GERMAN BAPTISTS |

Ce LY ams

wk) South Russia jue

Johann E. Pritzkau

Translated from’ German by Walter Regehr

“Pritzkau’s German Baptist history is also a memoir and a sermonic admonition. He interweaves these elements to produce a most valuable primary source of the beginnings and development of German Baptists and Mennonite Brethren in Tsarist Russia, covering a wide range of historical events and issues.

“At an eatly age, Pritzkau, as a result of a Mennonite Brethren mission initiative, leaves the Lutheran Church to join the German Baptists. As a keen eye-witness and a judicious leader, Pritzkau tells of progress but also persecution, the success of the churches but also their problems. He concludes his history by noting present privileges, but also the needs and dangers that remain for the German Baptists in South Russia.

“The translation is superb, making Pritzkau sound as if his native tongue were English.”

—Albert W. Wardin, Jr., Professor of History Emeritus, Belmont University, Nashville

“Tt is generally known that the emergence of Mennonite Brethren in the 1860s and their early development is closely intertwined with the German Baptists. The nature of the relationship between Mennonite Brethren and German Baptists is usually framed in terms of Mennonite Brethren dependence on Baptists. . . .

“In essence, Pritzkau’s book frames the question of the relationship between the two movements in a different way. The emphasis is much more on the dependence of the Baptists on the Mennonite Brethren. Most of the individual congregations that he describes were dependent on MBs in their origin. . . .

“The differences regarding the teaching on the oath and nonresistance are noted, but not in terms of being the primary barrier preventing Baptists from joining the MBs. . . . It is not inconceivable that many of the congregations that became Baptist might have become pacifist MBs, if Russian laws had made that option available to them.

“This English translation by Walter Regehr will make a very valuable contribution to the understanding of the early history of both Baptist and MB movements in Russia” (from the Preface).

—Abe J. Dueck, Professor of History Emeritus, Canadian Mennonite University, Winnipeg

German Baptists in South Russia

Johann E. Pritzkau

German Baptists in South Russia

Originally published as Die Geschichte der Baptisten in StidruBland (Odessa: Wenske und Luebeck, 1914) and reissued by the Historische Kommission des Bundes Taufgesinnter Gemeinden in Deutschland (Lage: Logos, 1999)

Translated from German by Walter Regehr

Winnipeg, MB KINDRED Goessel, KS

PRODUCTIONS

German Baptists in South Russia

‘Translation of Die Geschichte der Baptisten in StidruBland (Odessa: Wenske und Luebeck, 1914) and reissued by the Historische Kommission des Bundes ‘Taufgesinnter Gemeinden in Deutschland (Lage: Logos, 1999).

Translation copyright © 2013 Centre for Mennonite Brethren Studies, Winnipeg, Manitoba R3M 3Z6.

All sights reserved. With the exception of brief excerpts for reviews, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in whole or in part, in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without written permission of the Centre for Mennonite Brethren Studies, Winnipeg, Manitoba R3M 3Z6.

Published simultaneously by Kindred Productions, Winnipeg, Manitoba R3M 3Z6 and Kindred Productions, Goessel, Kansas 67053.

Cover design by Audrey Plew.

Printed in Canada by CP Printing Solutions, Winnipeg, Manitoba R3M 3Y1.

Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication

Pritzkau, Johann E., 1842-1924 [Geschichte der Baptisten in Sidrussland. English]

German Baptists in South Russia / Johann E. Pritzkau; translated from German by Walter Regehr.

“Originally published as Geschichte der Baptisten in Siidrussland (Odessa: Wenske und Luebeck, 1914) and reissued by the Historische Kommission des Bundes Taufgesinnter Gemeinden in Deutschland (Lage: Logos, 1999),”

Includes bibliographical references and indexes.

ISBN 978-1-894791-33-5 (pbk.)

1. Baptists, German--Russia, Southern--History. 2. Mennonites--Russia, Southern--History. 3. Baptists--Relations--Mennonite Brethren Church. 4. Mennonite Brethren Church--Relations--Baptists. 5. Russia, Southern--Church history--19th century. 6. Russia, Southern--Church history--20th century. I. Regehr, Walter, translator II. Title. TIT. Title: Geschichte der Baptisten in Siidrussland. English.

BX6310.R88P7513 2013 286.094709'034 €2013-905774-9

International Standard Book Number: 978-1-894791-33-5

Visit our website: www.kindredproductions.com

Preface

Many Mennonite scholars have examined the nature of the relationship between Baptists and Mennonites. In the early 1990s, the Mennonite World Conference and the Baptist World Alliance sponsored a series of consultations on the relationships between the two confessional groups. As might be expected, the dominant themes of the consultations related to the respective origins of the two groups, Mennonites in 16th- century Europe, and Baptists stemming from the English (primarily Calvinistic) groups in England. The subsequent histories of these two groups and their relationships throughout the world were then examined to the extent possible.

Each of the above major groups has become much more diverse and fragmented over the centuries and it is impossible to do justice to all the complexities. However, there are two sub-groups within each faith family for whom the relationship is historically much more intertwined and complex: the Mennonite Brethren (MB) and the German (and Russian) Baptists. What is often overlooked is the fact that German Baptists emerged relatively independently, under the leadership of Gerhard Oncken in Hamburg, in 1834. Oncken’s brand of Baptists spread throughout continental Europe, including southern Russia where many German colonists (Lutheran, Reformed, Catholic, etc.) settled during the century following the initial invitation of Catherine the Great in 1763. Mennonite settlement in Ukraine and beyond also came during this era.

It is generally known that the emergence of Mennonite Brethren in the 1860s and their early development is closely intertwined with the German Baptists. The nature of the relationship between Mennonite Brethren and German Baptists is usually framed in terms of Mennonite Brethren dependence on Baptists. The role of Oncken and August Liebig in bringing church order and stability to the young movement and the introduction of baptism by immersion is central in this story. From the time of MB emergence in the 1860s until the early 20th century a vigorous debate often took place between old Church Mennonites and Mennonite Brethren concerning whether MBs were really Baptists and therefore did not deserve to be granted the privileges that the Russian government had extended to Mennonites. MBs insisted that they were Mennonites, but this was often seen as motivated by their desire to retain the special privileges that Mennonites had received. P.M. Friesen’s Die A/t-Evangelische Mennonitische Briiderschaft in Rufland (1911) details many of the connections between Baptists and MBs.

vi | Johana Iz. Privzkau

Pritzkau’s German Baptists in South Russia was originally published in German in 1914, only three years after PM. Friesen’s Die Ai- Exvangelische Mennonitische Briderschaft. Both authors were respected leaders in their own religious communities and their years and place of ministry overlapped almost entirely, Although Pritzkau’s work is more in the genre of a memoir and does not include documentary material, it is a primary source of information. Strangely, it appears to emphasize connections with the MBs to a greater degree than Friesen’s work does.

Despite the above, scholars seem to have paid relatively little attention to Pritzkau. ‘The recent work by Gregory L. Nichols, The Development of Russian Evangelical Spirituality (Pickwick, 2011) makes no reference to Prizkau. Two essays in Paul Toews’s Mennonites and Baptists: A Continuing Conversation (Kindred, 1993) make passing references to Pritzkau (John B. Toews, notes 15, 16, p. 237, and Albert Wardin, note 5, p. 239). Wardin nonetheless in a later work refers to the book as “a rare and most valuable volume on German Baptists in South Russia, written by a progenitor and leading pastor of the movement” (Evangelical Sectarianism in the Russian Empire and the USSR: A Bibliographic Guide, 1995).

In essence, Pritzkau’s book frames the question of the relationship between the two movements in a different way. The emphasis is much more on the dependence of the Baptists on the Mennonite Brethren. Most of the individual congregations that he describes were dependent on MBs in their origin. This is especially true in the Caucasus and Kuban regions. Furthermore, it appears that many or most of the congtegations might have become MB, except that Russian law prohibited them from joining this privileged group. The differences regarding the teaching on the oath and nonresistance are noted, but not in terms of being the primary barrier preventing Baptists from joining the MBs. In fact, as many scholars have noted, pacifism was a dominant position among Russian evangelicals by about 1920. To be sure, Pritzkau does indicate that some MBs were not very committed to pacifism. Nevertheless, it is not inconceivable that many of the congregations that became Baptist might have become pacifist MBs, if Russian laws had made that option available to them.

This English translation by Walter Regehr will make a very valuable contribution to the understanding of the early history of both Baptist and MB movements in Russia.

Abe J. Dueck, Professor of History Emeritus Canadian Mennonite University Winnipeg, Manitoba

Acknowledgments

Any translation project is a labor of love. The translation of Johann E. Pritzkau’s Baptist history, Geschichte der Baptisten in Siidrufsland (Odessa: Wenske und Luebeck, 1914), is no exception. It could not have been produced without the assistance and contributions of many people. I am pleased to note the people who helped to bring the decade-long project to a happy conclusion.

In 2003, Heinrich Loewen, then Director of the Centre for Mennonite Brethren Studies in Winnipeg, Manitoba, asked Walter Regehr, retired educator, if he would be willing to take on another German translation project. Walter had just finished a lengthy project, translating The Mennonites in Russia from 1917 to 1930: Selected Documents (Winnipeg: Christian Press, 1975). Thankfully, Walter agreed to translate the Pritzkau book.

German Baptists in South Russia was one of several translation projects that Heinrich initiated, putting the resources of the Centre toward the translation of important German works that situate the birth and development of the Mennonite Brethren Church. While Pritzkau’s focus is Baptist history, he also documents the relationship between the German Baptists and the Mennonite Brethren in South Russia. A Baptist “insider,” Pritzkau sets out the integral role that Mennonite Brethren evangelists had in the formation of the German Baptist Church in South Russia.

Once again, Walter devoted himself to the monumental task, spending the better part of two years on the translation. Daughter-in- law Valerie Falk keyed his handwritten translation into a computer, transforming it into a digital manuscript. Son Gerald Regehr provided the technical and computer assistance to keep the project on track. In 2004, the first draft was completed. With gratitude and deep appreciation, all of us acknowledge Walter’s good work. The skill required to translate the German syntax and lengthy sentences is truly remarkable. Thank you, Walter!

In 2011, after several years of dormancy for various reasons, the manuscript moved another step toward publication. Abe J. Dueck, Director of the Centre before Heinrich’s tenure, brought the often- delayed project to my attention. Since Heinrich’s return to Germany in 2004, two other Directors carried the project, Ken Reddig and Doug Heidebrecht. Now, however, it was my turn to get involved, as the new Director of the Centre.

vit | Johann be. Pritzkan

During the last year, a host of people contributed to speed the manuscript toward publication. Susan Huebert constructed the comprehensive Subject and Name indices. Abe J. Dueck and Ed Lenzmann carefully read the page proofs and offered numerous helpful suggestions. Albert Wardin helped to identify several of Pritzkau’s ctyptic references, including Bro. C. (Efim Cymbol) and Bro. K. (J. Kowlasky), and the references to German Lutheran and Catholic villages where German Baptist congregations formed. William Schroeder, along with the published maps of Karl Stumpp (1896— 1982), also helped me to identify the location of these villages. I did the final editing and set the page layout, making it print-ready with the good counsel of Elenore Doerksen from Kindred Productions, who agreed to publish the book. And special thanks goes to graphic artist, Audrey Plew, for making the excellent maps from my “penciled in” village locations and for designing an attractive book cover.

The photographs of the Neudorf German Baptist Church (Neudorf, Volhynia, Ukraine) on the front and back cover are courtesy of Don Miller (Hillsboro, Oregon). Don travels regularly to the area, hosting tours and conducting research on the German Baptist experience in Ukraine (www.inthemidstofwolves.com). Pritzkau makes reference to this large and impressive construction that was completed in 1907 (pp. 62-63). The building still stands and remains in use as a church,

In the text and footnotes, the “square” brackets indicate explanations or translations that I’ve inserted to help understand Pritzkau’s account.

I thank all of you for your labor of love that made the translation of Pritzkau’s Baptist history, envisioned by Heinrich some ten years ago, a reality at last. May German Baptists in South Russia prove a useful resource, both for remembering the nature of Baptist interaction with Mennonite Brethren, and for charting subsequent expressions of the ongoing story of collaboration.

Jon Isaak, Director Centre for Mennonite Brethren Studies Winnipeg, Manitoba

Contents

| al 1: Ls eee ee See Tee ee ae Sa ee a AO ee oe ACKMOWIED DEM ONES» isccicivisscsscciasticcsesssiisceaiceiccenstacttntstmaRteiies Ladtiol Mivistiations -s<icsccciscaermcnqewnine Res

German Baptists in South Russia

fo fe, ne ae nC EE eae The Mennonite Brethren Church .0.........ccccccccsssseesescsesscseesseses

1

2

SG, itiicitaricds aiid PerseCUHis esasscsnssrscarsansssarevscccasscnassastivncnssenes 4. Supplement to the article on persecutions «1... D: Obenenopnition ssinacuiesncmmcacianmeaiiioainmpens 6. Our first journey to the Mennonite Brethren in Einlage...... T.. Beothet Onicken's viait to Rewseia sasincssissoscucasnscsassesasscesenanscersies Bi “JAROD Leb pa sss svesscoccescicstescanstatncenaaccinsecacmnatatnatanecnsinhetiias 1D. ODRGRR spaseicnsasiais teiaussasancscsia ease peteiaahaal ahs ant a aeasapnhaeaenii 10. The calling of Brother August Liebig. ........sssssssecssessseesserense 11. The founding of our Association ......sssssesssesseneessecseesneeseees 12. ‘The creation of the Bible: courses cicsssssissssssscssesonssscivessossssscive

16, “The chistehat Beta gress <csssissssossvsnnissesuissnissssatarscicimaisisiens 17. The chutch at Peodoravie tacssiscisiscccassiccenteratcnmnenataicann TS. "The churtch at Euipatentin, sscecsssssscsasacasscisssiniccssctinccsisasnicessescpaiass Ae, LRUC CEVERRCER OI: VENETO INE .ossn scm sesenstsnanonnsonseonsonesoonsiosssneeeseensen 20. The church at Friedrichsfeld .....c.ccccccssssessssesseessssesssscssceesesaseee PA. The chinech at On etrtal os swasssscessescca cas sescccatscanceriasttaviwccssavetessate 22. The church at Romanovka in the Terek Region .......:0sse Bai. ERROR DIRT OR cscs ssostasdace Asati pAnaS tables beTllextascnnienaensane ZA. PRESERETIEEES ..5.ccsucsiseuyarneurseuesdsnousia eayagsaasvensensinvciennsasyssausrasssdeed od BES CAE REIT OES es conisnacnacrcsaracarasnimncessananipissasanncnsiincacisnasanacatasueiinst DIG, BRR ONES cis ciissiccascassasacnaaevavhsicesasstss iissectteiciiecaeapibctinets 27: PLOSPECOR Foe The Fe cs sssansessionissesenrpansnnasiossansaasstisctancsentaass

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xi

List of illustrations

1. Johann E. Pritzkau [1842-1924] ........csssssssssecsssssssssseerseesneeseees xii 2. Eduard Hugo Otto Wuest [1818-1859] ........cccscssessecseesnesseres xxiii S Goethe FALE (RSET 808) crcnceisinimsnsonemmisernmnannansiens 11 4. Johann Gerhard Oncken [1800-1884] ......ceccsscssessesssesseessessees 23 5.. Jakob Delyakov [1829-1898] ......sczsssesssessrvvssessssesonessssaasssnsesoeass 31 6. The home of Bro. August Liebig in Annental 1.0.0... 50 ihe, RRRPERIRTUERE SOIREE ees mpemenionsenerersesns ermesararecconmtnnemsin 51 8. August G.A. Liebig [1836-1914] .........sssesssessssssssssesssssnsssseees 54 D.. Kiaal FE india [URS9—1B BT sscissscacssscccccseaacecusceesaassas evasapisvaatw 61 10, J. Roessles [dates wrakeecwnn] assssciss cess csssseascsssasssszoscionsnsansicacs 127 LI. Koatl Pielibcancdt (LR58-1905) ...e.c.cxeescemescscouesenssseapesyssecosansnss 139 12. Map of German Settlements in Ukraine and Russia ............ 169

13. Map of South Russian Association of German Baptist CHUKER CS <ceccrccnsscscrsacuassagnaratciccaiwesnsiet ance aes 170

xit | fokenn HE. Pritzken

1. Johann E. Pritefean [1842-1924]

ins Rasvia xiii Foreword to German edition

This book was written by “one who was there” and consequently it breathes a completely different spirit from that of ordinary books. Everything evokes the personal memories of Johann E. Pritzkau and that is what gives life to the book. We have, therefore, left most of it in its original form. We have added annotations only where we found it necessary for a better understanding of the text.

The book is an important monument to Baptist history and is new evidence for the vitality and the triumph of the ideas of the Anabaptists [believers church]. The history of the Anabaptists has always been a document of human suffering for the sake of Christ— “he who will come after me must take up his cross and follow me”— but it is also a demonstration that faith does triumph.

We send this book into the world to show this triumph clearly to our fellow believers and to encourage and strengthen their descendants to guard the heritage of their forebears.

Wenske and Luebeck The Publishers

Baptists £ Russia xv Introduction to German edition

The German colonists in South Russia

From earliest times Russia had wanted access to the sea, and while Peter the Great had succeeded in gaining access to the North Sea by the conquest of the Baltic provinces, it was the clever Empress, Catherine II, who finally gained control of the Black Sea. At the time, the south was under Turkish control.

During the second Turkish war, following the storming of Otschakov in 1778, Turkish power was broken and Russia became master of the northern shores of the Black Sea. Count Potemkin was the hero of the Turkish war. His primary concern now was to populate the conquered lands with people who could bring western civilization to the region. Many cities were established: Kherson 1779, Sevastopol 1783, Ekaterinoslav 1787, Nikolayev 1789, Tiraspol 1793, and Odessa 1794. Potemkin was himself one of the greatest upholders of civilization of the 18th century. His “problem child” was the conquered south. In 1784, he founded a university in Ekaterinoslav, but the second Turkish war was the cause of its dissolution. An agricultural school was established in Nikolayev in 1790, but it was closed following the death of Potemkin. On June 14, 1779, Potemkin sent the following order to the Governor of Ekaterinoslav: “Under the supervision of professors and adjuncts of the University of Ekaterinoslav, vineyards are to be planted in all crown settlements and on the lands of estate owners along the sea coast and from Chortitza to the vineyards. The vine planting stock is to be acquired from the Don or, in the event of shortages, from either the Crimea or the Moldau.””!

The conquered provinces were under military administration until 1774. Also in 1774, the New Russian Province was established. It consisted of the greater part of today’s Ekaterinoslav Province and the Elisabethpol Region of Kherson Province. In 1796, the general province of New Russia was created which, in 1802, was divided into the provinces of Nikolayev (Kherson after 1803), Ekaterinoslav, and Taurida. Following its conquest, Bessarabia was added in 1812.

The immense regions of the steppes were virtually unpopulated. Nothing but Cossack villages was to be found in these vast stretches. These daring villagers would never solve the problems of culture. However, they were ready and useful for wars and raids. They were thus

1 Apollon Skalkovski, Xponosozuvecxoe obospenue ucmopuu Hosopoccuticcozo xpanr, 1730-1823, 4acre 1, crp. 307 [translation of book title: A Chronological Historical Survey of the New Russia Region (1730-1823), part 1, p. 307].

xvi | Johann Ti. Pritzhan

a good line of defense for northern Russia against incursions of the Tatars and the Nogai; but upholders of western civilization, they were not. In 1750, Serbs were settled in Russia on a stretch of land taken from the Cossacks. Outraged over this, many of the Cossacks migrated to Turkey, while others settled in the Kuban. The Nogai, descendants of the Tatar nomads of the steppes, were also not upholders of western civilization. Various colonization attempts were made with a variety of peoples. Greeks were settled near Mariupol, Armenians near Nachitschevan, Jews in the Ekaterinoslav area of Kherson Province, Nogais in Nogaisk, and Bulgars, Serbs, and Montenegrans near Nachitschevan. However, the desired successes were not achieved and it was decided to bring in foreign settlers, because good outcomes had been achieved when Peter the Great had brought in German artisans.

By the Manifesto of 1762, Catherine IT opened the newly acquired steppe possessions for colonization. The Manifesto generated little response, since it contained no specific guarantees for the future welfare of the immigrants. A second, more detailed, Manifesto issued in 1763 allowed immigrants to settle in any area of the Russian Empire, and granted freedom from taxes, freedom of religion, free lodging, and state assistance.” ‘To achieve wide publicity for this Manifesto, it was sent to Russian “residents” abroad. In Germany, special emigration commissioners received prospective emigrants and sent them to Russia in groups. The largest numbers were sent to the Volga. Other groups went to Petersburg. In 1787, the so-called Swedish colonies of Schwedendorf and Alt-Danzig were founded, and Jamburg, Rybalsk, and Josephstal in 1789. Also in 1789, the Mennonites were settled in the Chortitza Region. The settlement of the Mennonites on the Molotschna began in 1803.3

Kolonistengesetr {Settlement Regulations] appeared in 1764. It provides us with some idea of what the colonists were offered.

‘The immigrants are to be settled, first, in the proximity of populated areas and, second, in the center of open land. The districts are to be laid out in circular form with a circumference of not fewer than 60 to 70 versts [40-46 miles or 64— 74 km] and should be comprised of sufficient usable land to support approximately 1,000 families. The people are to be settled according to religious faith and are to be distributed in such a way that they can be mutually supportive.

