Christlicher Familienkalender (Periodical)
The Christlicher Familienkalender, a Russian Mennonite almanac edited by Abraham Kroeker, was founded in 1897. During its first two years it was printed by Peter Neufeld in Halbstadt; from 1899 to 1904 by A. Schulze in Odessa; and after 1905 in the printing establishment of J. J. Braun, which was later merged with "Raduga." Although its object was to disseminate general information on Mennonite life, it also provided general Christian reading material and was therefore purchased by many non-Mennonites. As it was the only almanac published by the Mennonites in Russia, it was read by nearly every Mennonite family and reached a circulation of 15,000 copies yearly. Because of World War I, publication was suspended in 1916 and 1917, but was resumed for 1918 and 1919.
In contrast to the German Christlicher Gemeinde-Kalender, the Russian almanac practically never published Mennonite historical material and never published a Mennonite directory or statistics of any sort. (See the editorial of 1903 vigorously rejecting proposals to include them.) Kroeker did publish quite regularly a directory of German colonies (villages) in Russia. The chief reason given for leaving out a Mennonite directory was lack of space which the editor wished to reserve for the literary section. However, there was an extraordinarily large advertising section. In 1912, for instance, 106 pages of 248 were devoted to advertisements. Space was available for articles such as "Memories of the Russo-Japanese War" and detailed lists of all the members of the Tsar's family and close relatives. However, the advertisements themselves have considerable historical value today since they reflect much of the economic activity of the Mennonites of Russia. It is evident, however, that the editor's policy called for a general Christian publication with no particular Mennonite character.
Bibliography
Hege, Christian and Christian Neff. Mennonitisches Lexikon, 4 vols. Frankfurt & Weierhof: Hege; Karlsruhe; Schneider, 1913-1967: v. I, 352.
| Author(s) | Harold S Bender |
|---|---|
| Date Published | 1953 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Bender, Harold S. "Christlicher Familienkalender (Periodical)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1953. Web. 18 Apr 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Christlicher_Familienkalender_(Periodical)&oldid=55675.
APA style
Bender, Harold S. (1953). Christlicher Familienkalender (Periodical). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 18 April 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Christlicher_Familienkalender_(Periodical)&oldid=55675.
Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 1, p. 585. All rights reserved.
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