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

th, be it art, literature, prosperity, intellectual achievement, or technology. There is a resurgence of life, a leap forward, and then weakening and recession. Biblical history appears to be no exception. The Old Tes- tament too records spiritual ascensions and decline.6 People responded to the purposes of God, accepted their depen- dence on the Almighty, then weakened in their commitment 3 A PILGRIMAGE OF FAITH as self-fulfillment regained priority. Natural humanity does not have the volitional ability for a life of continued dependence on the supernatural. A sustain- ing relationship with God requires the continuous nurture of renewal Some find it in the symbolism of the Old Testament Mosaic institutions, others in the New Testament provision of "abiding in Christ." In the Pauline epistles the need for such continuous inward renewal appears to be almost a law of life.7 As with Old Testament Israel, so the history of Christian- ity illustrates the continuing process of God faithfully bringing renewal to his people and his church** The Mennonite church, heir of the Anabaptists who were known as the left wing of the Reformation, is no exception.9 Its story is not merely one of social, cultural and economic factors, but rather a story of spiritual faithfulness and life-giv- ing renewal. As John A. Toews has written, "Church renewal and new life movements cannot be explained simply in terms of an historic framework of cause and effect."10 Religious his- tory demands the recognition of the gracious sovereignty of God who guides and intervenes in the affairs of his people. The story of the Mennonites in Russia-their Dutch origin and migration from the Netherlands to Prussia (1530s and fol- lowing), and then to Russia (1789 and following)-is well doc- umented in numerous publications.11 A brief review of the spiritual conditions within the Mennonite church in the decades preceding the birth of the Mennonite Brethren re- veals the shadows and light which characterized the forma- tion and the continuing pilgrimage of the new movement. THE MENNONITE CHURCH IN RUSSIA IN THE FIRST HALF OF THE NINETEENTO CENTURY The story of the Mennonite church in Russia, beginning with the early immigrants in 1788, reveals that spiritual life had sunk to a low ebb and ethical practices had seriously de- clined,12 The Mennonite community of that era, according to 4 A PHENOMENON OF RENEWAL historian Robert Kreider, exhibited many of the characteristics of the Volkskirche, or what in English is termed the parish pat- tern of the church.13 Historian Gerhard Lohren