2 Alexander Klaus, Unsere Kolonien: Studien und Materialien zur Geschichte und Statistik der Auslandischen Kolonisation in Ruffland (Odessa, 1887).

3 Peter M. Friesen, Die Alt-Evangelische Mennonitische Briiderschaft in Rufsland (1789— 1910) (Halbstadt, 1911), §33 [The Mennonite Brotherhood in Russia (1789-1910) (Fresno, 1978), §33].

xvii

“Each family is to be provided with 30 dessiatines of land [81 acres or 33 ha]: 15 dessiatines for crop land, 5 for hay land, 5 for forest, and 5 for the homestead, threshing floor, and pasture. The colonies are to be laid out in such a way that one-sixth of the arable as well as other land can remain undeveloped for anticipated future population increases. For ten years the colonists shall remain free of all tac levies or other burdens.”

The first colonization attempts cannot be described as particularly successful. The government commissars had accepted all applicants for immigration to Russia with no selection process. This resulted in many unsavory elements immigrating into the country. M. Braun writes:

“The first settlers were from ail imaginable levels of society who, from their youth, had been involved in all varieties of occupations. Few were farmers. These were now required to assume the role of teachers of agriculture. How could people who had hardly even seen a plow in their lives, who did not know how to hitch up a horse, possibly pursue agriculture? But not only lack of Rnowledge, but also laziness and lack of good will were the cause of the slow development of agriculture.

“Most of the farmers had to be awakened for work in the morning. They observed ‘blue Monday,’ which sometimes lasted into Tuesday, before they drove out to plow or to harvest. Many had been driven by their obsession for adventure. Upon arrival, they held their heads in their hands when, instead of a land flowing with milk and honey, they saw before them a desolate steppe where earthly goods would be granted only in accord with the measure of one’s own industry,’*

The government discontinued immigration temporarily until a detailed set of rules for immigration could be established. Even though, according to these rules, only persons with reasonable means and good references as to character and agricultural skills were to be admitted, many undesirable elements still came along.

The 1804 Ukase [proclamation] of Emperor Alexander I is presented here.

To be communicated to the representatives at foreign courts:

1. That they provide no financial advances, except for payments for ships or carriages for those who are being sent off:

2. That those who make application to them must show evidence, or have reliable guarantors to state, that they have no less than 300 florins in either cash or in goods, which they will take with them. Those who have nothing are not to be accepted. Eixperience has taught that the settlement of people with no means is very slow and not very successful.

3. It is obvious that immigrants must be people with families. Single people are unacceptable, unless someone accepts them into their family.

4 Unterhaltungsblatt fiir deutsche Ansiedler in Rufiland, 1852.

xviii | Johann li. Prifzkan

4. Families consisting of only a man and a woman shall, as much as possible, not be accepted, since experience has demonstrated how difficult it is to operate a Jarm and to bring it to prosperity without some means of gaining workers.

5. Immigrants will be organized into groups of 20 to 30 families, and an elder will be elected from among them.

6. Settlers will receive: daily allowance of 10 kopeks for food for each adult and 6 kopeks for each child from the day of their arrival at the border; and 5 to 10 Ropeks per person per day upon arrival at their place of settlement until the harvest, depending upon the prices of foodstuffs; and up to 300 rubles per family for construction of houses, purchase of livestock, and the establishment of the farm. Following the ten tax-free years, repayment of these loans from the crown will be Spread over the following ten years.

7. Foreign settlers settling on crown lands come under the protection of a separate special authority to be known as ‘The Guardianship Office for Foreign Settlers,”

By this method it was hoped to keep vagrants and unsuitable elements out and to attract good, well-off, experienced settlers.

On September 12, 1803, the first transport of colonists consisting of 25 carriages accompanied by Inspector Silberharnisch arrived in Odessa. The assembly point for the emigrants was Ulm. Emigrant groups made up of a variety of people were sent off to Russia a number of times each year.

Some conception of the difficulty of the journey may be gained from a petition from one of the colonist transports.‘

“We, all willing servants and obedient colonists from Ovidiopol, can no longer desist, given our difficulty, from making a plea for help from the honorable military and civil authorities of Russia: namely, the prison commander along with an honorable senior officer. We can no longer be satisfied with our fate. While we had always hoped for improvement, things are getting worse as time passes. Since, based on the document from the Russian Commissar Ziegler, we disposed of all our property and have since risked life and limb on such a long journey, we believe that what was promised us ought to be fulfilled: namely, the daily stipend of 40 kopeks upon leaving home, and the travel costs by water and by land that were to be paid to us. It was promised to us at Ulm and promised again at station after station; we have received nothing. And, while all winter long we were in the barracks, we received very little wood and no light. We were so closely crowded that due to the vapors and other troubles, we were unable to maintain our health. In this prison many parents have already been robbed of their children through death, and many children of their parents.”

5 Aktien des Generalgouvernaments von neu Russland im Jabre 1803-1805, no. 13, p. 513.

Youth | xix

The first of the colonist transports had to contend with indescribable difficulties. Following these experiences, however, more favorable conditions were soon created.

Emigrants from Bavaria, Saxony, Wuerttemberg, Hanover, Baden, Alsace-Lorraine, Tyrol, France, the Netherlands, and Switzerland gathered in throngs looking to the distant east in order to find a place of peace. The French Revolution had made home bitter for these people. Finally Napoleon’s campaign contributed to making them homeless. The Revolution plundered, murdered, and robbed to the point where the flourishing plains soon turned into a dismal wilderness and many people were reduced to beggary. The French occupation created even more havoc. During the tumult of the Revolution, at least a semblance of justice could be found, but now these appointed officials, French nationals, stole and robbed. It was all the same to them, as long as they could fill their sacks. Poverty and homelessness drove these people to seek a new home. Three countries offered these needy ones a place of refuge: Russia, Hungary, and North America. Russia accepted 9,067 German families into 191 colonies, situated on 513,437 dessiatines [1,386,280 acres or 560,930 ha] of land. Additionally, there were 222 Swedish and 40 French-Swiss families.¢

Under the terms of colonization legislation, settlers were given special privileged status with their own administration. From 1837 they were under the Office of Foreign Settlers centered in Ekaterinoslav and then transferred to the Ministry of Imperial Domains, which created the Welfare Services Committee in Odessa for the regulation of settler concerns. Inspectors enforced firm discipline. Negligent farmers were encouraged to work and to good order through the imposition of fines, arrests, and thrashings. Progress was of great importance to the committee, and through the introduction of all kinds of innovations, they sought to improve arable agriculture and animal husbandry. The foundations for constructive progress were laid through associations, the printing of pamphlets, purchase of seed, provision of advice, and the publication of Unterhaltungsblatt fiir die deutsche Ansiedler in Rufiland [Information magazine for German settlers in Russia]. Through this kind of organization, the colonies soon began to flourish.

Under prevailing conditions the moral formation was unique. Proust Kohler reports:’

‘While the crown had provided land as well as financial advances, these were soon used up. The people knew little about agriculture. Too poor to establish

6 Jakob Stach, Die deutschen Kolonien in Siidrufland (Prischib, 1904). 7 Unterhaltungsblatt, 1848, no. 5.

xx | Johann Ii. Pritzkan

themselves, lacking houses and barns, they were, to top it all off, cheated and robbed. They could look to the future with nothing but anxiety. Accusations and fear pressed in on them; homesickness stirred within them. Parents had separated from children and children had torn themselves away from parents, and there was no way to send letters to the homeland, nor was there any prospect of procuring either a proper clergyman or a teacher.

“Thus, it came about that in a very few years, half the immigrants were resting in the cemetery. Too poor to give the dead their final honor, they were surrendered to the earth without a funeral procession, without a coffin, dressed only in rags. Back in their own countries most of these earliest immigrants had been people without means. Some were immoral; many were rough, lacking the financial means, reflective ability, and insight needed to establish a settlement advantageous for the good of their descendants and themselves. Even though some individuals were notable exceptions, on the whole, these had too little influence.

“To the quarrels about temporal goods, there were added religious quarrels. Superstition and emotionalism raised their sinister heads. Worship services and schooling were not neglected by the majority, though in the latter case, they had to help themselves as best they could because no professional teachers had immigrated.’®

Colonist Juehlich reports:?

“The settlers were left to their own devices, and without spiritual care. Of them it could be said in the words found in the Bible, ‘At that time there was no king in Israel, and each one did what was good in his own eyes.’ While one party wanted to 90 to the left, the other went to the right. Nothing but wishes were being expressed, and each one wished for what had been the practice, or malpractice, in Germany. When a parish clergyman was sent to the area in 1812, the lack of restraint did not diminish, but rather increased.”

The general impression was the following:

“Unspeakable totl, along with ignorance of the new conditions, incompetence of many of the settlers—the earliest of whom had been drawn from among the poorest, most degraded elements—neglect of training methods, as well as of school and church, turned the colonists into a particular people with their own peculiar bent.”

The government wanted capable colonists, and it was indeed successful in training such. The presidents of the Welfare Committee ventured everything to enable the colonies to attain their highest potential. Prior to the creation of the Agricultural Association, the colonists had been provided with all kinds of practical advice. The

8 Unterhaltungsblatt, 841.9 [?).

9 Unterhaltungsblatt, 1863, no. 2.

10 Friesen, Mennonitische Briiderschaft in Rufsland, §31, p. 73 |Mennonite Brotherhood, §31, p. 91].

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four-field rotation system, introduced by the Mennonites, was soon changed to a three-field system, and most farming is still carried on in this way. The colonists were to pay special attention to orchards, vegetable gardening, and tree culture. State Councilor Eugen v. Hahn rendered outstanding service with regard to the tree planting. When, at the beginning of his administration, he demanded reports on the vegetable and tree plantings, the communities answered that on their poor land no trees would grow. Immediately, he gave orders to the communities with the words, “Trees must grow!!! And he was right. At his command, trees grew in all the colonies. Most of the fruit and forest plantations of that time have died off and others have been destroyed in barbaric fashion following the abolition of the Welfare Committee. The government was especially supportive of cattle breeding. Through the improvement of the best breeds, the colonists developed the South Russian cattle into an exemplary breed.

Today the South Russian colonists are known as the wealthiest settlers in Russia.'* Their general striving is aimed more towards material goods than to the intellectual, and so the world of the intellect is in a sorry state. The “password” of the colonists is Geld und Feld [money and field].

Those who were working in the interests of the welfare of the colonists had attempted in a variety ways to raise their intellectual level. Eugen v. Hahn!3 established Zentralschulen [secondary or high schools] to be used as teacher training institutions, because school teachers, aside from their pedagogical incompetence, had poor reading and writing skills. Consequently, the instruction of children was very inadequate. The primary concern of the colonists was to have an inexpensive teacher. When they had this, they were satisfied.

From the beginning of the colonization, spiritual care from the clergy was not what it should have been. Since countless parishes had to be served by itinerant clergy, how could there then be any soul care to speak of? Every plant requires care, and each soul requires even more, in order not to be harmed by the evil world. This can be gathered from the “Instructions for the Internal Arrangements and Administration for the New Russian Foreign Colonies.”

“One of the foremost duties of all colonists is this: that all earnestly take to heart the teachings of their faith and follow them as the guidelines for daily life.

'! Konrad Keller, Die deutschen Kolonien in Siidrufiland (Odessa, 1905), 60. 12 Kamenski, Eine Frage oder Mifverstandnis.

13 Keller, Die deutschen Kolonien, 65.

'4 Keller, Die deutschen Kolonien, 65.

xxii | Johann bi. Pritz kan

Therefore, all colonists are duty-bound to attend all Sunday and Holy Day worship Services, to listen reverently to the teachings presented in the house of God, and, if worthy, to receive Holy Communion. Should anyone absent himself or herself from worship for no valid reason, or worse, due to laziness or negligence, he or she is to be severely reprimanded after the first and the second absence. After that, he or she is to be fined 10 kopeks for each absence from worship service. Should such fines be levied against one person three times in one year, with no sign of improvement, the fine shall be doubled, and he or she shall be required to do a full day of community service,”

Very few Seedsorger [pastors] were available for these large colonial regions. The struggle for survival required the colonists to keep their minds totally focused on the material realm, and so there was little left for the spiritual. The elders of the people, that is, the village and area elders, had not been chosen for their capabilities, but because they were richer or presented themselves better than others. Unfit school teachers, bungling artisans, and dismissed officials were chosen as community and area secretaries. ‘This administration was not apt to raise the level of morality. Excuses for drunken binges were sought and commonly found at community gatherings. No wonder the work of sincere pastors was treated with hostility. The sacred was mocked. It was wise not to incite the anger of the village government, and the whole community participated in the deception.

Godlessness and lack of restraint was the norm. If churches were not to be empty, then sin was not to be rebuked; and some pastors learned how to preach masterfully, without becoming personal. When the excesses became too much, attempts were made to stem the evil by firm discipline—fines, community labor, or flogging. Even among the Pietist immigrants, the Swabian piety could no longer be found; and even if it was present among the fathers, it was not so among the children.

When a young man was “confirmed,” he achieved the right to patticipate in the nightly “activities” and was ready to join the amusements of youth, which were often immoral in nature. The consequences of such indulgence are difficult to describe. While parents were gathered in the churches, their children carried on with their mischief. And when their aging bodies were no longer capable of sinning, they became “churchly” types and lenient with their children, since they had been no different themselves as youth.

But the Spirit of God never rested. When He began to move, a weeping and wailing broke out. Hearts broke beneath the burden of sin. Revivals broke out and there is hardly a colonist who was not a

German | Russia xxiii

witness to the work of God’s Spirit. God had always had people who called for repentance. There was Wuest!5 and others whose influence is still with us today. But the Word of the cross is still an offence to those who choose to be lost. To them conversion and repentance were a burden laid on by the clergy, and singing and prayer were seen as “fanaticism.”

2. Eduard Hugo Otto Wuest [1818-1859]

When lay people began to spread the movement, the church suddenly recognized that it was in danger. Church leaders moved to silence the troublemakers—it was so blissful to continue to live in sin and to stifle the awakened conscience by the observance of outward formalities! The gospel of repentance and grace were made to appeat suspect. The natural human being, who can learn nothing from the Holy Spirit, took it upon himself to make a farce of the emotional jubilation, which at times accompanies revival. There was gossip about cramps, fainting spells, and other similar things, in order to make the spiritual awakening appear ridiculous.

Pastor Huebner writes:'6

15 Abraham Kroeker, Pfarrer Eduard Wuest (Spat, 1903). 16 Kirchenchronik der Gemeinde Freudenthal, 1847.

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“In the parish of Robrbach unusual convulsions occurred during this year, where those who were seized by it tore their hair, beat themselves, and cried out... and all the while working themselves into a soaking sweat, finally leaping up with a cry of Jesus hives!’ and then kissing everyone. It was then said that he or she is ‘now through.’ This whole course of events was termed the new birth.”

Even though much that was unhealthy was a part of such an event, we do see what a violent struggle must have played itself out in the mysterious realm of the soul. These revivals were a blessing to the whole region. Sin was once again termed sin, taverns emptied, and family life moved in healthy ways. Wuest was forbidden to preach, but the fire of repentance he had ignited caused many people to turn to God. Wuest is the actual reformer of the colonists of South Russia. One may interpret or judge his weaknesses as one will, but one thing remains: he has not lived in vain. The Baptist movement in the south has, in part, emerged from the religious movement brought into being by Wuest.

In my judgment, the Baptist movement has become a blessing for the colonists of South Russia. The following pages will show how a tree developed from a tiny beginning, a mustard seed.

Arthur C. Wenske [1887-1944]

Rasséa XXV

Author’s preface

It has frequently been pointed out that someone ought to write something of the earliest beginnings and of the emergence of the German Baptists in southern Russia. Since none of the older brothers—those who shared this early experience of the beginnings of this spiritual movement and who struggled and worked side by side in our area—are still alive, I sensed it as a duty from the Lord to begin to write this story. I want to leave to posterity historical evidence of what great things the Lord did at that time.

In May 1909, the United South Russian Conference in Alt-Danzig encouraged me in this decision, and by a unanimous vote commissioned me to take up this task. It is hardly necessary to state that this is not intended to be a comprehensive history of the Baptists in Russia, but rather notes from the churches of the South Russian Association, which will later provide material for a more comprehensive history of the Baptist work in Russia.

Johann E. Pritzkau

German y 1 German Baptists in South Russia 1. Early beginnings

At the beginning of this history I must make reference to Pietism, because it is so very intimately linked to the early beginnings of our German Baptist history in South Russia.

The most marvelous revivals of the 17th and 18th centuries, which arose through Pietism (from Latin: piety, respect, reverence, consideration, loving devotion) and which inundated most of the Christian world with the fire of the Spirit, sparks of which even went to heathen nations, did not leave Russia untouched, thanks be to God. The specific tools which God used to kindle the fire of the Spirit were two pastors: in Taurida Province it was Pastor Eduard Hugo Otto Wuest!? and in Kherson Province it was Pastor Johann Bonnekemper.

'7 Pastor Wuest was born in the small rural town of Murrhardt in the Kingdom of Wiirttemberg. Following graduation from the University of Tiibingen, he entered the ministry in the parish of Neukirchen. Not until he was in his position did he recognize, in the light of Holy Scripture, the teuth about sin and how it related to God.

In the third year of his tenure, after difficult penitential struggles, he found peace for his soul. He sought, in all earnestness, to serve God with his persistent preaching and his exemplary life; and he gained a large following. At the same time, he incurred the hatred of his senior pastor. Since Wuest continued to conduct his meetings and to awaken people from their sleep of sin, the hatred of his superiors increased and he was relieved of his position. Wuest continued his preaching and attracted an ever-increasing following. In order to silence him, he was forbidden to preach and had fines levied against him as though he were a vagabond. He now began associating with the Pietists, the Herrnhuter [Moravians], and the Methodists. He was about to accept a call to go to America as a Methodist minister, but through the agency of the founder of a Pietist colony in Kronental, he came instead to the Neuhoffnung Church in South Russia.

On September 28, 1845, he preached his inaugural sermon in Neuhoffnung. It took the hearts of his parishioners by storm. He was a man of extraordinary talent and captivated the hearts of his listeners with his stirring sermons. The spiritual soil was better here than elsewhere. Concern for spiritual matters was just in its beginnings and the once frequently heard call to repentance had been silenced. However, within their inner beings, people were tormented and accused by their consciences. Wuest’s preaching called them to repentance and they felt convicted. In their hearts, each knew, “You are the one!” And to new life they awakened.

The movement spread through whole villages, even whole districts. Wuest faced much hostility, but all for the sake of Christ. The success of his activity, according to the evaluation of the Mennonites, was immense. They call him their “second reformer” (Friesen, Mennonitische Briiderschaft in Rufiland, §76, p. 174 [Mennonite Brotherhood, §76, p. 210)}). For the Pietists of South Russia, Wuest was the Preacher of Repentance who called them to new life. For the Baptist movement, Wuest was the one who prepared

2 | Johann I. Prite&an

With his powerful sermons of repentance, Bonnekemper revived the spiritually dead Christianity in the colonies around Odessa from their dormancy of sin.

The revived and the converted united into a fellowship, and in addition to regular services in the church, they also gathered outside the church for worship, prayer, and mission meetings in home fellowships, after the pattern of German Pietism. The much used and much misunderstood name “Stundist” arose in Russia from these prayer and mission meetings or mission Stunde fhour]. Besides Pastor Bonnekemper, there were itinerant preachers and missionaries, as well as simple farmers among the converted who helped to stir the fire. At the time, they constituted “little churches within the church” and sent their messengers from village to village to lead prayer meetings and gatherings in revivalist fashion. In this way, Pietism soon spread to all Protestant villages and also, to a degree, to Catholic settlements and even to Bessarabia, where large German settlements are located.

By God’s marvelous guidance, this moving of the Spirit also came to Alt-Danzig, a remote German village that lay isolated among the Russians and separated from other German settlements by hundreds of versts. It had sunk very low morally and was spiritually dead.

The original impetus to new birth and new life in Alt-Danzig came in 1840 through Pastor Bonnekemper, already referred to above. The occasion of his visit was as a supply preacher in the absence of a permanent local pastor. He preached a gripping sermon on repentance based on Acts 10:29, which did not fail in its effect. He was followed by a number of the so-called, Stwndenbriider, among them the prominent assembly chairman, Friedrich Engel of Neu-Danzig. Twenty years later, he and a number of other sisters and brothers were the first in Kherson to be baptized by immersion. They were also deported soon after.

These volunteer messengers stirred the fires of revival that had been ignited earlier, but which did not flare up until a few years later when a missionary by the name of Kuss traveled through. He was a friend of Pastor Wuest and was on his way to America from where he had received a call. He first wanted to visit Wuest in Taurida Province. At the time this journey could only be undertaken by coach. Such a journey with all its difficulties and its lengthiness also had something advantageous—it was totally suitable for conducting an extensive and successful missionary tour from colony to colony.

Even though it required long months of absence from home and

the foundation for their ideas.

3

farm, and demanded self-denial and manifold sacrifices, the compelling love of Christ helped to overcome it all. A number of leading brothers, including Albert, the leader of the fellowship in Odessa, accompanied missionary Kuss from there.

They traveled through the German villages, which are to be found in large numbers along the road from Odessa to Alt-Danzig. But here in Alt-Danzig something quite extraordinary occurred and so they remained here more than a week.

