A Pilgrimage Of Faith, J.B. Toews, 1993

1929 to 1957 includes the following key events: 1929-1930: Ministers heavily taxed, many leaders ban- ished; church buildings closed. 1935: All religious meetings forbidden, even in private 149 A PILGRIMAGE OF FAITH homes. 1941: The last men arrested; all families interned in Siberia and Kazakhstan, except those that managed to retreat with the German army. 1957: Founding of the first Mennonite Brethren Church in Kazakhstan, illegal and much persecuted. Only In 1967 was the Mennonite Brethren Church in the city of Karaganda given legal status to conduct public services. In the decade from 1957 to 1967 many Mennonite Brethren ministers and leaders were arrested and exiled as they met in private homes and in forests to worship and nur- ture the spiritual life of the faithful35 Meanwhile, in 1944, the Baptists received legal status, al- though they remained under stringent state regulations and suffered frequent interference from the communist authorities. The same authorities, however, considered the Mennonite Brethren a misguided sect and continued to persecute them for twenty more years.36 Theological affinity between the Baptists and the Menno- nite Brethren in soteriology and ordinances (baptism and communion) provided the bridge for many Mennonite Brethren to relate to the Baptist movement for spiritual sur- vival When the Mennonite Brethren Church re-emerged or- ganizationally on May 28, 1965, the relationship with the Bap- tists became an issue, resulting in the following statement:37 Some Principles of the GMB Church of Karaganda (Confirmed by the brotherhood of the church on May 28, 1965) According to the words of Jesus in John 17:21 "that they all may be one," we love all children of God and as mem- bers of Christ's body want to have fellowship with all true believers, including communion fellowship. In spite of this brotherly love, which we want to hold high, children of God of various doctrinal kinds will go 150 IN THE SHADOW OF THE RUSSIAN REVOLUTION their separate ways in many questions until the coming of the Lord. So we, the MB Church of Karaganda, want to hold fast to the centuries-old teachings of our fathers in the faith, which teachings, on the basis of the Word of God, have become ours. A. What are the differences between the GMB Church and the Baptists the AUCECB (apart from nonresistance and refusal of the oath)? 1. Complete separation of church and state, meaning no interference in our church matters. At the same time we wish to be obedient citizens of our land and recognize the rights of the auth