Dyck, Peter P. (1874-1957)
Peter P. Dyck: teacher, minister, and businessman, born 1 July 1874 in Einlage, Chortitza, South Russia to Peter Dyck (25 April 1847 – 9 March 1881) and Maria (Bestvater) Dyck (13 May 1836, Petershagen, Gross Werder, Prussia – 6 February 1889). On 4 July 1895, Peter married Maria Driedger (27 November 1874, Novo Kapitanovka, Russia – 28 December 1952, Rosemary, Alberta, Canada), daughter of Abram Driedger (1844-1896) and Sara (Klassen) Driedger (1846-1913). They had eleven children, two of whom died in infancy. Peter died on 22 January 1957 in Rosemary, Alberta, where he is buried.
Peter and Maria Dyck moved to the new Orenburg Mennonite Settlement in 1900. In 1901 Peter was elected deacon, and then preacher in 1903, following which he was ordained. In addition to his ministerial duties, Peter became involved in the business world, and by the time the Revolution occurred, he had become a successful businessman.
In 1907, Peter Dyck was the driving force behind the establishment of the Orenburg settlement’s first secondary school, Pretoria Zentralschule. Apart from his own personal financial contributions, Dyck secured significant financing through a 2,000-ruble German loan which he cosigned. Consequently, he became the main creditor and when World War I broke out, the school was forced to close, and the school was bequeathed to Dyck. In 1917, he sold the school, ending his involvement in education and enabling him to satisfy the German creditors. In 1926, in the face of overwhelming opposition from Aeltester Isaak Krahn and the ministerial leadership in the settlement, Peter Dyck assembled and led an emigrant group of almost 300 individuals to Canada.
Initially, Dyck settled in Coaldale, Alberta, where he was chosen as the leader of the newly established Coaldale Mennonite Church in 1929. The following year he and his family moved to Rosemary, Alberta, where he served as one of several ministers in the Rosemary Mennonite Church. Peter Dyck was quick to recognize a need for biblical instruction for the youth, and in 1931, he founded the first Bible school of the General Conference Mennonites in Alberta. The school began in his home with Dyck as the sole teacher. The school grew quickly and in 1934 moved into its own facilities. The school was discontinued in 1941 with the establishment of the Menno Bible Institute in Didsbury, Alberta, where Peter taught for several years.
Peter and Maria Dyck purchased a home in Renata, British Columbia, where they spent six months of each year from 1938 to 1953. Dyck served the church at Renata in a preaching capacity, but his work in Renata was centered chiefly in witnessing and ministering among the Doukhobors.
Peter Dyck committed his life not only to teaching and preaching, but also to pioneer mission work. Perhaps Dyck’s greatest legacy is his history of the Orenburg settlement, published in 1951 under the title, Orenburg am Ural.
Bibliography
Canadian Mennonite (8 February 1957): 4.
Dyck, Peter P. Orenburg am Ural: die Geschichte einer mennonitischen Ansiedlung in Russland. Christian Book Store, 1951.
Author(s) | David F Loewen |
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Date Published | June 2024 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Loewen, David F. "Dyck, Peter P. (1874-1957)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. June 2024. Web. 15 Aug 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Dyck,_Peter_P._(1874-1957)&oldid=179116.
APA style
Loewen, David F. (June 2024). Dyck, Peter P. (1874-1957). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 15 August 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Dyck,_Peter_P._(1874-1957)&oldid=179116.
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