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

orities over us. 2. Independence of the individual congregation. Con- ferences only give advisory resolutions. Therefore no domination by a central church authority. 3. Free preaching of the whole gospel in our meetings according to the commission of our Lord Jesus. 4. Regular Bible studies and prayer meetings apart from the Sunday services. 5. A clearly Christian upbringing of children, indepen- dent of the opinion of the godless world. 6. Priesthood of all believers in the congregation, that is, a congregation of active lay members who are all in- volved in building the church and working for the Lord. That is why the examination of members, baptism and communion, questions of discipline, elections, consecra- tions and the like are all carried out in front of and with the whole congregation.38 While the Mennonite Brethren recognized some affinity with the Baptists, they held to several points of difference in doc- trine and polity. An indication of the impact of the renewed Mennonite Brethren Church was the fact that even communist writers took grudging note of it. In a publication titled The Sects: Their 151 A PILGRIMAGE OF FAJTH Faith and Their Affairs, one writer noted a revival among Men- nonites since 1957. He was referring to the sweeping revival of the 1950s, especially among Mennonite Brethren young people, which led to the rebirth of the Mennonite Brethren Church.39 A later publication on the Mennonites by Viktor E Krestyaninov in 1967 made special reference to the "New Men- nonites" (Mennonite Brethren), expressing concern about the influence of their travelling preachers upon young people. "They have considerable experience as educators and are able to arouse the interest of youth in religious questions by orga- nizing activities such as performance in choirs, orchestras, and Bible classes," Krestyaninov, though a communist, spoke highly of their behavior and quality of work: The Mennonites (new Mennonites) do not drink or smoke, and pay particular attention to bodily cleanliness as a symbol of spiritual purity. Their life tends to be con- centrated upon the family, and their cultivation of reading, handicrafts, singing and other music serves as a protection against the distraction of political and antireligious club activities outside the home. The language spoken at home is usually Low German, and embroidered religious texts are a prominent feature in every Mennonite home, The Mennonites are noted for their industry and their con- scientious attitude to the work entrusted to them at Soviet enterprises, collective and state f