As a result of this unusual visit, the spark, which had earlier ignited and glowed, now blazed into a mighty flame. A universal revival broke out in the village. Daily, young and old, even school children attended the meetings in the schoolhouse, which was filled to the last seat. ‘hey prayed penitently and fervently for grace and forgiveness. I may have been five years old at the time, and even now I remember well the many people who went every day to the school that stood just across the street from our house. Not until later did I learn from my parents the reason and the importance of these frequent large gatherings and of the marvelous works of conversion that totally transformed our village.

Almost a whole century has passed since then, but still this fire of the Spirit continues to burn in this remote place among the Russians and the Germans, though not always with the same intensity. Often it is reduced to just a glimmering wick. But the word of promise from Jesus, “The glowing wick I will not quench,” has proven true here as well. The Lord has not only sheltered it during the various storms and distresses from within and from without in this corner of Russia, but has caused it to flare up now and then, in order to become a mighty blaze of revival and reawakening.

One such wonderful revival that I experienced took place in 1859. Our loving God had prepared us for it in thoughts of peace and love through a severe affliction that He allowed to come to our village. In the previous year, 1858, a malicious typhoid epidemic broke out and carried off many people: men, women, and youth. Almost no home was spared by the plague, though deaths did not occur in every single home. I was also brought to the brink of the grave by this disease. God, however, in love and mercy, and in wonderful providence, raised me up, while a number of my affected comrades did not recover. In the affliction of my illness, I vowed to my God that I would dedicate to Him the life that had been returned to me by my recovery. And He, who had begun the good work in me, helped me to come through to a joyful faith in the forgiveness of my debt of sin.

4 [0 fohaan li. Pritzhan

It was one of the most blessed experiences of my life, when I and three young men from among my schoolmates gathered with me in a prayer meeting where we dealt with the needs of our hearts. ‘This took place one evening in May 1859. I was asked to take charge and after a lengthy, intense struggle, I came to a decision. I chose a song from Grossner’s Schatzkdtchen'® [Little Treasure Chest] and a reading from Hiller’s Tagliches Andachtsbuch? [Book of Daily Devotions]; both of these are favored by the revivalists for their assemblies and prayer meetings. My intention was for us to sing a couple of verses of a song, as was common practice at such meetings, and then to pray. However, I could not get myself to do this, until the last of the eleven verses of the song had faded away. But then I took courage and at my suggestion, we kneeled to pray. My comrades all prayed with me; and when this ptayer meeting ended, which was to be the first of many large revival prayer meetings, we felt as happy as if we had won a great victory or discovered a great treasure.

It was immediately decided that we meet again on the following Sunday for the same purpose and that others would be invited. On the following Sunday, twenty people—young men and women as well as grown men and women—came with the same desire as our own. Those who were gathered confessed their sins and pleaded for forgiveness.

Rumors of this event spread like wildfire throughout the village, so that on the third Sunday the space in the private home became too small for all the searching and grace-starved people. ‘Ihe flame of grace burned ever brighter. It reached its high point when, during a prayer meeting, a dissolute young man joyfully testified before the whole large assembly to having found peace and forgiveness following a fierce ptayer struggle. Later, he compared his pre-Christian life to that of John Bunyan. This was an amazingly great divine event, and it fired up the work of conversion even more. Everyone was convinced that this was the work of the Holy Spirit. Those searching gained more courage and more hope of finding life’s meaning. Even those who had remained more indifferent came to a decision and began to pray. Everyone who came in touch with the movement sensed the power of the Holy Spirit and was led spontaneously to the conclusion: “This is of the Lord and a wonder in our eyes.”

'8 [Johannes E.. Grossner, Schatzkatchen (Yauchnitz: Leipzig, 1830).}

19 [Philipp F. Hiller, Geésthches Liederkastlein (Stuttgart, 1762, 1767). Each series contains 366 short hymns, one for each day of the year. A complete reprint of these and the other hymns of Hiller (1,075 in all) was edited by C.C.E. Ehmann in 1844 (2nd ed. 1858).]

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And so it came about that in almost every gathering, a few people found peace and rejoiced in the forgiveness of their sins in the blood of Christ.

During the summer we needed to limit our prayer meetings to Sundays, because people remained in the fields day and night all week long bringing in the harvest. Following the harvest, however, the nightly gatherings resumed. The newly converted went from house to house, urging those who had stayed away to come along. Thus, almost all the residents of the village were shaken out of their sleep of sin, and brothers and sisters who had become indifferent were stirred to new zeal. ‘The movement continued in its freshness over a period of years. Many depraved people, such as drunkards—of which Alt-Danzig had not a few, as there was also a tavern in the village at the time—came to a true conversion of the heart.

In this way, the village parish was totally transformed by the movement. The word of the Apostle was quite appropriate here: “The old has passed away, behold, everything has become new!” (2 Corinthians 5:7). The tavern in the center of the village was now empty. Previously, on Sundays and on winter evenings, it had been the gathering place of the youth and unfortunately, of many older people as well. ‘he church, on the other hand, and the home prayer meetings were now crowded. On the street, where formerly crude songs came from the mouths of the youth, the song of the grace and love of Christ was heard instead.

Here I cannot fail to mention another event that occurred in the village community. It is to be counted among the wondrous leadings of God in the movement, and it gave my life a new direction.

The position of village teacher had become vacant. A teacher had applied for the position before the school term began, and the majority of the village community had voted for him. But for his own selfish reasons, the village mayor blocked the appointment, because he found the man unpleasant. He could do this because the teaching position was combined with that of village secretary, and the mayor had control over the choice of the secretary. To achieve his aim of keeping this applicant out, he proposed at a community meeting, where the teacher opening was being discussed, that I be appointed teacher! For many this proposal was unacceptable, because I was just a seventeen-year-old boy with inadequate education.

My teacher, Mr. Schreutel, was a capable teacher, whom I loved and respected. And I had made greater progress than my fellow students because I loved learning. Still, this was insufficient preparation

6 | Johawun li, Pritzkan

to take on the task of teaching in a school of over 80 students. The reservations of those who voted against the proposal were no doubt justified. The majority from the new home fellowship circles, however, whose respect I already enjoyed, saw God’s guidance in this and supported the mayor’s proposal—although they could not approve of his motives. All I could do was promise that I would do the best that I could. My friends encouraged me with the prospect that they would pray for me.

In this way, then, I moved from the plow to the classroom with the firm conviction that the Lord had called me to it and therefore the way would be smoothed for me—although, at the time, the way appeared to be very bumpy! That the Lord, in accordance with His ptomises had done this, I was to experience many times in wonderful and remarkable ways. My opponents predicted that the children, most of whom were only three years younger than I, would not respect me and would not follow my instructions; thankfully, this did not materialize. Even though I used corporal punishment only a few times, which was permitted at the time, the older children not only followed my instructions, but loved me! This was an encouragement to me, and I saw this to be the result of the intercessory prayers of my friends. That the community was satisfied with my performance was confirmed by the fact that I was able to serve in this capacity six more years, with increases in salary.

The position of church assistant was also combined with the teaching position. It was thus also my task, in the absence of the pastor who visited at most twice a year, to substitute for him at christenings and burials, and to conduct the church services and the Sunday school. Naturally, the church services included the reading of one of Ludwig Hofacker’s” sermons or one from another book of sermons. Just at the time I began this position, the first of Spurgeon’s’ sermons appeared in German. We had already used these with much blessing in the home fellowship meetings outside of church. Shortly after their publication, they became much used and loved among believers in the churches as well. Among us, too, they came to be used almost exclusively for reading in our worship services.

We did not yet know at the time that Spurgeon was part of the Baptist communion; but from his sermons, we sensed that he was a

20 [Ludwig Hofacker (1798-1828), German revivalist preacher, whose published sermons were enormously popular.|

21 [Charles H. Spurgeon (1834-1892), highly influential British Baptist preacher, whose sermons were translated into many languages, including German.]

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Spirit-filled messenger of Christ. Urged by the love of Christ, he proclaimed in plain and stirring language a pure gospel of redemption and salvation by grace through the blood of Christ, of the new birth and justification through faith in Jesus Christ. Even people from the established church heard them gladly.

Only eternity will reveal how many people among us this Prince of Preachers guided to the cross and to peace through his printed sermons. Not only were those deep in their sleep of sin awakened to repentance, but broken people were convicted of their sins, too. Fearful ones were comforted and directed to the Lamb of God, the one who carried the sins of the world and helped them find forgiveness. For believers, too, his sermons proved a blessing by providing them with knowledge of Scripture, thus promoting the development of their faith. The realization, which had long ago taken root in Pietist circles in South Russia—that the doctrine connecting new birth to infant baptism is an unbiblical and pernicious error—was supported by the plain, powerful witness of Spurgeon’s sermons.

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The Mennonite Brethren Church

As our wondrous God used various people and their spiritual equipping to kindle and spread the fire of revival in Kherson and Bessarabia, He did the same in Taurida and the neighboring provinces, particularly among the Mennonites. When the Russian government had offered foreigners, especially German subjects, land for settlement in the dreary and sparsely occupied steppe lands, the Mennonites had chosen Ekaterinoslav Province for settlement. They established extensive colonies on the Dnieper River near Alexandrovsk and in Taurida Province in the Molotschna. Being a civilized people capable of agricultural pursuits and favored by the government over other colonists with special privileges, they rose to affluence and made progress in every way after years of struggle with poverty and all manner of hardship. Culturally, they surpassed the other colonies. But to the degree to which they increased and gained economically, they declined in the joyful confession of their sacrificial, self-denying faith. They hardened, like the other Protestant colonies in the south, to a dead formalism.

When that messenger of God, Pastor Wuest, came to Russia and began his evangelistic work among the scattered communities on the Sea of Azov with such conspicuous success, shaking to wakefulness those churches which had become careless in the sleep of their security, he frequently preached in the bordering Mennonite villages. Prompted by Wuest’s vivid and gtipping sermons calling to repentance, they also awoke to renewed struggle. Soon ministers, craftsmen, and farmers from among their ranks joined the movement and assisted in furthering it. In Taurida and neighboring provinces, there emerged a general revival similar to the one among us in the Odessa Region, which sustained itself in a particular way among them.

The Mennonites who were converted during that time now began to read the Holy Scriptures with eagerness. They discovered that Mennonitism, in its worldliness, had departed not only from its strict Christian church life as practiced by their forebears, but also from the apostolic principles as they had received them from their reformer Menno Simons and others. Among other things, there was a departure in baptismal practice, which was no longer administered by immersion—as in the time of the Reformation—upon voluntary confession of a pardoned person, in keeping with the teaching of the

itt 9

apostles. Instead, baptism was administered by pouring at a predetermined age without the experience of a conversion of the heart on the part of the baptismal candidate. This was the immediate cause for their leaving the Mennonite Church, in order to return to their original state. However, to justify themselves to the government, they said, “We are not leaving historic Mennonitism, but rather, we want to follow it in practice,”

In the 1860s, when the issue of biblical believers’ baptism by immersion was raised, they entered—under the leadership of Bro. Abram Heinrich Unger—into correspondence with Bro. Johann Gerhard Oncken in Hamburg. This resulted in the gathering together of a small group headed by Bro. Unger and others who received baptism in the biblical mode.

Because my task is to report on the emergence of the Baptists in the south, I touch on these events only lightly. However, I could not avoid mentioning the Mennonite movement, because it is closely linked with our own work. These Mennonite Brethren were not only the first to defend believers’ baptism; they were the first to bring it to us. Two of their ministers came to Neu-Danzig at Pentecost in 1864. Here, in the Ingul, they baptized by immersion a number of men and women who had become believers. This event, which was reported in the newspapers, created a great sensation. Naturally, the event was received in a variety of ways; by many it was mocked and condemned. However, to believers it gave cause to think about the issue of baptism and to compare it with the teaching of the Bible. This much was clear to us: that infant baptism is unscriptural and that conversion through baptism is error.

The questions then arose: what is baptism really and who is to be baptized? Through honest searching it was not difficult for us to discover the answers in the teaching and in the command of the Lord Jesus. In the same year, when Bro. J. Kowalsky, a member of the Mennonite Brethren Church, came to us on September 15, 1864, twenty men and women decided to follow their convictions and were baptized. That same year a number of the leading ministers followed, so that the majority of the congregation was with us. Besides attending our own church services, we also continued to attend the fellowship meetings in the schoolhouse until, little by little, everyone came to the conviction that believers’ baptism is an ordinance of Christ in accord with the Word of God.

22 Friesen, Mennonitische Briiderschaft in Rufsland (Mennonite Brotherhood).

10 |) Johawa ls. Pritzkan

To the last ones who still wished to hold to the understanding that infant baptism had a biblical basis, the Superintendent from Petersburg was helpful. He came to Alt-Danzig for an inspection visit on Ascension Day in 1869. His sermon in the church that afternoon was on 1 John 1, the lectionary text from the Epistles for that day. Among other things, he remarked, “While infant baptism is not actually commanded in the Bible, our sainted reformer, Martin Luther, acknowledged it as correct in his Reformation teaching and took it into the Lutheran Church.”

This was, of course, intended to calm the others and to reinforce the old belief, but it had the completely opposite effect. They now heard from their spiritual head himself what the Baptists had been saying as well—that infant baptism is not founded on the Holy Scriptures. I am certainly not the first to attest that the great reformer, Martin Luther, was held in high esteem by us. He is even now highly regarded among the Baptists. We look upon him, however, only as one servant of the Lord among many others during the time of the Reformation, and with whom we parted company on this point of doctrine.

Above Luther, however, we saw the Lord and His example at the Jordan, and heard the Lord’s command to the disciples at His departure on the Mount of Olives. It was clear to us that our duty is to give more attention to the Lord than to a servant, no matter how highly esteemed the servant may be. The people in attendance were also of this opinion, and on that same day a few came to request baptism. These events took place on Ascension Day. On the following Pentecost Sunday, we experienced the largest baptismal celebration ever seen in Alt-Danzig. At no baptismal celebrations, either before or since, have we had such a large number of baptismal candidates.

Our dear Lord had blessed our distressed little flock with a great revival, so that a throng of newly converted joined with the earlier baptismal candidates. To this celebration we invited the Mennonite Brethren, with whom we were still in intimate fellowship, and with whom we shared both joy and affliction. Their elder, Bro. Unger, came with others, including Bro. Johann Wieler, who was still a youth, but already taking an active part in the promotion of the kingdom of God. At the time, they had just returned from Germany. Brother Heinrich Meyer, who had come with me from Germany to Russia before Pentecost, stayed with us for a time as well, and later found a sphere of service in Budapest [Hungary]. These brothers, and other guests who had come, expetienced what Barnabas had experienced in Antioch:

11

“When he came and saw the grace of God, he was glad; and he exhorted them all to remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast purpose” (Acts 11:23).

Among the applicants for baptism that day was a Bro. C. [Efim Cymbal], a Russian national. We could come to no decision about baptizing him. However, on the second day of Pentecost, the baptismal proceedings took place in the river in the presence of a large crowd of spectators; and Bro. C. could not resist. He mingled with the baptismal candidates and was baptized unbeknownst to Bro, Unger, who was performing the baptismal rites. This great baptism became the immediate cause for the wonderful introduction of the Baptist movement into the community of Russian national believers. Actually, they were already to be found in large numbers in the cities, market towns, and villages in Kherson and neighboring provinces; they were nicknamed “Stundists.” Brother C. himself baptized the much quoted Bro. Ivan Ryaboshapka, who was well known as far away as Petersburg and across most of Russia. Brother Ryaboshapka was then called to be the leader and first elder and pioneer of the Russian Baptists in this region.

The progress of the Russian Baptists advanced in spite of hindrances, severe suffering, and persecutions; that story can be found in other books and petiodicals. One day they will produce their own detailed history, which should prove very interesting. In the meantime, my task is to write about the German Baptist movement.

3. Gottfried FAlf [1831-1898]

12 |) Johena Ii. Pritzkan FE Hindrances and persecutions

As has always been the case with spiritual movements such as this, hindrances and persecutions did not fail to materialize here either. They were, however, not as severe as those suffered by our brothers and sisters in England, Germany, and other western states. In my judgment, there is a threefold reason why the persecution was not as severe in South Russia.

First, in the times during which we had to fight this battle, we had the advantage of benefiting from the light of the gospel that was spreading in all “Christian” countries by virtue of the work of the Bible Societies. Even in the circles of high society, there was a realization gradually taking root that nothing stood in such stark contradiction to the gospel of Christ as persecution and the use of force in matters of faith. The Evangelical A/ianz movement also contributed to the promotion of attitudes of tolerance in governments, so that a time of freedom gradually dawned, a freedom which we now enjoy.

Second, the Russian Orthodox Church fundamentally recognized that those who have gone “astray” were not to be brought back to the fold by force or imprisonment. Instead, as was clearly stated by the Metropolitan Antonij at a recent mission conference, they are to be won by the persuasion of the gospel. For him, it is an unworthy action and a sign of weakness when missionaries and pastors call upon police reinforcement in the work of conversion and in matters of faith.

Third, we were less severely persecuted, in all probability, because the government was not seriously affected when divisions and separations developed in non-Orthodox communities in Russia, as long as these movements did not affect the Orthodox Church. For this reason, the Russian Baptists suffered more severely than did the German Baptists.

Still, we did also have our share of affliction in the form of persecution allotted to us from God. The first ones to be baptized in this region in Neu-Danzig endured more of this than those who came later. Prompted by the government, which was hostile to the movement, the matter came before the Colonial Authority to which the colonies were responsible. The Authority appointed an Inspector for the individual colonies of Alt-Danzig and Neu-Danzig, one who distinguished himself by his oppressive zeal. He showed the opponents of our brothers and sisters how to eradicate the Baptists, root and

13

branch. He ordered that the village community authorities sign a statement, denouncing the baptized members as agitators and as generally harmful. With such a designation, they could be banished by an administrative action under the provisions of a relevant section of the law.

Consequently, the baptized persons were ordered to appear in court and, since they remained firm in their profession, the plan was put into action. Because, at the time, we were still viewed as foreign settlers, all they could do under the provisions of the law was to send us over the border. That is, we were deported from the country. The sentence was quickly pronounced and confirmed by the military governor, who was then resident in Odessa.

Following months of suffering behind prison walls, these dear folks were forced to bid farewell forever to the country they loved and had long considered to be their homeland. They offered touching farewells to loved ones with whom they had shared joys and sorrows over many years. There were mothers and fathers among them, whose children, due to marriage, could not accompany them. Children, whose parents remained behind, were deported. Parents, whose children were still at home with them, took their whole families. Sisters and brothers were separated. This created much hurt and caused many tears, much hunger, and all kinds of difficulties. Most of those who suffered this expulsion from their earthly home and the confiscation of their goods are already in heaven, where the Lamb in the midst of the throne will feed them and lead them to wells of living water, and where God will wipe away all tears from their eyes.

Even though our opponents succeeded in bringing their plan to fruition, they failed to achieve their goal. This is demonstrated by the continuing existence to this day of the church in Neu-Danzig that remains under the blessing of God. Rather, the reverse was achieved. The deportees settled in Bulgaria [or Turkey, later Romania], where they established a small colony that they—or rather the ‘Turkish government—named ‘Tultscha. It was through this colony that a revival took place. A number of men and women joined them, and they were able to establish a church community that continues to exist to this day under the blessing of God. It is a memorial to the fact that God has placed His seal of approval upon their faithfulness. This was a soothing ointment on the wounds they had suffered through the merciless expulsion from their beloved home and separation from their loved ones.

The first minister of the church at Tultscha in Bulgaria was

144 | Johann le. Pritzkav

August G.A. Liebig, who had been recommended to them in response to their letter of request to the leadership of the Baptists in Germany. He recognized this as a call from God to go to Bulgaria, and so he assumed the care of this weak, still young, much afflicted, and consequently, poor church. That the hand of God was with them in the providential guidance of His individual children, as with the work generally in church communities, was something we recognized later and for which we praised God. Later, when August was called to Russia, his brother, Ludwig Liebig, succeeded him. In this way, the good shepherd and bishop of our souls took care of our loved ones— those who had suffered such affliction through their expulsion from Russia were now richly comforted. When we read the Book of Acts, as well as the history of the church and the histories of individual congregations, we find it always to be true that in the kingdom of God, the attacks of opponents and enemies calculated to destroy the true believers and followers of Christ actually assist in fostering and spreading the work of the Lord.

When the Inspector referred to above had finished with the small group in Neu-Danzig, he turned his attention to Alt-Danzig with the same order. He sent them a form of the community statement with an accompanying letter, ordering that a meeting of the community be called and that such a statement be signed. Here, however, the leading persons, such as the mayor and the church leader, were God-fearing people and were numbered among the Pietists or Brethren. When the mayor had the secretary read the Inspector’s order, he said to the gathered community, “Whoever can sign this statement with a good conscience may do so. I cannot do it.” The leaders of the church chimed in, “Nor we!” “Nor we either!” said most of the important village leaders, so that of the whole community, only seven individuals signed the document.

Let it be noted here that the community statement, as always happens in such cases, was formulated in such a way as to show that the accused were pursuing anti-government goals. In this case, it was completely untrue. No conscientious human being could have signed it. But it was precisely this that gave power to the administration. Had it been clearly stated that these accused differed on a matter of religion, no deportation could have ensued. The Alt-Danzig statement remained ineffectual. This time we got away with no more than the fright.

