Margenau-Alexanderwohl-Landskrone Mennonite Church (Molotschna Mennonite Settlement, Zaporizhia Oblast, Ukraine)

The Margenau-Alexanderwohl-Landskrone Mennonite Church was composed of Mennonites living in the villages listed in the name, Molotschna settlement, Ukraine. The Margenau church was established in 1832, in which year a church building was erected in the village of Margenau. Originally Margenau belonged to the Flemish group of the Ohrloff-Petershagen-Halbstadt church. In 1842-1874 the church was known as the Margenau-Alexanderwohl Mennonite Church. Until 1890 the Alexanderkrone Mennonite Church had been a part of the congregation. After the emigration of the Alexanderwohl Mennonite Church to Kansas in 1874 the reorganized church in Russia with that name became a part of the Margenau church. In 1910, when the Landskrone group built a church, it seems to have become an independent congregation. After the Revolution, however, it was again an integral part of the Margenau church. In 1905 the Alexanderwohl group consisted of 355 members and 325 children and the Margenau church had 1,382 members and 1,492 children. (It is not clear whether these statistics include Landskrone.)

The first elder was Heinrich Wiens (1842-1847), who was removed from his office when he opposed the reform efforts of Johann Cornies. For 14 years the congregation was cared for by Heinrich Töws, the elder of the Pordenau Mennonite Church. He was succeeded by Bernhard Peters (1861-1887), Heinrich Koop (1887-1901), Peter Friesen (1901-1907), Gerhard Plett (1907-1928), and Heinrich T. Janz (1928-1932). The last elder had to leave the congregation, because of the high taxes which neither he nor the congregation could pay. The congregational life gradually disintegrated because of the anti-religious attitude of the Soviet government. One of the last and most impressive services conducted was the ordination of Heinrich T. Janz as elder conducted by his retiring predecessor, Gerhard Plett, who had baptized 1,543 members during his 20 years of service. The ordination took place at the church at Landskrone on 13 May 1928.

Bibliography

Dirks, Heinrich. Statistik der Mennonitengemeinden in Russland Ende 1905 (Anhang zum Mennonitischen Jahrbuche 1904/05). Gnadenfeld: Dirks, 1906: 62-63.

Friesen, Peter M. The Mennonite Brotherhood in Russia (1789-1910), trans. J. B. Toews and others. Fresno, CA: Board of Christian Literature [M.B.], 1978, rev. ed. 1980.

Friesen, Peter M. Die Alt-Evangelische Mennonitische Brüderschaft in Russland (1789-1910) im Rahmen der mennonitischen Gesamtgeschichte. Halbstadt: Verlagsgesellschaft "Raduga", 1911: 705.

Hege, Christian and Christian Neff. Mennonitisches Lexikon, 4 vols. Frankfurt & Weierhof: Hege; Karlsruhe: Schneider, 1913-1967: v. II, 626; v. III, 36.

Töws, Aron A. Mennonitische Mä̈rtyrer der jü̈ngsten Vergangenheit und der Gegenwart, 2 vols. North Clearbrook, B.C. : Selbstverlag, 1949-1954: v. I, 116 ff.

Unser Blatt III: 201.

Author(s)	Cornelius Krahn
Date Published	1957

Cite This Article

MLA style

Krahn, Cornelius. "Margenau-Alexanderwohl-Landskrone Mennonite Church (Molotschna Mennonite Settlement, Zaporizhia Oblast, Ukraine)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1957. Web. 26 Dec 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Margenau-Alexanderwohl-Landskrone_Mennonite_Church_(Molotschna_Mennonite_Settlement,_Zaporizhia_Oblast,_Ukraine)&oldid=119938.

APA style

Krahn, Cornelius. (1957). Margenau-Alexanderwohl-Landskrone Mennonite Church (Molotschna Mennonite Settlement, Zaporizhia Oblast, Ukraine). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 26 December 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Margenau-Alexanderwohl-Landskrone_Mennonite_Church_(Molotschna_Mennonite_Settlement,_Zaporizhia_Oblast,_Ukraine)&oldid=119938.

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Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 3, p. 478. All rights reserved.

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