A History of the Mennonite Brethren Church, Ja Toews

also divided on the issue of using force against fellow-Mennonites when the latter had violated village or colony regulations. Many felt that corporal punishment or imprison- ment of a fellow church member was inconsistent with the historic faith and practice of the church. The secession of a small, culturally conserva- tive group in the years after 1812 under the leadership of Claas Reimer was primarily over this issue. Between 1820 and 1850 the Mennonites of South Russia went through a kind of Kulturkampf of their own. The progressive measures of Johann Cornies for the improvement of the colonies were authorized and enforced by the District Office (Gebiets- amt) and the Supervisory Commission of Odessa. Jacob Warkentin, el- der of the Lichtenau Church (Grosse Gemeinde) for seventeen years, was deposed from his office in 1841 because of his opposition to certain regulations of the Agricultural Improvement Society. The large church, to which about three-fourths of all Mennonites in the Molotschna belonged, was divided into three parishes by the District Office and the Supervisory Commission in order to weaken its opposition to civil authorities. 23 In 1847 Heinrich Wiens was deposed from office as elder of the Margenau-Schoensee Church and exiled for similar reasons." Before his banishment from the Molotschna, Elder Wiens prepared a moving farewell address which was read to the congregation by one of his associate ministers. This message provides a significant glimpse into the life of the church at that time. As reasons for his exile Wiens mentions hatred, the spirit of revenge, false accusations and slander. Then he appeals to his parishioners with these words: Members and brethren living in enmity and strife, be ye reconciled! And you, who have to this day indulged in excessive drinking, and have not renounced the pleasures and the pride of life, I plead with you, for God's sake and Lhe salvation of your souls, leave all this and come in true repentance so that (.here may be rejoicing before God and his holy angels." Perhaps the moral and spiritual decline among the Mennonites is manifested most vividly in the controversies that centered around the "land-question." The socio-economic aspects of this problem were accompanied by moral and spiritual implications. In describing the decline of the spiritual life in the colonies, J. H. Lohrenz observes that: "The long period of strife between the landowners and the tenants largely destroyed the brotherly relationship between the two classes." 26 The fact that the ministers and elders belonged almost exclusively to the wealthier class of the landed farmers, added a tragic dimension to this problem. The church leaders sided with the landowners and became defenders of the status quo. In their sad plight the landless appealed not only to the district officials and the Supervisory Commission, but also presented moving petitions to the Council of Elders (Kirc