Melville, John (1802-1886)
John Melville was a Scottish evangelist active in southern Russia between 1837 and ca. 1875. An unofficial agent of the British and Foreign Bible Society, he also distributed religious tracts and held secret meetings with Ukrainian peasants, many of whom later joined the Shtundo Baptists. A frequent visitor to the Mennonite colonies of Chortitza and Molotschna, Melville was acquainted with a number of religious leaders interested in evangelical work, including Jacob Martens (1802-1870) of Molotschna. Through these contacts and the dissemination of foreign religious literature he was one of the many influences on Mennonite life before 1860 which contributed to a growing interest in religious ideas and activities beyond the Mennonite tradition.
Bibliography
Urry, James. "John Melville and the Mennonites: A British Evangelist in South Russia, 1837-ca. 1875." Mennonite Quarterly Review 54 (1980): 305-322.
| Author(s) | James Urry |
|---|---|
| Date Published | 1987 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Urry, James. "Melville, John (1802-1886)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1987. Web. 21 Nov 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Melville,_John_(1802-1886)&oldid=89610.
APA style
Urry, James. (1987). Melville, John (1802-1886). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 21 November 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Melville,_John_(1802-1886)&oldid=89610.
Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 5, p. 553. All rights reserved.
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