But this was not to be the end of it. When the meagerly supported statement was returned to the Inspector, there came a second order. It lamented the fact that the community was so weak that it could only

South 15

muster seven courageous, exemplary men. These seven were appointed Supervisors of the Baptists. Their mandate was to prevent any future gatherings. For this they were given far-reaching powers. Among other things, they were to provide the Inspector with weekly reports regarding the behavior of the Baptist “sectarians.” With fearful hearts, we called out to God, as did the apostolic church, “And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to Your servants to speak Your word with boldness” (Acts 4:29). Despite the prohibition, we continued with our regular gatherings, which proved to be specially beneficial and strengthening to our faith.

One experience of the presence of God in our assembly during this time I count among the most remarkable in my life of faith. A large number of us were gathered on a winter evening, so that the prayer room was packed full. As an aside, the mood during this time of distress was elated and joyful in the faith. During the enthusiastic singing, two of these “exemplary” authorized men stepped in, obviously with no good intentions. We did not allow them to disrupt us. We continued singing with joyful hearts, because we were so filled with the presence of the Holy Spirit that we were ready for anything. Our Supervisors were also obviously struck by this when they saw our joyfulness.

After they had taken a few steps forward, they suddenly did an about turn and left. These two men are no longer among the living. Hopefully, before their end, they sought and found forgiveness for their enmity against the truth. They never again came to us with destructive intent. One of them told me later, in confidence, that they had experienced such apprehension in the assembly, that contrary to their intent, they had been unable to say a single word, much less do anything to disrupt us. This was from the Lord and a miracle in our eyes.

In our distress, the Lord frequently allowed us to have similar, wonderful experiences, which always gave us new courage when we were losing heart. In addition, the seven men empowered by the authorities made no particular use of these powers. They were content with issuing threats. Now and then it happened that itinerant ministers were arrested and imprisoned for days or weeks, but it never came to particularly sustained or severe persecutions. The higher authorities had come to recognize that our intentions were not hostile to the state and so they actually protected us.

16 | Johanna LL. Pritzhan

4. Supplement to the article on the persecutions

In this respect the Catholic colonies were an exception. Historically, the Papal Church was fanatically opposed to dissenting Christians, especially against those who withdrew for reasons of conscience. The cruel penalties by which the “church-through-which-there-is-salvation- only” sought to lead its erring sheep back to its bosom are known well enough. Whatever torture or agony the Inquisition could invent was applied to the poor victims of its fanaticism. Even though the Catholic Church no longer has the same power as it had during medieval times, the spirit remains the same.

Those of our brothers and sisters who came from the Catholic Church were forced to experience the truth of this assertion on their bodies. No member of our Baptist communion, no matter from which church they may have come to us, suffered as much persecution as they did. It was not as though a different law applied to the Catholics, which would permit them such cruelty, but rather that they knew how, instructed by their clergy, to twist and abuse existing laws against our Baptist brothers and sisters for decades without facing punishment.

The leading brothers were persecuted with particular ferocity. Among them was Bro. Christian Fischer—whose conversion experience I shall report in another chapter—and his cousin, Michael Fischer. The latter informed me of the following experience in detail.

At the time of the emergence of the Baptist movement in South Russia, Michael Fischer was resident in Landau, the large Catholic colony. When the gospel also gained entry among the Catholics, Landau became an outstation of the Johannestal Church. Brother Christian Fischer lived on leased property not far away. Now and then he came to visit the fellowship members and to distribute Holy Scriptures. On the occasion of one such visit, he fell into the hands of his enemies, not a rare occurrence, and was locked up. He was cruelly treated in every way. The event is described as follows.

On the day they laid hands on Bro. Christian Fischer, his enemies beat him. He was tortured all day long. A few sat on his head, and others, particularly his relatives and former friends, abused him with ropes and beatings. When they had beaten him sufficiently, he was ordered to stand. A burning, consecrated wax candle was pressed into his one hand and a crucifix into the other; and he was then ordered to pray the rosary. When he refused, he was beaten again. The torments

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were continued in this way throughout the day. His parents were zealous participants. They wished in this way to move him to recant, as was the aim of the Inquisition during medieval times.

When the enemies were finally worn out and when Bro. Fischer was barely able to stand, since he had had nothing to eat all day, he was allowed to lie down behind the stove. ‘Iwo women then came and declared, “He is possessed by the devil. Beating is useless; we know another remedy.” Their remedy was immediately applied. One of the women had brought some holy water with which she sprinkled Bro. Fischer several times and prayed the rosary. Coincidentally, at that very moment, he became so ill that he vomited. Certain of victory, the women shouted, “It’s already coming; it’s already coming!” confident that evil spirit was being exorcised. .

On another occasion, Bro. Christian Fischer was caught while visiting with some fellow believers; he was arrested and locked up. When he had been sufficiently cursed and abused, they wanted to take him to the priest. A few horsemen escorted him. They forced him to cover the 20 to 25 versts at a quick jog-trot, and at the same time to carry his fur coat over his arm. The coat was too heavy for him to carry and impeded his running. All his pleading to the horsemen to relieve him of his fur was to no avail. All he could do was to breathe a prayer to God and summon all his strength so as not to succumb. All this was done to soften him up.

His colleague, Bro. Christian Fischer, and a small group of like- minded people who lived in the village with him, were subjected to such pressure for years. Their gatherings were often punished by imprisonment and fines. Brother Fischer, at whose home the gatherings took place, suffered double the abuse.

The first Baptist brothers and sisters also experienced harassment on the issue of cemeteries. In 1874, a child of Bro. Michael Fischer’s died. He sent his people to the cemetery to dig the grave, to which he had full right as a property owner. Not long before he had also contributed his full share to the construction of the new fence. The local police, however, would not permit the burial and drove the diggers from the cemetery. Brother Fischer then turned to the village mayor who said to him, “That may not be. The Paser does not allow burial of the child, because he has not been baptized.” Now Bro. Fischer went to the clergyman to make his presentation. However, the clergyman simply confirmed what the mayor had already told him.

After the brother had spent six days running about in vain, looking for a burial place for his dead child, he finally drove 25 versts to

18 | Johwan b. Pritzkan

a judicial officer, who sent him 45 versts farther to a higher police official. This one issued a firm order to the village community to allow Michael Fischer to bury his dead child. As the community assembled, the following malicious comment was made: “Fischer can put his child into a hole in the quarries where the dead cattle are dumped.” Thus, the order of the official [to allow burial] was not carried out.

‘Twice more Bro. Fischer had to go to the police official before the community was finally forced to assign him a burial plot. On the advice of the priest, he was given a place in the old former cemetery located a number of versts from the village on the border between Landau and Rohrbach. After all these harassments, which lasted a total of ten days, he could finally, on the eleventh day, lay his child to rest.

Three months later a child of Bro. Decker also died. He was denied a burial place by the village officials as well. Since the child had died of a communicable illness (smallpox), it was important to the brother that the child be buried as soon as possible. In the company of Bro. Heidt, he went to the police official about the matter. He was asked, “What is the child’s name?” “Jakob,” was the answer. “What was the cause of death?” “Smallpox.” Immediately the police official wrote a strict order to the village officials. Promptly upon receipt of the order and under police surveillance, the mayor was ordered to allow the burial of the child, Jakob Decker, in the cemetery or beside it. The police official indicated that he himself would come and ask why the child of Michael Fischer had to be buried on the border.

When the order of the police official was being read out, voices made themselves heard, “Decker has lied to the police official. He told him the child’s name is Jakob, when he hasn’t even been baptized.” It was clear to them that he could not be named Jakob, because he had not yet been christened; and for this reason, he could not be buried either. They wanted to go to the police official immediately to make the matter clear to him. The cemetery official, acting for the mayor in his absence, said, “I do not have the authority to rule on this; Decker must wait for an official ruling.” Pressure was put on Bro. Decker until he promised to wait until 10:00 o’clock the following day. At the appointed hour, the delegation had not yet returned. The official requested that Bro. Decker wait another hour. When this deadline also passed, Decker said, “I cannot wait any longer. I will bury my dead one in the cemetery.” “Do as you like,” was the official’s reply.

Brother Decker took his hired hand, and on the spot where Bro. Fischer’s had tried to bury his child, they dug a grave. With prayers and sighs, Bro. Decker lowered his dead child into the earth. It was on a

19

Catholic feast day when Bro. Decker completed the burial service. As the people came out of the church, they found him still at the grave. Suspecting nothing good, he made off quickly.

The news of Decket’s deed spread like wildfire through the whole borough. The people, in the most extreme agitation, flocked together from all directions. Brother Decker was immediately taken to the village office by the police. He was threatened with immediate incarceration, if he did not immediately dig up his child and remove him. Brother Decker refused, because he rightfully maintained that he had kept his promise and had waited beyond the 10:00 o’clock deadline. For this the official could vouch. However, before the official could secure his safety, the crowd had pushed Bro. Decker out. He did not want to go, so four men seized him hand and foot, and carried him a distance. They finally dropped him and seized the farmhand who had assisted him in the burial and another young man, and forced them to dig up the grave. They dug down as far as the coffin, when the brother of the farmhand shouted to him, “Christian, throw the shovel away. Whoever wants the child out can take him!” The diggers took his advice and made off. The others followed. At this point, the police arrived and set a sixteen-man watch at the open grave.

On the following morning, some thirty women arrived at the place. Four of them took the dead child and, accompanied by the others, carried him back to the house of mourning, Brother Decker was not at home. His eldest daughter with the other children saw that they were returning “Jakoble” and so she bolted the door and did not respond to their knocking. There was nothing for the crowd to do, but to set the coffin down in the open barn. Now the village officials were required to set an eight-man guard by day and double that number by night.

One more time the matter came before the police official. He sent a deputy and ordered the community to assign the Baptists a burial place next to their church property. They were required, in the presence of the official, to prepare a grave for Bro. Decker’s child, so that his mortal remains could finally be laid to rest. When everything was completed, the police officer in view of the whole crowd turned to the child’s father and said, “In the future this will be your cemetery. Here you will bury your dead, and no one has the right to hinder you.” So the harassed brothers and sisters finally had peace. They could henceforth bury their dead in a Christian manner with prayer and song and meditation on the Word of God at the grave site.

The difficulties they experienced in connection with their

20 | Johann i. Pritzkan

assemblies were no less severe. Lacking their own meetinghouse, their assemblies had to take place in private homes. As already mentioned, the fines and incarcerations continued, particularly because the brothers and sisters were charged with violations under a paragraph of the legislation which made reference to political gatherings, but which did not really apply. When the senior government officials, following repeated complaints, became acquainted with their principles, they recognized that the Baptists posed no danger to the state, contrary to the accusations. Thus, the Baptists were granted protection.

While the overt persecution ceased, it continued in more secretive ways. The gatherings, which could no longer be forbidden, were disturbed with gross mischief. Stones thrown through the windows buzzed above the heads of the assembled people. The worst of this mischief happened in the evenings, when the perpetrators were unrecognizable. The Lord in His grace warded off any fatal injury, which could so easily have occurred. One evening, when the meeting was in the home of Bro. Michael Fischer, a two-pound rock fell into the cradle, where their small child lay asleep. That the child remained uninjured in such a dangerous situation, the parents have always credited to the constant protecting hand of God.

Such hostility was no easier to bear in the long run than the earlier overt persecutions. The brothers and sisters were in a state of constant dread during their gatherings. In their private lives, too, they were exposed to great suffering. Were not most of the residents in the village their enemies? Had they not set themselves the goal of eradicating the Baptists, root and branch? The means that they used to achieve their goal became clear, considering that they were acting on the well-known Catholic principle: “The end justifies the means.”

In addition to these persecutions, the Baptists frequently suffered material losses occasioned by shattered windows and other mischief perpetrated by their enemies. ‘These losses eventually ran as high as the earlier fines. ‘hey found neither justice nor protection from the local police, since they were also part of the opposition. Even when the perpetrators were known, nothing ever came of it.

All this and the repeated urging by the police drove them to the acquisition of their own meetinghouse. They deliberated together and prayed about it and came to the resolution to build one. Brother Michael Fischer provided a building plot on his property. They could not expect to receive a plot from the community, as they had, with the help of the government, received one a year earlier for their cemetery. The occasion then had been much more urgent. The dead must be

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buried. But many difficulties relating to the building site were created for them by their neighbors and the village community.

Following many interruptions on the part of the local police and many trips to the regional office and the police official, with the help of God, the construction was finally completed. There was no long wait for legal recognition and the dedication was celebrated at Pentecost in 1882. Without interference, Bro. A. Liebig and other brothers were able to proclaim the Word of God to a large gathering.

The greatest of the difficulties had now been overcome. The fanatical hatred of the enemies had also moderated gradually. On the whole, though, the Baptists endured more and greater affliction from the Catholics, than did the Baptists in the Protestant villages, even though both were subject to the same government and to the same laws. In Governor General Kotzebu, the humane military governor in Odessa, with whom our Baptist brothers and sisters, both German and Russian, had frequent contact, God had gifted us with a genuine benefactor who protected us from arbitrary maltreatment. When we came to him in such instances, our petitions to him were not in vain, as long as the matter fell within the purview of his high office.

22 | Johann ti. Privekan

5. Our recognition

Our recognition as a tolerated Christian community in the vast Tsarist Empire was another important event in our Baptist history, which properly follows the chapter on the persecutions, and which I cannot leave unmentioned here. This was a favor which benefited all Baptists within the whole Empire, with exception of the Russian Baptists. With it came the cessation of the persecutions. For us, though, and for me personally, this event had special significance.

In 1871, while I was carrying out the assignment of officiating at a baptismal service, I was arrested and brought before a police official. During the examination, I made reference to his Excellency, Governor General Kotzebu, and to a communication from him in the municipal office. It contained a directive that the local authorities were not to direct any arbitrary acts of violence against the Baptists. The official dismissed me with the comment that he would check out my statements with the Governor. Later, on January 25, 1872, I was ordered to appear before Governor Abasa in Kherson, who explained to me that the directive did not give us the right to proselytize. It was obvious that he did not want to get into a discussion with me. However, it was also my clear conviction that by the Providence of God, we did have such a discussion. He gave me a full hour, during which time I had opportunity to explain our faith principles and our goals. I told him that, in any case, we did not proselytize as is generally understood; our aim was only to lead to Christ our Savior those people who were stuck in sin. The dear Lord gave me—though shy and timid by nature—a special joy in confessing Christ. It is only this that can explain why this high official granted me such a long interview, stating a number of times how he had imagined us to be a totally different.

“But what has this to do with our recognition?” the reader may ask. Let me explain it in this way. Before the Governor dismissed me, he kindly advised me to submit a petition to the central government in Petersburg to which we were to attach our Confession of Faith. This petition for recognition and freedom to practice our faith we were to send to the ministry through him. He would support the matter and expressed the hope that our petition would be successful.

On the return journey, I met Bro. Wieler in Steingut, with whom I shared my discussion with the Governor. He was keenly interested and urged me to execute this good advice as soon as possible. Since he had

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command of the Russian language, he volunteered to translate our Confession of Faith into Russian, and because the matter was as close to his heart as it was to ours, he did this quite promptly. Within a few weeks, we sent off both the Confession and the petition, prepared by a lawyer who was sympathetic to our cause. Three years later the German Baptists, or more correctly, all the Baptists in Russia with the exception of those who had come out of the Orthodox Church, were given freedom to practice their faith in accord with their rites. While other factors played a part in paving the way for this important matter at the higher levels of government, I am convinced that my journey to Kherson, the warm sympathy I had found there, and the favorable advice from his Excellency and its prompt execution, along with the support promised by the Governor contributed to the fulfillment of the universal desire of the Baptists of Russia and the total cessation of persecutions.

4. Johann Gerhard Oncken [1800-1884]

24 | Johann Li, Pritzkau 6. Our first journey to the Mennonite Brethren in Einlage

More than a year had already passed since the first people had been baptized at Alt-Danzig. Brother K. [J]. Kowalsky], the man who had officiated, had been arrested. Like those from Neu-Danzig, he was immediately deported. We, like inexperienced children, were left to our own devices. At the time, we knew of no other like-minded church communities, with the exception of the Mennonite Brethren. But as much as they would have wished, they could be of no assistance to us, because any visitation from outside was strictly prohibited and followed up. The local police were empowered to carry this out and our local supporters were unable to hinder it. This was a painful hindrance to our further development.

Certainly, the Holy Spirit strengthened us and the gracious presence of the Spirit richly compensated us for what we lacked in teaching from experienced messengers of Christ. But did not Paul need to come to Asia at the instigation of the Holy Spirit, as well as Peter to the captain Cornelius in Caesarea, in order to tell them what they were to do? Now that the leading brothers could no longer come to us, we agreed that a group of seven of us would travel to them. Since, at the time, such a journey could be made only by horse and carriage, it was always an onerous and tedious one.

In May 1866, we set out on our journey and met fitst with Bro. Aron Lepp, who was then manager of a Jewish colony and later co- elder with Bro. Abram Unger. Following Unger’s death, he became elder of the church at Einlage. Following a blessed stay of several days with him, Lepp accompanied us to Einlage in his own carriage. What we found here was quite distressing and we did not find what we were seeking: namely, teaching and organization. While they were an organized church with an elder, teachers, evangelists, and even apostles, an idea which seemed quite new to us, the organization lacked a sound foundation. An overly enthusiastic trend, which still derived from the corruption of that Spirit-inspired movement brought about through the revival preaching of Pastor Wuest, had gripped the minds of people here as well. It had found a support base in the supposed Apostle Gerhard Wieler and Elder Heinrich Neufeld. This fanatical error led to coatse moral excesses and divisions in the church. The more sober ones, headed by Bro. Unger, were considered excommunicated. Our efforts, with special help from Bro. Lepp, to bring about reconciliation

Russia 25

and to guide the movement onto a sound footing failed. Both Bros. Unger and Lepp, along with their supporters, and we were very dejected. Through all of this we thought of the warning of the Apostle John: “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are of God” (1 John 4:1).

Never before had I sensed the truth so clearly as this: that children of God can also fall into the danger of coming under the influence of a false spirit which is not of God, and thus be blinded by this false spirit. They will accept no reasonable teaching, because they believe this spirit to be the Holy Spirit. Probably, all of us recognize how essential is this warning of the Apostle, even for believers. But we leave this subject now. Anyone wishing comprehensive information will find it in Bro. Epp’s description printed at the book shop Raduga.#

Brothers Unger and Lepp recognized that under such circumstances, and for other reasons, they could not give us what we needed. They advised us to turn to Bro. J.G. Oncken in Hamburg, Brother Unger gave me his address and upon our arrival at home my first task was to write Bro. Oncken a letter. I described our spiritual experiences and our needs as explicitly as I possibly could. I then requested, in the name of the church, that he come to help us or send someone else to us.

The response was prompt and was worded as follows:

Dear Bro. Pritzkau,

Many heartfelt thanks for your long and detailed letter, which filled me partly with joy and partly with pain. There was joy, knowing that also in Russia the dear Lord has gathered people who are worshipping Him in spirit and in truth. There was pain, knowing that aberrations and divisions have occurred there among the children of God. Such division is alvays the work of Satan, the adversary, who wishes to create disruptions in the church.

Thus, Bro. Oncken began his letter. He then continued to teach, to comfort, and to encourage us to continue in fellowship and in prayer as we have been doing until now. They decided to unite with us in prayer, regarding our concerns and then to wait until the Lord showed us a way in which the work that He had done among us could be carried forward.

The Lord showed us this way soon, but not as I had planned nor as I had wished. After barely a year of praying and hoping for a messenger from Jesus, and at a joint evening service in the schoolhouse with the Pietist brothers and sisters, their leader, Bro. Giedt, who later

2% [Heinrich Epp, Notizen aus dem Leben und Wirken des verstorbenen Altesten Abraham Unger, dem Grinder der Einlager-Mennoniten-Briidergemeinde (Halbstadt, 1907).}

26 | Johann L. Pritzéun

became my co-elder, proposed at the end of the meeting to send me to Hamburg. Most of the Pietist believers, especially Bro. Giedt, were one with us in our understanding and shared our concerns regarding our needs. Turning to his neighbor, Bro. Giedt said, “I will contribute fifteen rubles toward this.” The other responded with equal generosity and everyone present followed their example. The means to send me came together on that memorable evening. Conscious of my weakness and of the enormity of the task, I found it difficult to accept the proposal. In the face of the urgent necessity, however, I found it impossible to decline—particularly since I was forced to recognize in the sincere goodness of their support a sign from God.

Only a few weeks had passed after that evening and already I found myself on the journey to Hamburg. At Olviopol, I boarded a railroad train for the very first time in my life. At that time the line from Odessa had only been completed to there. I needed to go to Odessa for my passport. Here I found a warm reception among the Pietist brothers and sisters, especially from Mr. Schutz, who was their leader at the time. They were helpful with my passport matters in word and in deed, which contributed in no small way to my encouragement, of which I was in sore need.

A week later, I was greeted by the brothers and sisters in Hamburg, where I was already known through my correspondence with Bro. Oncken. ‘The believers saw my coming to them as the leading of God, and believed it to be their obligation to provide me with as much help as was in their power to give. They sincerely regretted that they were not, at the moment, conducting one of their Bible courses, such as they offered from time to time over six month periods for prospective ministers and missionaries. This was prior to the establishment of the seminary. Following a committee meeting, Bro. Oncken was commissioned to write to the seminary in Chrischona, requesting that, for a fee, they accept me into their seminary. However, this request was rejected, because | was Baptist. And so there was nothing left for me, but practical participation in Hamburg. This proved to be very useful for me and an ongoing blessing,

I remained for a year as a member of the Hamburg Church where I assisted in the preaching of the Word in the surrounding outstations. I was a member of the Youth and the Choir Association. I assisted in the Sunday school and attended teacher training classes. Thus, I had ample opportunity to expand my knowledge and to gather experience of all kinds, which were of use to me later. In April 1869, I took leave of the church in Hamburg. Before leaving, I was ordained for

South Russia 27

missionary service by Bro. Oncken.

