. They introduced the practice of abstinence, mission festivals, and other pietistic and evangelistic views. Some of these Mennonites who came from Prussia had been in contact with the [[Moravian Church|Moravian Brethren]] of Germany. Another source of influence came from [[Wüst, Eduard (1818-1859)|Eduard Wüst]], who was a Württemberg Pietist and the minister of an Evangelische Brüdergemeinde at Neuhoffnung near [[Berdyansk (Zaporizhia Oblast, Ukraine)|Berdyansk]]. He promoted evangelism, mission festivals, prayer meetings, etc. Some of the Mennonite leaders, e.g., [[Jansen, Cornelius (1822-1894)|Cornelius Jansen]], [[Harder, Bernhard (1832-1884) |Bernhard Harder]], and [[Lenzmann, August (1823-1877)|August Lenzmann]], were his personal friends. Soon his sermons were attended by Mennonites, and he was also at times invited to preach in the Mennonite villages. A strong emphasis on a personal acceptance of salvation and conversion was typical of his preaching. A group of eighteen heads of families in the village of Gnadenfeld who had been influenced by Wüst asked their elder August Lenzmann to administer the Lord's Supper to them as a special group. When he denied the request, this group of eighteen not only observed the Lord's Supper independently, but also drew up a document (6 January 1860) stating why they desired to start a new church. This act was the official founding of the [[Mennonite Brethren Church|Mennonite Brethren Church]]. Through the [[Baptists |Baptists]] this group was further influenced in certain religious practices, e.g., the introduction of baptism by immersion. The struggle between this group and the leaders of the old church continued for a while, during which time both sides made mistakes and expressed more zeal than brotherly love. The new group was extreme in denouncing the church from which they had seceded, and some of the Mennonite leaders took an unbrotherly attitude toward the new group. Among those who did much to improve the relationship were [[Harder, Johann (1811-1875) |Johann Harder]], Bernhard Harder, and [[Sudermann, Leonard (1821-1900)|Leonhard Sudermann]]. These were the men who favored a more spontaneous expression of the joy of salvation and newer methods of promoting the Gospel, similar to the founders of the [[General Conference Mennonite Church (GCM)|General Conference Mennonite Church]] which had originated slightly earlier in North America and was led by men like [[Oberholtzer, John H. (1809-1895)|John Oberholtzer]], [[Schowalter, Christian (1828/9-1907)|Christian Schowalter]], [[Hoch, Daniel (1805-1878)|Daniel Hoch]], and [[Hege, Daniel (1826-1862)|Daniel Hege]].
+Progressive leadership and a more vital religious life came through some of the groups who immigrated to Russia later and established villages and congregations such as Gnadenfeld in the [[Molotschna Mennonite Settlement (Zaporizhia Oblast, Ukraine)|Molotschna]]. They introduced the practice of abstinence, mission festivals, and other pietistic and evangelistic views. Some of these Mennonites who came from Prussia had been in contact with the [[Moravian Church|Moravian Brethren]] of Germany. Another source of influence came from [[Wüst, Eduard (1818-1859)|Eduard Wüst]], who was a Württemberg Pietist and the minister of an Evangelische Brüdergemeinde at Neuhoffnung near [[Berdyansk (Zaporizhia Oblast, Ukraine)|Berdyansk]]. He promoted evangelism, mission festivals, prayer meetings, etc. Some of the Mennonite leaders, e.g., [[Jansen, Cornelius (1822-1894)|Cornelius Jansen]], [[Harder, Bernhard (1832-1884) |Bernhard Harder]], and [[Lenzmann, August (1823-1877)|August Lenzmann]], were his personal friends. Soon his sermons were attended by Mennonites, and he was also at times invited to preach in the Mennonite villages. A strong emphasis on a personal acceptance of salvation and conversion was typical of his preaching. A group of eighteen heads of families in the village of Gnadenfeld who had been influenced by Wüst asked their elder August Lenzmann to administer the Lord's Supper to them as a special group. When he denied the request, this group of eighteen not only observed the Lord's Supper independently, but also drew up a document (6 January 1860) stating why they desired to start a new church. This act was the official founding of the [[Mennonite Brethren Church|Mennonite Brethren Church]]. Through the [[Baptists |Baptists]] this group was further influenced in certain religious practices, e.g., the introduction of baptism by immersion. The struggle between this group and the leaders of the old church continued for a while, during which time both sides made mistakes and expressed more zeal than brotherly love. The new group was extreme in denouncing the church from which they had seceded, and some of the Mennonite leaders took an unbrotherly attitude toward the new group. Among those who did much to improve the relationship were [[Harder, Johann (1811-1875) |Johann Harder]], Bernhard Harder, and [[Sudermann, Leonard (1821-1900)|Leonhard Sudermann]]. These were the men who favored a more spontaneous expression of the joy of salvation and newer methods of promoting the Gospel, similar to the founders of the [[General Conference Mennonite Church (GCM)|General Conference Mennonite Church]] which had originated slightly earlier in North America and was led by men like [[Oberholtzer, John H. (1809-1895)|John Oberholtzer]], [[Schowalter, Christian (1828-1907)|Christian Schowalter]], [[Hoch, Daniel (1805-1878)|Daniel Hoch]], and [[Hege, Daniel (1826-1862)|Daniel Hege]].
 The growth of the Mennonite Brethren group in Russia was notable. In 1888, 95.7 per cent of all Mennonites of Russia belonged to the [[Kirchliche Mennoniten|Mennonite Church]], while 4.3 per cent belonged to the Mennonite Brethren Church and other groups (Ehrt, 61). In 1925-1926 74.9 per cent belonged to the Mennonite Church while 22.5 per cent belonged to the Mennonite Brethren and 2.6 per cent to other groups. The growth of the Mennonite Brethren is particularly noticeable in the daughter settlements. In 1925-26, 81.2 per cent of the total Mennonite population of the [[Ukraine|Ukraine]], in which the mother settlements were located, belonged to the Mennonite Church, 15.5 to the Mennonite Brethren, and 3.3 to other groups. In the RSFSR, that is, the rest of Russia outside of the Ukraine, consisting primarily of daughter settlements, the percentage differed considerably. To the Mennonite Church belonged 60.5 per cent, to the Mennonite Brethren 38.2 per cent, and to other groups 1.3 per cent. This makes it clear that the strongest increase in Mennonite Brethren, which was due primarily to winning members from the Mennonite Church, was found in the daughter settlements. It could also indicate that the Mennonite Brethren of the mother settlements were more active in the establishment of daughter settlements (Ehrt, 85).