Accompanied by Bro. Heinrich Meyer and with many good wishes, I began my homeward journey and arrived safe and sound a few days before Pentecost. On our way we visited a number of towns and villages. Among them was Tultscha, where I met with Bro. Liebig for the first time. At home on Pentecost Sunday, both the large baptismal celebration, to which I referred earlier, and the warm reception I received encouraged me to assume my task with joy.

28 | Johann le. Pritekan 7. Brother Oncken’s visit to Russia

At my farewell, Bro. Oncken promised me that, God permitting, he intended to visit us in Russia. He did not keep us waiting long for him to fulfill his promise. Still in the same year, in October, he surprised us by arriving without prior notification. I was able to welcome him into my father’s house. He was with us for two weeks. Besides preaching on two Sundays and on the week nights, he also conducted church meetings at which an elder, a co-elder, and deacons were elected. On the first Sunday of his stay, these were then ordained in the presence of a large gathering that included, besides the local people, guests from the areas around Odessa and Nikolayev. This solemn procedure made a deep impression on the large assembly. We had three baptismal services during Bro. Oncken’s stay. He officiated at two of them, while this task fell to me on the occasion of the third one. What he found most striking was that the onlookers were so restrained during the baptismal proceedings. This was rarely the case among them in their native country.

The rumor of the presence of the foreign preacher had also reached the ears of the police. Consequently the police official arrived in the village and demanded Bro. Oncken’s passport. However, since his passport described him as a missionary, the police allowed everything to continue. After a two-week stay with us, he was making preparations to travel to the Mennonite Brethren Church in Einlage—I was to accompany him—and once again his passport was confiscated. It was not returned to him until he announced to the police that he would immediately telegraph Petersburg to report that his legal passport had been confiscated without cause, and that this was interfering with the continuation of his journey.

From our home, I accompanied him as far as Neu-Danzig, passing on the way through all the locations where we had outstations, At each one, he conducted larger or smaller services and assisted in settling church matters. From Neu-Danzig, the brothers brought us to Nikolayev. From there we traveled partly by mail coach and partly by omnibus to Woronzovka. In the home of Bro. Redekopp, we received a warm welcome. He took us to his brother’s home in Einlage with his own carriage. As already mentioned, Bro. Oncken was no stranger to them, even though they had not yet met him. So much greater then was their joy when they met face-to-face with this old, gray-haired

29

messenger of Christ with whom they had been in correspondence for many years. Brother Unger, in whose home we stopped, was particularly happy for this unexpected visit. With the same youthful freshness and warmth that Oncken had demonstrated among us, so here in the Mennonite Brethren Church, he did the same work of encouragement, edification, and instruction for this group of believers.

Following a busy week in Einlage, where he was also able to preach in a large Mennonite Church, he set out on his return journey. Brother Johann Wieler and I accompanied him as far as Odessa where, in the circle of believers, he spoke the Word in large private gatherings. Toward the end of his stay in Odessa, in response to an invitation from Pastor Binneman, he gave testimony to Jesus in the Lutheran prayer hall. The sermon was based on Luke 15:2 and the theme: “This man receives sinners.” Then, in a joyful mood, filled with hope for the Lord’s work in Russia, this gray-haired messenger of Christ said his farewells.

On his return journey, Bro. Oncken stopped in Tultscha, Bulgaria, to see Bro. August Liebig. Here he served with the Word for the strengthening of the faith of the small group that had at one time been deported from Russia and that had, in the meantime, become a sizable church. This important and blessed visit of dear Bro. Oncken remained unforgettable. The venerable figure, with his gray hair and still so youthful appearance, demanded respect from everyone. All looked upon him almost as a father in Christ, and it seemed to us almost as though we had been visited by a patriarch or an apostle.

The church community of Alt-Danzig had already existed for some time before this and had been working with success and blessing as demonstrated above. However, it was here that it first took on apostolic form through the election and ordination of Elders through the laying on of hands in accord with the biblical rule followed by the Baptists. It is for this reason that our statistical records indicate 1869 as the founding year of our Baptist church.

Thus, the Baptist community of Alt-Danzig was the first one in out present organizational region, but it was soon followed by a number of churches. I plan to report later on these churches, recalling my personal experiences with them and reporting on what I have been able to gather from the earliest pioneers.

30 | Johann Ii. Pritekai 8.

Jakob Delyakov

While I am writing about the beginnings of the history of the Baptists, there comes to mind another messenger of Christ from those days whom I cannot neglect to mention. He belonged to the Presbyterian Church and worked with great blessing in the south, specifically in Kherson Province. He traveled by wagon from village to village all the way from Odessa to Elisabethgrad and Nikolayev. Wherever opportunity presented itself, he preached in the spirit of Pietism in the German and the Russian villages. It was not his purpose to proselytize for any particular religious group. He wished only to awaken people lost in sin and depravity, dead in transgression, rushing carelessly to destruction. He desired to awaken them from their sleep of sin through the trumpet call of the gospel and to stir them to strive after the kingdom of God and His righteousness. He saw it as his sacted duty to show the way of Christ to the weary and the heavy laden, those who had struggled in vain to find peace and rest for their souls. His duty was to point them to the atonement by which everything necessary for salvation has been completed.

At the time Bro. Jakob Delyakov was not yet a Baptist, as we were not either; nor was he a Lutheran, as we were, but rather he was of the Presbyterian communion. ‘This religious communion holds firmly, as do the Lutherans, to the practice of infant baptism. The difference is that the Presbyterians do not see baptism as the new birth, as is taught by the Lutheran and the Orthodox communions. They find support for this position in John 3:5. In the doctrine and practice of baptism, the Presbyterians ate probably closer to the Methodists. Their children, though they ate baptized, do not become fully entitled members and participants in Holy Communion until they have experienced a true conversion of the heart and have given testimony to this before the church. In their fundamental doctrines they ate probably nearest to the Baptists.

By nationality Delyakov was Persian. His native land was Persia, and it was there that he spent his youth and, much more importantly, that is where he found his Savior. Friends of the missionary movement will be aware that the Presbyterian Church of America is pursuing a significant and successful mission in this country of the Orient. The number of adherents was soon so large that it became an urgent necessity to establish a mission school for the training of missionaries

in South 31

and preachers. In this school, which did not take long to build, many messengers of the gospel received their education.

—\

tee

Pak

5. Jakob Delyakov [1829-1898]

We, here in Russia, made contact with a number of them. Unfortunately, many of them were not true messengers of God, but deceivers who exploited the childlike faith and the heartfelt love of the Pietists and Baptists for their own benefit in the most shameful ways. Probably quite a number of them had managed, by devious means, to acquire documents and signatures from the above mentioned Mission Institute. Furnished with such endorsements, they could now sail confidently to the generous south under a false flag and abuse so outrageously the love “which believes all things and hopes all things.” Only after repeated embarrassing experiences did it become painfully clear that we had placed too much trust in these deceivers with the gospel on their lips.

Brother Delyakov, however, was not one of these. He was, in fact, the exact opposite and therefore, so much more reputable. Like Paul, he had learned to be high or low, to have abundance or to suffer want, and in everything to be content. When it came to promoting the message of the gospel and to launch new gospel initiatives, he could sacrifice his last penny with joy. He was a real trailblazer for positive

32 | Johann Li. Pritzkan

Christianity. When he was passing through, as he did several times a year, he was usually a guest of my now-deceased parents. I was then still a youth living at home. Later, I had opportunity to visit with him in the home of my now-deceased parents-in-law, where he also frequently stopped. These close associations with him motivated me to set up a memorial to him with these lines in this book; and I can without question do it in good conscience.

Delyakov experienced conversion in his youth. Because he felt the urging of the love of Christ to become a messenger of peace, he was accepted into the Mission Institute. There he received the appropriate training for work among his own people in Persia. In providence, however, God had determined otherwise. When the young man had completed his studies, he felt himself mightily drawn to southern Russia. Here, in Elisabethgrad, he lived with his yet unconverted brother and his wife and children. Besides his brother, many of his co- nationals, who were spiritually depraved, lived in the cities of southern Russia. He wished to bring them the message of redemption through Christ as well. Led by all this, he felt called to change his field of activity to South Russia.

Within a year, he had learned the Russian language to some extent. Now he could not refrain from witnessing about Christ among the German colonists in town and country. Despite his broken Russian, people heard him gladly. What he lacked in language fluency was made up by the love of Christ that urged him to do this. He had connections with the main depot of the British and Foreign Bible Society in Odessa. Although he was not a hired colporteur, he did receive Bibles and Testaments from the Society at the same reduced prices they charged their own colporteurs. These conditions made it possible for him to distribute many Bibles and Testaments among the Russian people.

Besides this, Delyakov was also a traveling salesman. In addition to the Holy Scriptures, he carried a variety of goods for sale. For this purpose, he kept a small wagon and a horse. Thus equipped, he traveled from Odessa to Nikolayev and from there to Elisabethgrad, going from village to village, town to town, seeking everywhere to sell his goods and to present the most precious “merchandise”: namely, the eternal truth. Wherever possible, he gave witness to Christ. This was so similar to the Waldensians. Before the Reformation, they sought to carry the light of the gospel into the deathly darkness of the Catholic Church during the darkness of the Middle Ages. Who has not read in church history about the actions of faith and the successes of these wonderful people?

Baptists Nouth Rassic | 33

Here comes a Waldensian merchant, approaching an aristocratic lady; he shows her his pearl jewelry. She finds it attractive and purchases whatever she wishes. ‘The merchant then says that he has another treasure lovelier yet than any pearl. In response to her curiosity, he brings out a Bible, which at the time was rare and costly. He reads from it with warmth and conviction. The lady buys the book and through reading in it, she becomes a disciple of Jesus. Through devotion to Christ, she eventually becomes worthy of wearing the martyr’s crown.

In the same way, Bro. Delyakov scattered the seed of the gospel. He carried his trade wares solely for the purpose of creating occasions in order to offer the Word of God and to testify of Christ. Only eternity will reveal how much of the scattered seed fell into fertile soil and produced eternal fruit. He felt it to be his specific task and his duty to scatter the seed of the Word of God as generously as possible, in the firm belief that it would germinate in its own good time.

Delyakov’s hope was not in vain. Through him the first converts were won. We may rightly call him a co-pioneer in this area of Russian Pietism or Stundists, as they were often called. Through his quiet work in the province and beyond, individual believers gathered together in villages and towns. He watered and tended the young plants most carefully, helping them to thrive. All this he did in the manner of the Waldensians, as described above, and God added His blessing.

Often I listened to his warm, overwhelming testimony, which Delyakov gave in both German and Russian church services. One of the sermons I heard him preach in a neighboring village shortly after my own conversion was particularly memorable. It was in reference to the text, “Behold the man.” Oh, with what warmth of love and heartfelt conviction he spoke of the God-man, Jesus Christ. He spoke of Jesus’ miraculous birth in the manger of Bethlehem, a wondrous life that so unambiguously portrayed true divinity as well as true humanity. He spoke of the wondrous but distressing moment, when Christ was shown to the people wearing a purple robe and a crown of thorns, and when Pilate said, “Behold the man!” And when he finally described the tormented figure on the cross, he burst out with the words, “Look at him, friends. Was there ever sorrow like this? Even the sun could not look upon this dreadful drama, hiding its face, weeping a great tear.” And the numerous listeners were so caught up by his warm-hearted testimony that almost all of them were sobbing aloud.

The Baptist movement in South Russia emerged during that time, actually in the sphere of Delyakov’s activity, in the circle of his brothers and sisters whom he loved so dearly. He had neither expected nor

34 | Johan Ts. Pritskan

desired this to occur, but unlike many other Pietists, he did not take an antagonistic stance against the Baptist movement. The reason for this tolerance was that he was affiliated with none of the churches in the region. The Presbyterian Church had no members in the south, and so he was less affected by the changes that occurred when large numbers of Pietists withdrew from the existing churches. After we became part of the Baptist movement, he continued to associate with us in the same brotherly fashion as always. Leaving the state church and forming a new fellowship comprised of believers who demonstrate by their walk of life that they were children of God, and who celebrated the death of the Lord in the Holy Communion—all these things, he soon came to see as reasonable, biblical, and essential.

Brother Delyakov also acknowledged that baptism as practiced by the Baptists was more correct than child baptism. At the same time, however, he sensed neither the need nor the obligation to submit to baptism. He did not, however, fail to comfort, encourage, and teach us during the time of our affliction and distress. When the clerics allowed themselves to be carried away and when they, along with unbelievers, began to treat the Baptists with malice and hostility, he exhorted the believers very earnestly and pointed them to the example of Christ and the apostles. In the same way, where necessary, he also exhorted the Baptists and gave them much brotherly advice. Never in my walk of faith have I forgotten the solemn words he uttered in a Baptist gathering, quoting the words of Jesus, “You are the light of the world.” He applied them specifically to the Baptists and their particular convictions. Oh, how our task as a believers church filled my mind in that hour! With the apostle I asked, “Who is capable of this?”

In that meeting, speaking to us in particular, Delyakov said, “When a person goes about in dirty clothing and one more spot of dirt gets on it, no one is surprised, and little notice is taken since the clothing is already dirty. When, however, a person goes about in clean, white clothing and gets a spot on it from coming in contact with some dirty object, it will be visible at a long distance and everyone points fingers at it. That is how it is when children of God err and sin. Even small errors, as small spots on white clothing, are visible from afar.

With such and similar words Bro. Delyakov exhorted the believing church to walk with care before those who ate outside. He said, “Everyone is now observing you because you, by leaving the church and forming a separate community, want to portray a pure Christian church. Any wrong, which may not be noticed elsewhere, will be immediately evident among you.” That was spoken in an apostolic way,

35

and in the spirit of Holy Scripture.

In this way, dear Bro. Delyakov was of great blessing to us who, in our early beginnings, were cut off from any outside visits. With his teaching, he supplied what we had been missing, since we had no contact with ministers of our confession for years following our leaving the church. Even with him and his support, we would be unable to manage in the long run.

In the meantime, the fire of revival spread quickly and mightily throughout the province. Many believers known as Stundists could be found in towns and villages. This name, which was attributed to believers who had come from the Orthodox Church, was used as a derisive nickname. The name had its origin in Germany where believers were called Stundenbriider. The name was later taken over by the Russians and it took on a Russian tone and color. In earlier times though, the name did not carry the same repelling tone that later became associated with it. The Russian aim was to connect it to a sect deemed to be a security threat to the state. It was alleged that the Stundists pursued nihilistic principles, would recognize no government, rejected marriage, and committed many other dreadful acts. In truth, no such sect ever existed among the Russian believers church. The movement was putely religious and carried no political overtones.

Whenever the believers were tagged with this derisive name—in its later connotation—it was a bitter injustice. The local government, which was closer to the movement and could thus observe it more closely, saw no danger. On the contrary, the results of conversion in lives of its citizens frequently had its approval. And this, of course, was biblical and reasonable. Jesus says, “A good tree bears good fruit.” The fruit of Stundism soon became apparent, as there was no bad tree upon which the fruit had grown!

The higher levels of government and lower level officials, who had contact with the believers, were forced to recognize and to approve the beneficial results of personal conversion. In newspapers and brochures there was recognition that where Stundism made its appearance and the fruit of morality became apparent—drunkards became sober, thieves were converted, and so on. In community life they were exemplary, obedient to government, and submissive. How frequently the people who were properly informed on the matter made judgments such as: “If everyone were like these Stundists, our bars and our prisons would soon be empty and everyone would live in less fear of theft and murder.”

This certainly was no evil fruit, and even the government had to

36 | Johann le. Pritekaa

admit that the tree on which it grew was not a bad one. Does Jesus not say that a bad tree cannot bear good fruit? The government attempted to accommodate Stundism to the extent that it allowed the believers to practice their religion, if they would commit themselves not to spread their views further. This was suggested to them repeatedly by the government. Specifically, they were to refrain from teaching the gospel to members of the established Orthodox Church.

But how can truly redeemed children of God refrain from speaking of the salvation they have found in Christ, and of the divine power by which they were enabled to begin a new life? “We cannot cease,” the apostles responded when others attempted to silence them. Nor could these disciples of the Lord respond otherwise. For them it was simply impossible to keep silent, especially in relation to their Orthodox fellow citizens. Did they not live among them, either as small groups or as individuals, frequently as individual members of a family? They met them daily, spoke with them regarding all kinds of matters relating to daily life.

How then could they keep silent about the most important issues of time and eternity? Besides, not infrequently they were obliged to give testimony to their faith in response to questions put to them by their unconverted fellow citizens. And all of them were prepared to give that testimony. Those among them who were able to read searched daily in the Scriptures, as it had become the guiding principle of their lives. Many others, both men and women, who had not enjoyed the privilege of attending school, learned to read in their advanced years out of love for Jesus and His Word.

The fact that the children of God were unable to keep silent and were so zealous in Bible reading was used against them by the Orthodox Church. They were charged with proselytizing, even though the charge was totally inappropriate in terms of the intent of the law. The law defines proselytizing as persuading someone to leave the established church and to affiliate with some other faith community. There was no such proselytizing, since most of the Stundists were still in union with the established church and had neither the intent nor the insight to establish independent churches. They understood their task to be that of sharing with people what had become clear to them through the Word of God: namely, that they must be converted to God in order to receive forgiveness of their sins through the atonement of Christ. Above all they emphasized the important truth that had already long been taught by Holy Spirit (Acts 4:12), and which had now become clear to them: ‘‘There is salvation in no one else, for there is no

Russia 37

other name under heaven given among mortals by which we must be saved.”

The enemies of the believers had no time for such considerations—and probably did not want to recognize them—and thus raised serious charges against them. The fact that they would not meet the requirements of the government, and would rather suffer beatings and imprisonment than allow their mouths to be stopped, was interpreted as obstinacy. They were tormented more and more, and persecuted through the courts.

Brother Delyakov, who had worked quietly for a number of years with some interruptions, was also forced to give up his field of activity. The Lord soon assigned him to a new field among the Molokans in Taurida Province.

The Molokans ate a religious community similar to the Quakers. Under Tsar Alexander I, they found protection from their persecutors. Like the German colonists, they were assigned an area of land for settlement in the almost uninhabited province of ‘Taurida. They were mostly of “high Russian” stock from central Russia. They prospered through hard work and moral living. Today, a century later, they have spread far and wide and have acquired property in the Crimea, the Don Region, and in the Caucasus, as well as in other areas. The settlement in Taurida remains their center.

As already stated, in their religious views, the Molokans are very similar to the Quakers. Like them, they practice neither baptism nor communion, and lead lives of strict moderation. This, however, has become quite superficial. While they still abstain from various foods, particularly from pork—which probably contributed to their being named Molokans—they have fallen into dissipation and all manner of vice. This is something that I became painfully aware of during my visit to the Crimea. ‘The knowledge of grace and the new birth has been lost more and mote to their descendants.

This is how Bro. Delyakov found them to be in the 1870s. His testimony of the grace of God through the blood of Christ found hearing and acceptance. Revivals and conversions occurred, and Delyakov was soon able to gather around him a small group of such people in Astrakhanka and neighboring villages who worshipped God in spirit and in truth. Here he now had a free hand. Since he recognized his coming to this place as God’s will, he continued to return time and time again. Although a number of circumstances prevented his continuing this itinerant ministry, he did not cease visiting us. Occasionally, he visited us and the Russian sisters and brothers and had

38 | Johann be. Pritekan

fellowship with us. In this way the fraternal connection was maintained.

Among the Molokans, he also found a like-minded helper. As a forty-year-old bachelor, he married a godly widow of the same age.

Now that the converted Molokans, like the Pietists in other places, took the Bible as the guide for their lives and searched it diligently, it could not fail but that they would come upon the doctrine of baptism. After some thought, quite innocently, the question forced itself upon them, “Why do we not practice baptism?” They turned to their own ministers with this question. It was, however, Bro. Delyakov whom they looked to with special respect, as it was he who led them to the way to biblical understanding and to conversion of the heart. So it was from him that they expected the correct scriptural answer. Brother Delyakov could tell them only that water baptism was a rite commanded by Jesus, a rite to which the apostles admitted only those who had been baptized with the Holy Spirit and with fire. The Molokans recognized that they had been in error and decided to follow this express command of Jesus,

Naturally, Bro. Delyakov was asked to help them in this matter. Since he had been raised Presbyterian (Congregationalist), he introduced infant baptism among the Molokans in accord with Presbyterian practice. In this way, the Fellowship of the Russian Brethren came into being, known today as Zakharovtsy. They call themselves “Evangelical Christians,”

Later, Bro. Delyakov regretted his action. Had he not earlier had the knowledge of Biblical baptism? And had he not frequently reiterated at our house that baptism as practiced by the Baptists was in accord with Scripture, and more correct than the practice of his faith community? But, he reasoned, since he had already been baptized once, he did not see it as his duty to be baptized a second time. The Molokans, who had been converted through him, however, had not been baptized at all. There it would have been appropriate to do it properly and scripturally from the start.

At the time, however, Bro. Delyakov’s judgment on the baptism question was still as the word in Ephesians 4:5 had been explained to us at the Blankenburg Conference: “One Lord, one faith, one baptism.” When the large Adianz Conference, numbering several thousand attendees, had come to agreement on the first two important points, the speaker moved very carefully as he came to speak on the third point. He had to admit that there was certainly no unity on this one. To provide some explanation and to bring about some calm, the speaker added that the matter was actually not all that serious. Of all the

South 39

existing Christian communities, each one has one baptism, as certainly do all listeners present. Even though they differ in form and in doctrine, each is still of one baptism. ‘This is the way they reasoned at the Adianz Conference and Delyakov saw it in the same way. While the Baptists baptize more in accord with Scripture, we too have one baptism.

At this point I need to provide some explanatory notes about the Scripture quoted above. The explanation, as it was presented at the Conference, made it clear to some who wished to twist biblical truth to suit their own ends. Whoever thinks more deeply about this, however, cannot escape the illogical and unbiblical nature of this exposition. If we hold to this view and draw the logical conclusions of such exegesis, and apply it to the first two words as well, “one Lord, one faith,” we arrive at the following conclusion—as long as I serve only one Lord, even though it may not be the One, everything is fine! Don’t all people in fact serve one Lord even though it may Beelzebub? One could come to such conclusions. Joshua, however, stands before his people at a crucial hour and calls for a clear decision, “Choose this day which one you will serve.”

And now we come to the second point, the faith. Do not all people have one faith? From modern “Christians” in various churches, who deny the divine nature of the Christ in whose name they are baptized, to Muslims, Buddhists, and other heathen peoples—do they not all believe? Yes, even atheists; do they not also have a faith? Surely, everyone can clearly see that not just any lord, not just any faith is under consideration here, but that this text points to the Lord who created heaven and earth and who tolerates no other gods. It is just as clear that the one saving faith means the faith which is rooted in the Word of God and the atoning blood of Jesus.

With the same certainty as the one Lord and the one faith, to be consistent there can be only one baptism, and it can be only the scriptural baptism which is meant here. If every other faith but this one is invalid, then so is every other baptism that stands outside the frame of this narrowly defined boundary, a baptism that naturally follows faith.

For Bro. Delyakov, too, the hour struck in which the hope he had placed in his baptism collapsed and he recognized that his baptism was inadequate, since it was not the one baptism. It occurred in this way: Bro. Delyakov continued, as mentioned above, to visit the Russian believers in Kherson Province who had mostly already submitted to biblical baptism. These had already established a church in Lyubomirka,

40 | fobann Li. Priteh an

the center of the Russian Baptist movement of which Bro. Ryaboshapka had become the leader. One Sunday, in November 1873, Bro. Delyakov visited the church and stayed the whole day, preaching with great joy. The presence of the Holy Spirit was evident. At the close of the service, the church celebrated the Lord’s Supper in the breaking of the bread. Brother Delyakov was obliged to stand aside and was not allowed to participate in the celebration, because the church practiced “close” communion. That is, by regulation of this church, only biblically baptized believers—those baptized by immersion—were allowed to participate. Brother Delyakov was not one of them. In this moment it became clear to him that the word “one baptism” means more than to be baptized in any fashion as long as it occurs with or in watet.

He was humble enough to recognize his error and vowed to his God to submit also to this command of Jesus. He shared his decision with the church leaders, and soon thereafter received adult immersion baptism.

He could now no longer remain at his current place of activity, but the dear Lord already had a field of activity prepared for him where he could devote his full strength. He received a Macedonian call from the distant east. In following this call, he traveled to Manchuria as far as the Amur River where there are known to be Baptist churches. We have not seen him since, but through reliable sources, I have learned that the Lord richly blessed his work and allowed him to succeed in winning many people for the kingdom of Christ.

Out of the midst of his labors the Lord called His faithful messenger home to his rest. “Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord henceforth, that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow them.”

Urged by the love of Christ, Bro. Delyakov worked tirelessly with extraordinary success. Evangelistic preaching was his main goal, and the Lord allowed him to achieve this goal. He risked going where almost no one else would have gone. But the Lord needs such willing messengers. I had frequent opportunity to observe him in his work for the kingdom of God, and always he rose in my respect and love. Once in Odessa, in conversation with Mr. Schutz, the leader of Pietism in that city, I came to speak of Bro. Delyakov. He spoke of Delyakov’s faithful witness in the following words: “Oh, what will eternity reveal! How surprised we will be when we see such a messenger of Christ in glory, who labored in quiet and in obscurity, but pointed so many to righteousness. Then he will shine like the stars for ever and ever” (Daniel 12:3).

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From what has been said, the reader will understand why, when reporting about the earliest beginnings of the Baptist movement in the south, I cannot leave unmentioned these noble, unassuming, humble witnesses, imbued with love for Jesus. Without intending to, Bro. Delyakov laid the groundwork for our faith community. Later, he visited the scattered, orphaned groups of Baptists, comforting, encouraging, and teaching them. When he became a Baptist, God allowed him to see more wonders of grace in the salvation of immortal souls, though not in the warm south, but in the distant east of our vast homeland. There, on his final field of labor, he was also laid to rest. The work which he was able to begin, however, will continue until the Lord returns.

42 | Johann bi. Priteban 9.

Odessa

I still have clear images in my mind of my first missionary journey to Odessa. It occurred in May 1870, shortly after Bro. Oncken’s visit. A number of families from abroad had settled in Odessa. Among them were the Schlicks who had been baptized in Bucharest by Bro. August Liebig and later moved to Russia. Living in Odessa, Bro. Schlick had taken on the responsibility of maintaining all the decimal scales at all the stations on the Kharkov-Odessa railroad line. Consequently, he traveled frequently on this line, and whenever he passed through the Tschestakovka station, he stopped in our home. He was also in our home with his wife at the time when Bro. Oncken was with us. Not long after that, Bro. Wieler also came to Odessa, followed later by Bro. Heinrich Meyer. They had agreed that, in addition to carrying on their business, they would also pursue mission activity that Bro. Wieler had already begun in Moldavanka.

When, in the spring of 1870, Bro. Meyer was obliged to travel to Odessa with regard to his passport, he was encouraged by Bro. Wieler to come to assist them. There was immediate agreement. Upon his return home, Bro. Meyer said his farewells in Alt-Danzig and moved to Odessa. So, besides carrying on their businesses, the two brothers also preached the gospel; and the individual Christians living in the city gathered around them. The deportation from Alt-Danzig of the first Baptists has already been mentioned. These deportees had been visited and fed in prison in Odessa by Christians who had come into spiritual communication with them. The later visit by Bro. Oncken and the work of the leading brothers did not remain without effect. A number of Christians in Odessa decided to take seriously their convictions regarding the truth about baptism.

Having been personally asked by Bro. Schlick to come for a visit when he was passing through, a written invitation soon followed. The brothers and sisters in Odessa requested that I pay them a visit. So I made preparations and, at a suitable time, I set out on the five-week journey. It took me through our Neu-Danzig Baptist outstations and from there through the Swabian colonies from village to village in the company of believers. We found a warm reception everywhere. The prejudices—to which some of our members no doubt contributed by their own one-sided, overzealous defense of the requirement of immersion baptism—were disappearing. Clearly, if our hope is founded

German Russia 43

upon adult baptism, this would be just as mistaken as the doctrine of the new birth taking place in infant baptism.

The sisters and brothers gained confidence, however, when they realized that I proclaimed the gospel of grace and the forgiveness in the blood of Christ. We all had come to understand and to love the gospel, because it had become our guide to the cross. In principle, I avoided touching on the subject of baptism, a subject which was already causing much disquiet. They did, however, come to me in my quarters after the meetings and questioned me about it. Those who were noble like the Bereans searched honestly and diligently after the way of salvation and soon received enlightenment regarding Jesus’ command about baptism and the significance in the Christian Church of being obedient to it.

Traveling and preaching, we reached Annental, the last station before Odessa. Here we found a large and lively fellowship. As everywhere, we received a warm reception here, too. It was a blessed privilege to bear witness to Christ. Because the baptism could not take place in Odessa, the sisters and brothers agreed that it should take place in Annental. When the believers in Annental were informed of this, a number of them also made the decision to ask for adult baptism. Here, too, we were obliged to make an exception to the rule as we had done in our own churches from time to time. There was as yet no church in existence here with the exception of a few believers in Odessa. We, therefore, came to an agreement that we would carry out the examination of the baptismal candidates during the worship service of the Pietist believers, provided they were willing. They agreed with joy and, since the mayor and other leading men were among the applicants for baptism, though they had not yet come to a firm decision, we had no particular concerns about disruptions during the performance of our sacred task.

The service was opened by the reading of an appropriate passage of Scripture, a sermon, and prayer. Then, as is our practice, the baptismal candidates were called individually and examined. With joy and deeply moved hearts, they told the stories of their conversions and the reason for their decision to be part of the prospective baptismal rite. [he stories and statements were often so touching that the assembly was moved to tears. When they had been instructed regarding the duties and rules, in accordance with the Word of God, that we follow, and when they had declared themselves to be in agreement with them, they left the room.

Then those were admitted to the rite, those whom the assembly was convinced that they were genuinely converted and against whose

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baptism no objections were raised. The local brothers and sisters did not hold back in their supportive testimony for those from their own midst who had given testimony; and they did this with obvious sincerity. The candidates were summoned one after the other in this manner. This extraordinary examination and reception made an unforgettable impression on the others, most of whom followed later as well.

Following this joyful, though long and drawn out examination, we walked to the nearby waterfront, and the first biblical baptism in Annental took place before many witnesses. As always on such occasions, the Lord’s Supper was celebrated, but we needed to rush in order not to arrive in Odessa too late at night. In this way, the foundation for the second church of our Baptist Union was laid.

In Odessa, however, my work was not of the same joyful nature as in Annental. Brother Meyer and Bro. Wielet’s resolve to work together in a complementary fashion did not hold for very long. Barely a year passed, when difficulties arose. The congregation was called together and I was to mediate. That was a difficult task for me, since we had been comrades in our youth. At the time all three of us were still unmarried and almost the same age. I deplored that they could not continue in the unity with which they had begun in Moldovanka. Both had the endowment, the education, and the gifts. In these respects their earlier resolve to be of blessing to many in Odessa could have been fulfilled.

In my judgment, ambition was the reason this could not occur. Usually each party ascribes blame to the other, frequently for religious motives. ‘I'his is what occurred here in this church meeting, which split into two parties, even though the whole group consisted of barely ten members. One group wanted Meyer ordained Elder on the pretext that Wieler was Mennonite, while the other party wanted Wieler, because it was he who had begun the work here with blessing. It was egoism that hindered the unity of the Spirit and made the little group incapable of continuing to remain bound together in love, as always occurs in such situations.

We already know how this works from the time of the apostles among the Corinthians, and it is the same in our own time among us and the Russian believers. There the name of the community or another secondary issue became the cause for division. That such things come from the enemy of our souls is clear. In most instances, it is the ambition of higher ranking brothers who feel themselves called to be something special, and around whom a following gathers as at the

ins Rawsta 45

time of the apostles. At that time, one group wanted to be followers of Paul, another of Apollos, or of Peter.

Such a manifestation also came to light in Odessa. With deep pain, every honest Christian must realize with Paul that such divisions do not originate with the Spirit of Christ, but from carnal thinking (1 Corinthians 3:4) and are fomented by the adversary of Jesus and His kingdom. For this reason Jesus, before departing, prayed so fervently and repeatedly the High Priestly prayer: “That they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You have sent Me” (John 17:21). ‘The Lord in omniscience foresaw that the adversary would attack the disciples, and the danger of dissension among them would be more destructive than persecution. For this reason, Jesus prayed to the Father to protect them.

If this is also our prayer, as it ought to be, we will heed the apostle’s admonition: “Be eager to maintain the unity in the Spirit.” Then such petty, personal reasons will not be occasions for division. Already by reason of the disunity within the small group in Odessa, as well as for other reasons, I had no joy or desire to support one or other of the parties. I did not want to initiate one or the other man into eldership by election and ordination. All I could do was to give them the advice to continue working together as they had been doing, but without the disunity. I also advised them to allow the brothers to preach in their assemblies, until it would please the Lord to show them another way.

This church meeting during which the events described above occurred was also my farewell from Odessa. My leaving Odessa was not without misgivings. Pentecost was approaching and we were planning a double celebration at home for Pentecost. We had invited Bro. Karl K. Ondra from Volhynia for this occasion and he had promised to come, From the church meeting, I drove directly to the railroad station accompanied by Bro. Wieler. We had a half an hour for conversation before my scheduled departure.

Obviously, the topic of our conversation was the church meeting, which most people had found quite unsatisfactory. Furthermore, as always happens when there is partiality, there was also pain. Among other things, Bro. Wieler told me that he had a mind to establish a church for himself with his group. In my opinion, there was no valid reason for such a move. This was not a case of differences in doctrine, but had only to do with personal differences. I begged him, for Jesus sake, to do no such a thing, referring to the prayer of Jesus in John 17.

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Once again we shook hands and parted with the kiss of love.

Upon my arrival at home, I met Bro. Ondra, already a guest in my parents’ home. This gave me double joy. First, that he wanted to help us enhance our celebration; and second, that I saw in him a more experienced more mature worker, with whom I could consult about the matters of our work in Odessa. My heart was filled with concern for the believers. Once again, unusually large numbers of friends, brothers and sisters from Alt-Danzig and surrounding stations had arrived for our celebration. The Mennonite Brethren were also well represented.

In addition to the large baptismal service, my marriage ceremony and wedding celebration also took place. This had been my primary reason for inviting Bro. Ondra. On the assumption that the gatherings would be unusually large, and that the normally adequate schoolhouse would prove too small, we came upon the idea of reopening the local church for our purpose. The building had been unused for a year. This proved possible because we had the former church leader, who had the keys, and the whole village council on our side, along with the police for our protection.

The church was packed. Not only was every seat taken, but the aisle and the stairs were also filled. The elderly folk, who had helped with its construction, said that the church had never been so full. We were firmly convinced that the Holy Spirit was not bound to any particular holy places, but allows power to flow out in private homes, sheds, and out in the open, wherever hearts are contrite and hungering for grace. And so we were not disappointed in our hope that the Lord would pour out spiritual blessings in this place.

Brother Ondra, with his intelligence and his extraordinary evangelistic gifts, served from the pulpit. It was my task to mount the gallery with the strong choir. Since the choir director was absent, I discharged the duties both of preacher and choir director. Our choir was strong, though neither in training nor in skill. These it still lacked, because we were still quite young. We were, however, strong in numbers, in the joy of singing, in love, and in enthusiasm, which made up for the lack of skill. This was evidence for the truth of the apostle’s words, “Love covers a multitude of sins”; and thus also a multitude of singing mistakes.

It is indeed no exaggeration to memorialize the choir of that time as the one which outranked all subsequent choirs in terms of holy eagerness and power of influence. This was so because, not only were all of the choir members converted, but they were also on fire with enthusiastic love. At the time, the favorite song performed by choirs

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was “Exult all you heavens, you sun and you stars!” (Appendix to Glaubensstimme (Voice of Faith hymnbook]). Oh, how lovely it sounded and how stirring, because the words echoed the emotions in the hearts of not only the singers but also of the hearers! The singing became a true exultation and jubilation. Therein lay the greatness and the power of the choir of that time. Oh, that it may always be thus, and that all the singers touched by the love of Christ would serve God with their gifts.

The sermon from the pulpit, the singing from the gallery, along with the hearty singing of the assembly, all rang out harmoniously. The music was accompanied by the power of the Holy Spirit, so that believers were strengthened and sinners called and moved to repentance.

A baptism of twenty-nine converts from the local community and the outlying stations took place in the afternoon. Then, in the church, they were solemnly inducted into the faith community. They then participated in the celebration of the Lord’s Supper.

The morning of the second day of Pentecost was spent in the church as well, accompanied by similar blessings. My marriage took place in the schoolhouse in the afternoon. In place of the usual wedding celebration, it was followed by a love feast.

For the third day of Pentecost, we had arranged for a general consultation, which took on the character of a Conference. The issues that came under discussion concerned not only our work in the south, but also the work in the whole country.

Among other weighty matters, the question of the need for the establishment of an Association was discussed. This need existed in western Russia, as well as among us in the south. The Mennonite Brethren, who were equal participants in the discussions, supported our proposals in this direction. All the members participating in the consultation agreed to ask their congregations, upon their return home, to consider this matter in prayer before God and then to take further steps. With this, the start for our future Association Conferences was made at this memorable church consultation.

These enjoyable days of Pentecost in Alt-Danzig were now over and the guests prepared for their homeward journeys. I was very pleased that Bro. Ondra agreed to my request that he travel over to Odessa and the locations I had visited prior to Pentecost while on his homeward journey. This was for two reasons. The one was that he might become better acquainted with the work of our communion in the south, but first and foremost that he might strengthen the newly

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established congregations in Annental and in Odessa, assisting them in an advisory way. He did not travel as easily as I had. He was arrested in Annental and taken to Odessa where he was held for two weeks; but he still was able to associate with the brothers and sisters in Odessa. After his release he conducted services, baptisms, and congregational meetings.

The half of the church that supported Bro. Meyer once again came forward with their request to establish their own church. Not yet adequately apprised of the circumstances, Bro. Ondra finally gave in to their urgent request and granted their wishes. This, however, did not prove to be the Lord’s will. Brother Wieler now went through with what he had said to me earlier at the railroad station. Things did not go well with the other group either and within the year Bro. Meyer was obliged to give up his position.

Since it was Bro. Ondra who had initiated this matter, it became his task and his duty to continue with it. Through his mediation, Bro. Schulz from Germany, who was then involved in the work of the Lord in Volhynia, came to take over the leadership of the small group of Baptists in Odessa. But he, too, turned out not to be the right man for the pioneer work in this region. Finally, a single man named Ziehl arrived from Germany. With him Bro. Schulz soon ended up in disagreements similar to those between the Bros. Wieler and Meyer before them.

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10. The calling of Brother August Liebig

Following numerous unsuccessful attempts in the selection of a leader for this very promising area in Odessa—and the need for a leader was gteat since servicing the area from Alt-Danzig proved to be far too difficult—the Lord pointed us to the right man for the this place. Already while at home, I had thought that perhaps Bro. August Liebig could be the appropriate man for this ministry. When I took my third journey into that area and conferred with the brothers and sisters of Odessa and Annental regarding the question of a minister, I told them of my conviction and provided them with an opportunity to consider whether this idea was from God.

The Odessa group gave unanimous support to my proposal. They were concerned about only one thing: whether or not the brother would come. The church immediately took the appropriate steps to carry out their resolution. They authorized me, in their name, to extend a call to Bro. Liebig. Immediately, upon my arrival at home, I discharged my obligation. In a long letter, I described the needs and the urgent desires of the church. At the same time, I expressed my firm conviction that it was the Lord who had directed our thoughts to him. In this call, Bro. Liebig recognized the voice of God, accepted it, and came soon after I had asked him.

On April 18, 1874, Bro. Liebig assumed the leadership of the small group in and around Odessa. In the meantime a few people from the villages around Annental had united with the church so that upon his arrival, he found sixty-seven members. Since the greatest majority was resident in Annental, this village became the focal point for the expansion of our work into the surrounding German villages. Another circumstance that contributed to our choice of this location was that a number of influential, important men among our members were resident there. It is probably due to this circumstance that a Baptist minister could take up residence here without molestation.

For a long time after this, Annental was the church center and Odessa was seen as an outstation and was served from there. Baptisms, which were frequent events at that time, took place in the nearby Black Sea. Under the wise and blessed leadership of Bro. Liebig, the membership of the church grew steadily and soon it became the largest in South Russia. The rapid progress was appreciably enhanced by the favorable location of the mission field. The area surrounding Annental,

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the church center, included perhaps the latgest concentration of German settlements in the region. Most of the villages, the residents of which were primarily Wuerttembergers, had not remained untouched by the earlier revivals. In most of the villages, which spread over a number of districts of Kherson Province to as far as Bessarabia, fervent children of God could be found. It is then quite understandable that in a relatively short time, Bro. Liebig had approximately thirty outstations to serve. He kept a horse and wagon in order to travel easily from village to village. Despite his diligence and his exhausting self- sacrifice, he could not serve his extensive field of labor adequately. I was frequently his travel companion on his tours, and this provided frequent opportunity to confer on matters concerning the kingdom of

6. The home of Bro. August Liebig in Annental

At our later Conferences, to which I will return, the so-called itinerant ministry was adopted. This ministry was of particular benefit to this area and, to some small degree, remedied the shortage of workers in this large field. Brothers from other churches, men such as Kessler, Fischer, and I as well, toured this church, usually in the fall, from station to station. This, too, did not always run smoothly.

On one such journey during the winter, we were in Gnadenfeld. While the Spirit of God was working mightily and repentant people were pleading for grace and forgiveness, we were suddenly unpleasantly surprised. We were in a really joyful mood, when the gentlemen from

German in South 51

the municipal board, decked out in the regalia of their office, entered the meetinghouse accompanied by an entourage of police. The meeting was interrupted and my companions from the surrounding villages and I were arrested and dragged off to the regional office. Following coarse verbal abuse, my companions—whose names have, unfortunately, escaped my memory—were locked up in the cold room, the name given to the holding cell in these municipal areas. A different kind of punishment was imposed on me. The regional mayor ordered a police officer to take me out into the open country as far as the municipal boundary line and there to release me. The sentence was to be carried out immediately at this midnight hour. 1 walked with the officer for about an hour. We conversed about the one thing which is needful. My guide excused himself repeatedly, saying that he had no part in this added insult, but had simply to do as he was ordered. In our conversation I had said not a single word to imply that I was blaming him.