@@ Line 277: / Line 277: @@
+|
 |-
-| [[Aulie-Ata Mennonite Settlement (Kazakhstan)|Aulie-Ata]]
+| [[Aulie-Ata Mennonite Settlement (Kyrgyzstan)|Aulie-Ata]]
 | [[Turkestan|Turkestan]]
 | Molotschna

@@ Line 816: / Line 816: @@
 Yakovlev, B. ''Concentration Camps in the USSR (Russian)''. Munich, 1955.
-<h4>Periodicals</h4> ''Der Bote'' (Rosthern, SK 1924- ).
+===Periodicals===
 ''Der Botschafter'' (Ekaterinoslav, 1905-1914).

@@ Line 836: / Line 836: @@
 ''Unser Blatt'' (Grossweide, 1925-28).
-<h4>Books and Articles Specifically on Mennonites</h4> Bondar, S. D. ''Sekta Mennonitov v Rossii.'' Petrograd, 1916.
+===Books and Articles Specifically on Mennonites===
 Dyck, J. J. ''Am Trakt''. North Kildonan, 1948.
@@ Line 914: / Line 915: @@
 Unruh, Benjamin H. ''Die niederländisch-niederdeutschen Hintergründe der mennonitischen Ostwanderungen im 16., 18. und 19. Jahrhundert''. Karlsruhe, 1955.
-<h4>1990 Update</h4>
+===1990 Update===
 Pipes, Richard. ''The Formation of the Soviet Union. ''Revised edition. New York: Atheneum, 1964.

@@ Line 748: / Line 748: @@
 Revival came to isolated settlements when preachers of the gospel, often just released from prison, came by, sometimes also performing baptisms for dozens at a time. Such heroes, most of them still unnamed, braved the elements and the long arm of the law as they sought to encourage lonely, isolated Mennonite people. Others came to rely on shortwave radio broadcasts. A meeting of Kirchliche Mennonite elders and preachers in 1957 in Solikamsk (northern Urals) to organize a conference was broken up by the authorities. There is still no system of regular communication for either Mennonite Brethren or Kirchliche Mennonites. In 1979, the AUCECB organized a centralized senior presbyter structure for the RSFSR, naming Jakob Fast as one of two deputy senior presbyters, with special duties to visit Mennonite congregations in the RSFSR. -- ''Walter W. Sawatsky''
-== 2011 Update ==
+== 2020 Update ==
-The following table summarizes the number of Mennonites in Russia between 2000 and 2012:
+The following table summarizes the number of Mennonites in Russia between 2000 and 2020:
 {| class="wikitable" style="margin:auto; text-align:right"
@@ Line 759: / Line 759: @@
 !Membership<br>in 2009
 !Membership<br>in 2012
 |-
 |3,350
 |5,000
 |3,000
 |3,000

@@ Line 752: / Line 752: @@
 The following table summarizes the number of Mennonites in Russia between 2000 and 2012:
-<div align="center">
+{| class="wikitable" style="margin:auto; text-align:right"
 |-
 !Membership<br>in 2000
@@ Line 761: / Line 760: @@
 !Membership<br>in 2012
 |-
-|<div align="right">3,350</div>
+|3,350
-|<div align="right">5,000</div>
+|5,000
-|<div align="right">3,000</div>
+|3,000
-|<div align="right">3,000</div>
+|3,000
-|<div align="right">3,000</div>
+|3,000
 |}
 = Bibliography =

@@ Line 543: / Line 543: @@
 ==== Settlements in Russian Poland, including Hutterian Brethren ====
-{| border="1"
+{| class="wikitable"
 |-
 ! Name