7. Meetinghouse in Annental

Having arrived at the border line, we parted with deeply moved hearts. He turned back, while I had to continue on. I was not familiar with the road and I knew only what my guide had told me. I did not feel alone and so I walked joyfully on down the road that I had been told to follow. The twinkling stars seemed to be the eyes of God, our heavenly Father, who through Jesus has said to us, “Behold, I am with you always!”

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After an hour and a half of this nighttime walking, I became aware of a light. I walked up to it and, looking into the window, I became aware of a group of men engaged in a game of cards. For this reason I did not have the courage to knock on the door. But where was I to stay? Following the quick walk in winter clothing, I had begun to perspire somewhat, and so spending the night on the steppe would, quite honestly, have proven dangerous. While I was considering these things, an encouraging voice in my heart said to me that this light at this late hour was God’s provision for my rescue. I knocked. The men did not keep me waiting long. ‘The door opened and I entered.

When the men recognized me as a stranger, this late-night visit did raise some suspicions, since no public road passed by this place. It quickly became clear to me that it would be advisable not to keep silent about the reason for my late arrival, as I had earlier determined to do. I told them openly about the whole course of events. Since my difficulties had originated with the Lutheran Christians they, being Catholic, were not antagonistic towatd me. To the contrary, they demonstrated genuine compassion. After I had declined their offer of food, since I had no need of it, they made up a warm bed for me. Then they knelt with me, with reverence and emotion, for evening prayers. With the firm conviction that the good Lord had directed everything in this way, I went to sleep as I would at home with no further worries.

Even before I had arisen in the morning, there was another knock on the door. There were several brothers looking for me. They had begun their search for me on the road by which I had been taken from the village. At the house of a Jew of their acquaintance, an innkeeper, they had asked for me. ‘hey had been informed that someone had knocked late at night, but that they had been afraid to answer. I had in fact knocked there earlier for a long time. Since no one had answered, I assumed that I was not going to be admitted and was forced to move on. Now the brothers were on my trail and found me on this Catholic estate. There was great joy. Together we thanked God for His gracious help. From them I learned that my companions had been verbally abused in public. The Lord, however, blessed His work so much that the large church district soon needed to be divided.

Johannestal, with an appreciable number of members, was chosen as the center of the third independent church. The other outstations, as far as Annental, joined with it. In the meantime, Bro. Liebig resettled in Odessa, where the membership had increased appreciably and had experienced inner strengthening. The members whom Wieler had baptized and gathered to his own church, once again affiliated with the

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Baptists.

The church strengthened materially as well, in that it attracted a number of members who strongly supported the work with their means. The first of these was the then still-widowed Sister Branasky, now Sasske, with her only son and her daughter-in-law. Our highly esteemed friend, Mr. Sasske, joined them later. Initially, the services were held in the home of Bro. Wuensch on Nyeshinskaya Street. When this place no longer met the requirements by reason of long travel distances and inadequate space, the church rented a hall on Gulevaya Street. It was appropriate for our purpose, but we were not able to use it for long, The general hostility toward the Baptists quite soon induced the landlord to give notice for us to vacate the premises and the church was once more worried about a home.

It was then that Sister Baransky approached the church with a generous offer. She had an appropriate room at the front of her beautiful home on Dvroyanskaya Street that she put at the disposal of the church. This was a welcome development, because it fulfilled a long-standing desire for a meeting place in the central part of the city. In addition, the church had the room free of charge until many years later when they acquired their own place and house of worship through God’s wonderful help. The church always credited this to the special care of God who had made the hearts of the Sasskes willing to make such a sacrifice. He alone deserves all the honor and gratitude.

With Bro. Liebig’s move to the now larger and stronger group in Odessa, it now achieved the status of an independent church. Annental later joined with the church in Johannestal, because the Odessa people reclaimed the minister for themselves for Sundays. So Odessa remained alone until it was later joined by the nearby outstation of Gueldendorf.

Due to its rapid growth, the work in the country was in need of many more workers. Despite the energetic assistance from the brothers and ministers Kludt, Fischer, Busse, the co-elder Hornbacher and others, Bro. Liebig was frequently required to step in. Whenever this occurred, however, it worked to the disadvantage of the church in Odessa. For this reason, a second minister in the person of Bro. S. Lehmann was called to share the work with Bro. Liebig. They were to alternate working in the country and in the city. When one attended to the work in the country, the other saw to the needs in the city. Consequently, the rural stations participated in the support of both ministers.

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8. August GA. Liebig [1836-1914]

Because of the Stundist movement neat Kiev, Bro. Ondra and three other brothers were suddenly snatched away from their churches and deported to their native countries, Germany and Poland. As a result, Neudorf and most of the churches in Volhynia were left without ministers. Our Baptist Association, of which Volhynia was a member at the time, saw it as its responsibility to come to the assistance of these distressed churches. Brother Lehmann was proposed for Volhynia. He followed what he understood to be the call of God and went there. God blessed his work here just as He had blessed the work of his predecessors.

For Bro. Ondra, as it turned out, God had chosen another field of labor in the great factory city of Lodz where the work of the Lord was in need of just such a worker. Ondra did not go voluntarily. He was deported there. Hostile plots have frequently been made to serve God’s purposes. This is what occurred here. The church itself is witness to the success of his work.

Following Bro. Lehmann’s departure, Bro. Liebig was required to carry the burden of the ministry in and around Odessa by himself. Brother Mahr, who was soon given to him as an assistant, did not stay

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with him very long either, because he was shortly transferred to the Crimea. Now and then, during Bro. Liebig’s absences, ministers from neighboring churches would help out.

The work that Bro. Liebig was required to perform was heavy and stressful. With God’s help, he overcame all the difficulties and regarded serving the children of God as an honored privilege. Among his characteristics as a successful messenger of Christ were, above all, his Christian humility and modesty, and his self-sacrificing, loving zeal. He was an extraordinarily gifted preacher, especially for the edification of the church. His wife stood hand in hand with him in loving zeal and thus he gained the love and respect, not only among the Baptists, but also among those in the circles of the established church. Through his resolute, godly walk of life, he also gained a good reputation among those who are outside. During all of his fifteen years of activity in and around Odessa, his Christian influence did not diminish.

“But why then did he not remain in Odessa?” the reader may well ask. Well, yes, that is a question we have often put to ourselves and for which we have to this day received no definitive answer. In our judgment this was an inappropriate move from which we tried unsuccessfully to keep him. ‘The cause was the sudden death of Bro. Ondra, whom the Lord had so wondrously led to Lodz, and where He had so visibly blessed him as a revival preacher. The church there, in this orphaned state, thought of Bro. Liebig with whom they had become acquainted at Conferences. They believed Bro. Liebig to be the man to carry on the promising work in Lodz. A call was consequently extended to him. In the face of the urgent plight in which the church at Lodz found itself, Bro. Liebig held this call to be the will of God. At the same time, he recognized that he was indispensable here and that the church absolutely did not want to let him go. Shortly after this, he invited me to the farewell service. Soon after New Year 1889, on a weeknight before a packed audience, he preached his farewell sermon. He based it on the prayer of the tax collector in the temple, “God be merciful to me, a sinner!” (Luke 18:13) and made it his confession in reference to his fifteen years of activity in the south. He spoke with deep emotion and with tears in his eyes. The whole assembly, too, was moved to tears.

Before the close of the service, we were surprised by the arrival of Dr. Baedeker. He had just come from the Caucasus and when he learned that the Baptists were meeting, he came directly from the railroad station to the chapel and entered the assembly as he was, dressed in his Caucasian cloak. After a brief greeting and after learning

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of the occasion, he delivered a moving sermon to the congregation. He comforted them and exhorted them to be willing to allow their minister to leave when the Lord calls, even when this is contrary to their wishes. Then he had Bro. Liebig kneel before the pulpit and asked me to join him in laying hands on the kneeling brother’s head. We both prayed and commended the departing one and his family to the Lord and to His grace.

From the meeting room, we boarded the waiting horse cabs and drove to the railroad station accompanied by large numbers of the congregation. I was able to accompany him as far as the Rasdyelnaya station where our ways parted. Once more I took leave of this faithful messenger of God and his dear family. How many years had I worked with him, how many joys and sorrows had we shared, how many miles had I traveled with him, by rail, by ship, but mostly by horse and wagon! And this was suddenly to come to an end! The pain of parting would have been much more severe had we had any idea that this was to be our last leave-taking ever in this lifetime.

In Lodz, Bro. Liebig did not, in general, find the same warm affection that he had enjoyed in the south. He endured many a distressing time in the church. In reference to this, as a brother reported to me, he is to have said, “In Odessa they loved me nearly to death. In Lodz they beat me nearly to death.” Spurgeon says, “It is better for a preacher, if he is going to die anyway, to be loved to death than to be beaten to death.” This statement by the “Prince of Preachers” will be affirmed, not only by Bro. Liebig, but by every other preacher as well as by every other person.

Without doubt the bitterest drop in Bro. Liebig’s chalice of suffering was his sudden and totally undeserved deportation over the Russian border. With this any hope we had of greeting him again here in the south as a co-worker was dashed. Why he was deported from Lodz, the Day of Revelation will make clear; and why things did not work out in Lodz is also an unsolved mystery. For us in the south, it always seemed an affront when we heard how this irreproachable—and might I say apostolic—preacher was so unappreciated by so many. In any case, we cannot close ourselves off from the recognition that it may well have been determined in God’s holy purpose not to use him again in South Russia, since his deportation occurred just after he had decided to return to the south.

Following his deportation, he worked for a time in Stettin, Germany, in partnership with his brother, Hermann Liebig. His way then led across the ocean to America. There he found a congregation,

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where most of the members were from the churches in South Russia in which had served earlier. For him this was such a pleasant surprise that at his first sermon he cried out, “Where am I? Am I not in South Russia?” To this day his activity in America has been mostly among Russian immigrants.

Here in Odessa, and in the south generally, all who knew him hold him in loving memory. In view of the exit of this blessed witness of Christ described here, it has often been said, “Had Bro. Liebig remained in the south where he was so needed, he could still be employing his gifts and strengths with the same blessing.’ We must, however, take our reason captive in obedience to Christ and to the confidence in Him who tells us in His Word that all the hairs on our heads are numbered, and that none falls from our head without His will. In such events, which occur frequently in the work of the kingdom of God, we find comfort in the words of Jesus to Peter, “What I do now you do not know, but you will know later.” In eternity, we will receive explanations regarding many a mystery.

58 | Johann Ke Priteéan 11. The founding of our Association

The founding of our Association constitutes another chapter in the progress of the Baptist work in South Russia. As has been mentioned, this topic had already been considered on the occasion of Bro. Ondta’s first visit. The three-hour consultation at that time already had the character of a Conference and it provided the primary impetus to the founding of the Association. My motion to proceed with its establishment met with enthusiastic approval, particularly from Bro. Ondra who had also been entertaining such thoughts. He had found himself pressed into thinking in this direction by a variety of issues and serious events in the then latge church in Neudorf and the other churches in the neighborhood.

The stone had begun to roll. The exchange of ideas on the subject continued through the mail. A short time later when Bro. Liebig came to Russia, we found in him an enthusiastic promoter of this move. Through the exchange of letters, we agreed to meet again in Alt- Danzig in order to continue discussion of the issue. At the time and for many more years, this was the safest location for such gatherings. Brother Ondra came with several representatives from Volhynia, and Bro. Liebig came with a few representatives from his church. Representatives from the Tultscha Church (Bulgaria) appeared as well. This church had come into being through the work of the members who had been deported from Neu-Danzig earlier and who had spread out extensively since then. Most of the brothers still felt connected to their old home and continued to cultivate frequent fellowship with fellow believers in Russia. Their minister was Ludwig Liebig, the brother of our Bro. Liebig, and became his successor when the latter moved to Russia. The Mennonite Brethren were also represented. At the time, we still felt that we belonged together, and for a long time we continued to hold our church and conference consultations jointly with full brotherly participation as children of one home. A good number of representatives attended, though I cannot cite the exact number because the minutes are not available. Minutes from the Conference were recorded, but could not appear in print, and my copy of the handwritten minutes that were provided to each church have been lost.

It was clear to all representatives that the founding of an Association was an urgent necessity for the progress and successful development of the work of God. All declared themselves in support

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of the establishment of an Association, of which they had already given evidence by coming over large distances. The first Conference of the Baptists of South Russia was quickly constituted. This took place in the large schoolhouse in Alt-Danzig in October 1871.

Following the usual singing, the local minister opened the Conference with the reading of Acts 15. Taking off from there, he pointed out that the intention, which had brought us together from far and near, was equally as apostolic as the establishment of our own churches. Even the apostles, who were more equipped with the power of the Holy Spirit than we were, felt the need for joint consultation in the pursuit of their high task. Thus, they were able, in all the difficult issues, to act in accordance with the rule of the Word of God.

After a number of brothers had prayed fervently for the blessing of God upon our work, we moved to the constituting of the Conference. Brother August Liebig was elected chairman and Bro. Karl Ondra was elected alternate. Once the recording secretaries had also been appointed, we could proceed with the discussion.

Once the chairman had taken his place, he provided detailed instruction regarding the purpose, goals, and necessity for such an organization, drawing from the already-cited chapter from the Book of Acts. Among other things, he pointed out that the resolutions to be accepted by the Conference were in no way to inhibit the independence of the individual churches. They were rather to be viewed as suggestions to facilitate unified action for advancing the kingdom of God and to provide a corrective to any faulty positions or behaviors in accord with the admonition of the Apostle Paul to the Philippians, “let us walk by the same rule, let us mind the same thing” (Philippians 3:6).

The first question, then, was what name the new organization was to bear. The name “South Russian Association,” as it is called today, was not appropriate at the time because, as the reader is aware, the representatives had come together from three widely separated regions. These regions extended far beyond South Russia and yet the people had come together for a united task. Following a brief explanation, it became clear to us that the Association would of necessity bear the name “South-West Russian and Bulgarian [or Turkish, later Romanian] Association.” The motion to that effect received unanimous support. With this the newborn child had been given a name. The Association retained this name until the Romanian brothers separated from us for reasons of distance and border difficulties and joined with Baptists in Austria. When the work continued to expand, Volhynia also became an independent Association that is now, by the way, the largest Association

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in our Union. Many issues, some of them difficult and concerning a variety of subjects, provided much material for our deliberations. As much as it was possible, all of them were dealt with in a spirit of peace and goodwill.

At the close of the Conference, when the question was raised as to where and when the next Conference should convene, it was agreed that there was no better place to come together unhindered and in peace than in Alt-Danzig. The proposal was raised to a motion and accepted. ‘I'he local church saw it as a special privilege to be able to host the Conferences. The month of May was established as the most appropriate time of year for such long journeys.

In the following year, May 1872, church representatives from Volhynia Region and our own region arrived for Pentecost in larger numbers than usual—evidence of how strongly the love of Christ motivated them. Neither distance nor passport difficulties encountered by foreigners could prevent their coming. Over the year, however, much had changed in Alt-Danzig. We could no longer, as earlier, offer the representatives and guests such a comfortable meeting place. By order of the consistory, we were expelled from the schoolhouse where we had been given unhindered use until then. The former head of the parish council had been relieved of the keys to the church and the Lutheran Church had been rededicated. An unsalaried teacher had been installed who, along with his school duties, was also required to lead divine service and a new head of the parish council had been elected as well. We, however, felt as Koebner*‘ sings:

It is up and down with the weather, On the fearful rolling waves.

From the roomy schoolhouse and the even roomier church, we were forced to take refuge in a simple shed that provided us with as much or even more space than had the church. It was packed full. It was trimmed with fresh Maiengriin [woodruff] and we were as happy here as we had been earlier in the church.

But most important, we were equally blessed as we had been on that memorable day when Bro. Ondra was with us and had preached in the church. This time the same Bro. Ondra and other messengers of Christ preached in the shed. This was clear evidence that the blessing of the Lord and the power of the Holy Spirit are not bound to so-

24 [Julius Koebner, Glaubensstimme der Gemeine des Herrn: Liedersammiung (Hamburg, 1860), a Baptist hymnal collection of 647 songs.]

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called holy, consecrated places.

The Conference, too, was rich in blessings. One evening the discussions went on as late as midnight. Of the variety of topics on the agenda, I wish to make mention of only one of the decisions that contributed to the progress of our work. I am referring to the resolution regarding itinerant ministry, or the reciprocal visitations among the ministers of our churches. This praiseworthy work was to extend, not only across the south, but across Volhynia as well. It was proposed and accepted as a resolution that at appropriate times in fall or winter, the ministers from the south would, in turn, visit all the churches in Volhynia, for which a minimum of one month would be required. Simultaneously, a minister from Volhynia would tour the churches in the south.

9. Karl K. Ondra [1839-1887]

The implementation of this itinerant ministry was a good arrangement and bore good fruit. For one thing, the minister in an unfamiliar place became the instrument for the salvation of those who would perhaps never have been won by their own minister. The itinerant minister also served as the connecting link between individual churches. Through him the churches learned to know about the circumstances and the organization in other places, and gained a better knowledge of various spititual and earthly matters. They were drawn nearer to one another and saw themselves as part of a whole. Our

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churches learned to know and to love the churches in Volhynia and they reciprocated.

So this insignificant beginning attained considerable importance in the work of missions. We were then—and are still today—firmly convinced that this arrangement was a timely necessity for the advancement of the kingdom of God in the whole area covered by our Association. I still recall with joy my experiences in Volhynia when it was my turn to travel. For months the way led from village to village through the darkness of the gloomy primeval forest. The clearing of the woodlands had just begun in most of the colonies, and huge tracts were still covered by impenetrable forest. A few times in this dark forest, I was able to hold blessed meetings even in a house that had at one time served as the residence for a band of robbers. These bands of robbers in this area had posed a considerable threat to the German colonists and, to a degree, to our brothers and sisters as well. It was no rare event for a driver to have his horses unhitched from his wagon in broad daylight. These evils decreased more and more to the extent that German settlers moved into the area and the gospel came to be preached.

As already stated, in the beginning our consultations were held exclusively in Alt-Danzig. When the churches in Volhynia and in the Odessa Region were no longer under such severe pressure, we moved our Conferences to other places, first to Annental, then to Neudorf in Volhynia, Neu-Danzig, and Johannestal. Later, when the turn came around once again for Alt-Danzig, the gathering was forbidden by the police. ‘The cause for this was that revivals were taking place in the neighboring Russian villages and many Russians were being converted.

Despite this, we held our consultations quietly in the forest, but none of the visiting brothers was allowed to preach. A police officer, who was sent out as an observer, did not leave us throughout the whole time of our assembly. For this reason, we parted earlier than we had originally planned. In the meantime, conditions in Volhynia had changed for the better and we were able to gather there for consultations about issues pertaining to our Association. Later this happened more frequently. Not only did external circumstances force us to this, but there was also an inner urge. Because our earlier Conferences had taken place exclusively in the south, we felt it to be our responsibility, once the door of tolerance was opened, to make up for what we had neglected.

At the time, the Neudorf Church was our center in Volhynia and the site of our Conferences. Brother Ondra was active in this church.

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Following his deportation, he was succeeded by Bro. Lehmann. At that time, there was already a spacious chapel on the spot where there is now a beautiful new one, the second largest in our Union. It was constructed totally of wood, of which there was no shortage, and could accommodate approximately one thousand listeners. Yet each time we were there, it was so crowded that even all the standing room was occupied. It was always a moving spectacle to view the large assembly and to hear the lovely congregational singing, to which the singing of the choir was subsequently added. With the Spirit-anointed sermons of the messengers of Christ, it had such an overwhelming effect on the saints gathered that the tears flowed freely and the prayers of gratitude rose joyfully to heaven. And, yes, many a sinner’s heart was overwhelmed and probably for the first time the prayer was heard from many a lip, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner!”

One of the most memorable of these Conferences we experienced was when the then already aged Bro. H. Berneike appeared as the representative of our brothers and sisters in Germany. Friends and foes in Volhynia were already well aware of our undertaking. There were expectations that something extraordinary would occur. These expectations would not be disappointed. The Governor, who had received information regarding our Conferences, had sent his officials to see to protection and the maintenance of order. These gentlemen attended all the religious sessions of our Conference, including sermons, celebration of Holy Communion, outdoor baptism, and even the love feast that took place at the end. Seasoned with love and the Spirit of God, the Conference proceeded in a spirit of tranquility and delight. ‘I'hey also had opportunity to hear wonderful conversion stories told by the brothers. All of this made a deep impression on these gentlemen, particularly the reinstatement into fellowship of an excommunicated brother who expressed his contrition with tears and a visibly moved heart. The officials were deeply moved by his confession and stated with approval, “This is what penance should be!”

The gentle reader will excuse me for taking this detour from South Russia to Volhynia. The reason for this is that it was the description of our first Conference, which constitutes a noteworthy milestone in the continuity and the developmental process of our story, and thus naturally belongs within the framework of my historical presentation.

At the Conference described above, we said our farewells to our sister Association, which became the second child of our Union; or more accurately stated, we became twin sisters, both born on the same day and at the same place. ‘I'he two had journeyed this way together for

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such a long time and were now separated from one another, each becoming independent.

The necessity for separation was a natural result of the development of the work. It had expanded to the point where proper joint action was really no longer possible. Just as sisters when apart are still bound together by love, the memories of shared youthful experiences continue to nourish. In a similar way, these two sisters—the “West Russian” Association and the “South Russian” Association— were kept together by an inner bond. While writing these lines, I was vividly reminded of the events from the “youth” of our work, as the feelings of that youthful love for our sister Association rose again with renewed force. The preservation and strengthening of this feeling of unity is also the purpose of these lines.

Let us turn once again to the south and begin a new chapter, the subject of which will be the development of our work.

Baptists Rua 65 12. The creation of the Bible courses

To the degree that the number of church members increased—the Lord was opening more doors and more stations and more ministry opportunities—so to the need for more workers increased. We sensed and saw, as did Jesus during His ministry, that “the harvest is great, but the workers are few.” We soon recognized that we could no longer bring in sufficient numbers of trained ministers from abroad to satisfy our need, even to a small degree. Even when we did appoint a minister, this was still inadequate for the twenty or more outstations. ‘These still needed the assistance of brothers who, alongside their regular occupations, could serve with the preaching of the Word and with the leading of services when no minister was available. Such brothers functioned as assistants to the regular ministers and are listed as such in the statistics. They could be found at virtually every one of the larger outstations, though not in large numbers. They demonstrated love and joy in the work of the vineyard of the Lord. As a rule, however, the majority of them were inadequately trained for church work.

All this gave urgency to the question of how this inadequacy might be remedied. The question took on increased urgency as ever more churches emerged. ‘The assistants who enjoyed the confidence of the churches and possessed the necessary gifts needed to be elected as elders and ministers. However, such brothers needed to be better equipped and trained, even if only in the major subject areas. Ahead of anything else, the needed training would include: a thorough knowledge of the Bible, the preparation of sermon outlines, training in a coherent, logical way of thinking, and instruction in proper diction and speaking style.

The topic finally came to the Conference in the form of a motion. Following careful deliberation and discussion, a resolution was accepted in the following form: “In order to remedy the noted need, an annual Bible course, one month in duration, shall take place at an appropriate time. The cost shall be covered, in part, by the Association treasury.” The resolution was soon put into effect. This mission school was, of course, intended only to be a stopgap measure.

The first of these courses took place in Annental, the village where Bro. August Liebig was resident. It was quite natural that this center remained the place for such gatherings. Was this not, as already mentioned, the place where the least amount of enmity could be

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anticipated? It was also centrally located in an area where the German villages lay close together. There was also ample opportunity for practical experience for the participants in the thirty outstations that made up this church. This area, then, was also where most of the course participants came from. Another citcumstance made Annental particularly suitable for this purpose: it was the place of residence of the circumspect, experienced leader of the course, who was simultaneously the chairman of our Association. The brothers and sisters made the stay of the participants even more attractive with their accommodating hospitality. Admittedly, it was no easy task, particularly for those brothers with lesser means, to host one or more guests for the duration of the course. ‘The dear sisters, too, were called upon to make difficult sacrifices.

But love accomplishes everything and this we found in plenty, not only among our own members, but also among those who were not formally affiliated with us. Finally, the issue of cost was a factor in the choice of this location. Most of the brothers had to bear their own travel costs. Only a few without means were sent by the church, which then provided travel funds. In this way only a minor part of the expenses was a charge to the Association treasury.

Despite the fact that participation in the courses entailed considerable sacrifice, large numbers of brothers always came, even over long distances. And it was not only young recruits who came wishing to enlist in the ranks of the soldiers of Christ. Many grey- haired, old, and practiced “veterans” appeared as well, those who for yeats had held positions as ministers and elders. Experience had taught these proven soldiers what is necessary to be ministers of the gospel, and no doubt they would have groaned with Paul, the apostle, ““Who is capable of this?” Possibly, they came to the course to become mote competent. Among the participants was the respected Bro. Lepp of the Mennonite [Brethren] Church, who into his old age was the elder of the church in Einlage. At that time he was already a minister. It was moving to see eager students of all age levels, from 18 to 40 and over, sitting together. Only the love of Christ could bring this about.

I have already mentioned the director, Bro. Liebig. With him was Bro. Ondra, the exceptionally gifted preacher and evangelist. The third was the pedagogically trained Bro. Kessler. The course had at its disposal teaching personnel that could not have been better. We were not always in such a fortunate situation for subsequent courses. It was also certainly the providence of God that gave us such competent personnel.

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Interest in the courses grew markedly. Everyone is aware of the prejudices against which the beginnings of every good cause needs to struggle. However, in this case, all biases were put to rest right from the beginning. It soon became apparent that aside from the learning, the courses bore additional blessed fruit. As is still the practice today, the outstations of the church—Annental had 30 and more of them— received visits from the student brothers. Sundays were particularly appropriate for this. The students then fanned out in all directions for practical experience. ‘hey edified the scattered brothers and sisters, strengthened the bond of love, and won many people for Christ. Thus, simultaneously, the course served the cause of evangelism.

For a fair number of years, for reasons already stated, the location of the courses alternated exclusively among the centers in the area around Odessa.

The second course took place in the following year in Alexanderfeld, or more precisely in Alexandrovka. Brother Ondra could not participate this time and Bro. J. Reimer, a gifted, pedagogically trained member of the Mennonite Brethren, came in his place. As a young, worldly-minded teacher, he had been led to the Lord by Dr. Baedeker who was conducting itinerant evangelism among the Mennonites. He immediately felt the urge to lay his gifts and his energy on the altar for Jesus. For this reason, he was willing to come to us to assist in the work of the Lord as he was able. Later, he participated zealously in the work of spreading the gospel in the south and in the north after the fashion of his spiritual father.

The courses were later conducted in Neu-Danzig, in Neufeld, and more frequently in Steingut. It was there that we were once privileged to have Professor Stroeter with us. He was staying in Odessa just at that time and readily accepted our invitation. Brother Liebig was no longer with us and thus his assistance was so much more welcome. (Professor Stroeter is not a Baptist, and probably will never be one. He is a Methodist and was, at the time, working in the interests of the mission to the Jews.) For that year, the course needed to be shortened by one week, and thus our brothers could only enjoy the blessings of instruction from experts for a short time. Despite this, the shortened exegetical and homiletical instruction was of great value to the participants and his powerful preaching illustrations were of lasting blessing for Steingut and the surrounding area.

Only in more recent times, when more favorable conditions ptevailed, and when there was no longer fear of disruption by the police, as had occurred at the earlier Conference, did the course return

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for one more time to Alt-Danzig.

One further, more recent matter concerning the courses requires mention. When the first steps toward the founding of a proper ministry school were taken by the Union Conference, Bro. Spaeth of Stieglitz, Germany, was considered a prospect for the position of teacher of theology. The brother was to be invited to conduct Bible courses in Volhynia and in the south on a trial basis. The impressions gained would determine whether he would prove to be appropriate for the teaching position offered him. The resolution was acted upon quickly. Brother Spaeth accepted our invitation and soon we had the joy of having, in addition to Bro. Brauer, the sound local minister, a teacher from Germany to lead the courses in Steingut.

Now that the old and proven teachers, the Bros. Liebig and Kessler, have been taken from us through moving away and by death respectively, the courses have been led with blessing by other brothers for several years. In this way, the Lord always provided wonderfully and attested that this was His work.

Our field of work continued to expand ever farther and soon extended to the Don Region and the distant Caucasus where new churches have recently been established. They soon became painfully aware of the shortage of workers, and the brothers who served there realized their need to be better equipped for their important task. The distances to the locations where the Bible courses were being offered were so great that very few found it possible to attend, and even these could not attend each time. In order to remedy this problem, it was decided at one of our Conferences that the courses would be offered in two locations, one in the eastern and one in the western part of our vast field of activity.

‘The third of these dual courses was arranged for the fall of 1910. The date determined by the Conference was for November. This arrangement by our Conference has also demonstrated itself to be a beneficial forward step. Hopefully, it will continue into the future.

Finally, I would like to emphasize the great value of the Bible courses, the blessings of which have already been pointed out. To a large degree it is these courses that have stimulated the development of our churches. This was also unanimously acknowledged at all of our consultations. The evidences for this are obvious. Almost all the churches of our Association were then, and still are, being served by ministers who could not have acquired theological training in any other way aside from our Bible courses and through personal study. Most of them have, nevertheless, carried out their difficult task with the aid and

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the blessing of God. I can truthfully state to the glory of God that many have in this way achieved a good educational level and competence in the preaching of the gospel and that they are in no way inferior to many systematically trained preachers. As evidence for this assertion, I would like to cite several examples.

I need only refer to our departed Bro. Kessler, whose giftedness and work are well known. In our estimation the Lord called him away too early.

Further, Bro. Kludt needs to be mentioned. He was a courageous pioneer in the south and, as long as he lived in Russia, he led his church faithfully and was loved and respected by his congregation. He immigrated later to America to where many of his church members and some of his children had preceded him. We were reluctant to see him leave, so much the more because his work here was so essential. But in his new home, he is the leader of a church as well and is, as we hear, working under the blessing of God. In his success he is in no way inferior to his seminary-trained colleagues.

Brother Fuellbrandt, too, must be given prominence as a product of the Bible courses. Following his conversion in his youth, he soon began to participate actively in the advancement of the flourishing work of God in that region. This brought him to the point where he became one of the first and the most diligent of the course participants. God had gifted him with special aptitude for preaching and learning, besides which he had joy, energy, and endurance for study—characteristics that can take a person a long way. While much of what has brought this brother to his present level of education must be credited to natural ability and a genuine conversion of the heart, it is still undoubtedly true that his regular attendance at the Bible courses contributed to making him the preacher, exegete, and homilist we know him to be today. As far as I know, to date, he has missed none of the courtses—first as a student, then as a teacher and director. Inspired by the Bible courses, he diligently furthered his education and acquired over a period of years a rich fund of knowledge relevant to preaching, so that he could lead, not only a rural church, but also serve the congregation in Odessa as their minister for many years. His written works, too, show him to be a highly educated man. Especially widely distributed is his theological work Béatter vom Lebensbaum [Pages from the Tree of Life], which, with its wealth of stimulating thoughts, is equally valuable as a handbook and aid for preachers and as a devotional book for all readers.

Many other brothers could also be named, such as: Bro. Jakob

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Mueller in Neuburg, Bro. Schimke and his co-worker Bro. Bunk in Bessabotovka, Bro. Jackob Eisemann in Crimea, and his brother A. Eisemann in Bessarabia, Bro. Hetterle in the Belagvesch Church, the Bros. Bechthold, father and son, in the Don Region, Bro. Knauz and his co-worker, the old pioneer Christian Fischer in Friedrichsfeld, and Bro. Busse in the Terek Region. In addition to these, there is an army of assistants.

The Sunday school workers, who also participated in the courses as much as possible, were stimulated to new zeal. The churches or outstations that had hosted a Bible course were renewed and encouraged to more faithful devotion. All of this is incontrovertible evidence that God has blessed the good work of our mission.

Our neighbors, the Mennonite Brethren, introduced Bible courses with similar blessing and success. Brother A. Liebig, during his frequent stays among them, laid the foundation for their church organization, and also introduced the beneficial arrangement of Bible courses among them. Just as at the beginning they came and gave us assistance, so also the Baptist brothers who lived among them frequently attended their Bible courses. While the Mennonite Brethren have many preachers trained at the Hamburg Seminary or some other school of missions, there are an impressive number of messengers of Christ who, aside from the instruction from the Holy Spirit, have received no theological training other than at the Bible courses.

When, in the above descriptions, the great importance and the blessings of the Bible courses have been highlighted, no one should draw the conclusion that the newly founded seminary is unnecessary.» Nothing is further from my thoughts. With these explanations, I simply wanted to provide the evidence that the Lord stood with us in the forward movement of our work, as He has done from the very beginning. With these lines, we do not wish to “sing our own praises.” Rather, like Samuel, we want to set up a memorial to the great guide of our history with the humble testimony, “Thus far the Lord has helped us.”

This “thus far” simultaneously says that we have not yet reached our goal. We have, with our sister Associations, come to the serious recognition that with the progress of time and with numerical growth and the educational advancement of our membership and education in the population generally, we needed to keep pace with the education of our ministers. What, until now, had been adequate, or better stated, that

25 [See note 26 from the 1914 Publisher on the next page.]

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by which, with the help of God, we had just managed to get by, will no longer be adequate for the future if our work is not to suffer harm. For this reason our Association participated warmly in the support of the issue of pastoral education. According to the school treasurer, of all the Associations, ours has sacrificed the greatest amount to this good cause. The Lord has already shown us ways to gather funds for the building of a school of ministry. He will complete the work that has begun, and will help us to gain permission from the government for the establishment of this school.”

26 Comment of the Publishers: As this work goes to press the school situation has already changed. In 1907, the Lodz Church received governmental permission to conduct theological courses in its building. It took advantage of this permission through the leadership of the Union Committee. Unfortunately, the government terminated the courses following the decision by the Union Conference in session at Neudorf, Volhynia, on April 4, 1909, to build a seminary in Zhitomir. Thus, the above assumption of the dear Bro. Pritzkau has not been fulfilled.

72 | Johann li. Pritekau 13.

The church at Michailovka

Despite the fact that the Russian government had ceased granting land to Germans and others for settlement, many foreigners, especially from Germany, continued to come to South Russia where, at the time, land for lease was available very inexpensively for terms of ten years or more. This drew large numbers of German citizens to Russia, particularly to the provinces of Taurida and Ekaterinoslav where they settled large areas of land as leaseholders.

So, alongside the German colonies on crown lands, large numbers of villages came into being on leased lands and developed in every way after the German customs—house, stable, and well on the yard, along with gardens and other such things.

After ten years or more when the leases ran out, the leascholders extended them at, of course, appropriately higher lease costs, and established themselves better and more firmly in the hope that they would be staying forever, or at least for a very long time. But things turned out differently; and in many places this occurred much earlier than had been expected. The properties on which they had settled with such high hopes for the future, and which they had developed into lovely homes, were so much more frequently suddenly sold. At times it was a large landowner who purchased it to manage himself. Often it was a number of small landowners who bought it communally in order to establish a village on land of their own. The occupants, who had been comfortably established for decades, were forced to move. Certainly, by contract they were allowed to tear down their buildings, or to sell them, but this was usually at ridiculous prices. Tearing down the buildings did not bring in much either, and the leaseholders suffered severe losses with such a tradeoff.

Naturally, in the 1860s and 1870s, another piece of land could still be found, and still at reasonable prices. The community was able to stay together and lay the foundation for a new home. Others, for whom the colonization had been of longer duration, were more fortunate. They had been able to remain on the same land for up to three, four, or more lease terms. But following the abolition of serfdom by his majesty, Tsar Alexander II, the conditions for the Russian peasants improved in terms of prosperity and industry. They developed ever more self- confidence and so found the courage and the possibility to acquire larger tracts of land, either from their former manor lord or elsewhere

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by lease or purchase. For this purpose, the government established a special so-called “Farmers’ Bank” that provided them with opportunity to acquire their own land with small amounts of capital. As a result, land prices, quite logically, rose very rapidly and are at the present time still on the rise. In a couple of decades, land that at the beginning could be leased at a rate of one and a half to two rubles per dessiatine leased for as much as 10 to 12 rubles. It had risen so high that many settlers could no longer maintain themselves; and they were forced to leave their homes because the farm could no longer carry such high leasing costs.

A number were forced to vacate their properties because, following the end of the lease term, Russian farmers, who were given preference, applied for the lease.

The Michailovka community was situated on such an estate owned by Grand Duke Michael. ‘The name was given to their village by the leaseholders in honor of their princely Lord. There were, in fact, many other German villages on this extensive estate bearing other names, but Michailovka was the church center of a large and courageous Baptist Church which, with few exceptions, consisted of German citizens and still does today, though most have returned to Germany.

As stated above, these Germans had settled in leased-land colonies near to or among the colonists on crown land, occupied primarily by Mennonites; and thus they had made contact with one another. Through the spiritual movements and revivals with which the dear Lord had visited this region at that time, many Germans found through them, in this supposedly wild Russia, the pearl of great price that had remained hidden from them in Lutheran Germany. This circumstance brought even more Germans to Russia. Later, it attracted those who were already believers and members of Baptist churches in Germany. Many of these had served there as deacons and as co-workers in the gospel and could immediately assist in the nurturing of the new work.

In the beginning, the two confessions—the Mennonite [Brethren] and the Baptists—were bound together as children in one home. ‘They participated jointly in the furthering of the kingdom of God, saw themselves as members of one church, and celebrated the Lord’s Supper together. The newly converted were accepted and baptized without distinction, and when ministers of the Mennonite [Brethren] Church, as for example Bro. Unger or others came, they were welcomed as their own Elders. Likewise, when ministers from our churches went to them, they were treated with the same brotherly respect.

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After all, there existed no valid reason why this should not have been so. Did they not confess one Lord, one faith, and one baptism? Had they not all come to a true conversion of the heart through the same motivation and the same gospel? Through the same experience, they had recognized the most important thing regarding salvation, which is the new birth from God. Did they not agree in the fundamental doctrines, such as the new birth, justification by faith through the atonement of Christ the Lamb of God who bears the sin of the world? In the doctrine of sanctification, baptism, and the Lord’s Supper, they were one and cultivated precious brotherly fellowship together.

The prevailing differences, the swearing of oaths, foot-washing, and nonresistance, were viewed as peripheral during this time, as the worship of God in spirit and in truth moved to the foreground. The Mennonite Brethren did not take offence that the Baptists held varying views and had varying explanations, nor did the Baptists see any reason for separation, when individual Mennonite Brethren insisted upon foot- washing combined with the Lord’s Supper. In a word, in the beginning, the Baptists and the Mennonite Brethren saw themselves as members of the same church.

It did not, however, remain this way. The occasion for the separation was the Mennonite nonresistance Privilegiumsrecht [privilege of exemption from military service on account of views on nonresistance]. It was not that their views on this issue differed so starkly that, for the sake of conscience, the two groups could not have remained one fellowship.

In fact, the Mennonite Brethren themselves were not united on the issue; they were divided into three camps. One party was of the opinion that they must stand firm on this issue with the same consistency as had their forebears. They committed themselves to passing on of this recognized truth, not only to their descendants, but also to others who might wish to join them as Mennonites, insisting that they should be in agreement with them on the teaching of nonresistance and be prepared to accept the consequences.

The other party was of a totally opposite opinion. Their advice was to remain within the framework of the Privilegiums and to declare themselves to the government as Mennonite, establishing no new confession, but rather following the principles of their forebears with greater zeal and thoroughness. Should they be threatened with the loss of military service exemption, they would rather totally sever their connection with the Baptists and turn away from them.

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The third party shared the views of the Baptists on the military issue. They were in agreement with the Baptist Confession of Faith. While they, as all true Christians, did not want war, they did on the other hand recognize that humanity cannot survive without government and that government cannot survive without the military.

These varying views regarding this question gave us cause to search the Word of God relative to this issue. At the time, we German colonists had exactly the same rights as did the Mennonites, even without the confessional position to which the Mennonites held. Before we had contact with them, we had not concerned ourselves about the issue. Now, however, we were prompted to do so. ‘Together we searched the Scriptures in order to find clarity. With the third party, we came to the conviction that the article on military service in the Baptist Confession of Faith is based on the Holy Scriptures.

It also became ever clearer to us that the Bible, especially the New Testament, does not teach a nonresistance that applies to the time prior to the millennial reign of Christ, or that a Christian may not be a soldier. We found that there were believing soldiers during the time of Jesus, such as the centurion and others, and that soldiers could be found in the apostolic church. The passages from the Holy Scriptures that are usually cited by the Mennonites—as for example, Matthew 5:30-44 and other similar passages—do not, according to the convictions we have gained, refer to military service. In the passage cited above and in other similar passages, Jesus does teach a kind of nonresistance. Furthermore, he demonstrates nonresistance by his own example when, without resistance, he allowed himself to be taken captive, tried, abused, and crucified. he same is true of his disciples and apostles, to whom he said prior to his departure, “I send you as sheep among the wolves.” They suffered and died for Jesus and for the truth they had recognized.

These doctrines of nonresistance are still valid today in the practical life of faith of the children of God, and everyone who honestly confesses Christ will, even in our time of freedom, have occasion to suffer insult, scorn, and humiliation of every kind for the sake of Christ. Each one can, justifiably, apply the words of Jesus cited above for one’s own encouragement and comfort. In this, the Mennonites, who boast of their nonresistance, are in general no exception. They go to court, seek to maintain their rights, and defend themselves as much as any other people. That the party holding this conviction was not the smallest among them is proven by the following practice: at baptisms and receptions into membership of non-ethnic

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Mennonites, it was not required that they accept the teaching of nontesistance, since they as Mennonite Brethren had accepted views differing from those of their Mennonite forebears.

Had the privilege of exemption from military service not included the condition that only their own descendants could be accepted into their fellowship, then the Mennonite Brethren and the Baptists would to this day still be one church.

In spiritual matters, we still are one; though naturally, for a separation to take place there had to be formal consent from both sides. The Mennonite Brethren could not remain in one fellowship with us, unless they relinquished their legal rights. This they did not want to do, nor did the Baptists require it of them. Once they had the right to exemption from military service, for which their forebears had paid dearly, we did not take offense at their desire to preserve it for themselves, despite the fact that we did not find it scriptural. We agreed that it was best for those from other confessions whom they baptized to affiliate with the Baptists. Thus it was that alongside the Friedensfeld Mennonite Brethren Church, the Michailovka Baptist Church came into being. It was founded in the year 1885 under the leadership of Bro. A. Liebig, who remained their elder for a long time, though in every way they were an independent church.

Their first co-elder and minister was Bro. Christian Fischer who