A History of the Mennonite Brethren Church, Ja Toews

rd brother visited the Molotschna Brethren and there, on March 4, these three received baptism on the confession of their faith." One week later these Brethren baptized eighteen others in the Dnieper River near Einlage. Hence March 11, 1862, is generally accepted as the "Founders' Day" of the Einlage M. B. Church. Contrary to the early policy of the Molotschna Brethren, the church here made baptism by immersion the prerequisite for membership and a requirement for participation in communion from the very beginning. The Brethren here were subjected to the same kind of repressive measures as their fellow-believers in the Molotschna. The account of this struggle for survival and recognition is the story of the next chapter. Chapter 4 Through Storm and Stress The late German Chancellor, Conrad Adenauer, once defined history as "the sum total of things that could have been avoided." The early history of the Mennonite Brethren Church contains many things that could have been avoided by more tolerance and discernment on the part of ecclesiastical and civil authorities, and by a little more discretion and moderation on the part of some early Brethren. However, Mennonite historians in recent years have been generally agreed that the major responsibility for the harassment and ill-treatment of the dissenting group must be placed upon the church leadership of that day. 1 The submission of the Document of Secession to the Kirchenkonvent set off a chain reaction, the magnitude of which in all probability had not been foreseen by the Brethren. Although the Mennonites had always held to the doctrine of the separation of church and state in principle, their historical experience in Russia had produced a system which Adolf Ehrt has described as the "Preacher- Landowner- Colony Administrator-Complex" (Prediger-Wirt-Schulz Komplex). 2 In many instances church and civil officials collaborated to use coercion to advance what they considered to be the best interests of church and colony. This blending of interests is evident in the reactions to the secession of the Brethren. Opposition to Secession Opposition to secession came from several sources. Reaction of the Elders The first reaction came from the Kirchenkonvent. As soon as the elders had received copies of the Document of Secession, they called a meeting for January 18 at Alexanderwohl to discuss the matter. Strangely enough, the Colony Administrator, sometimes referred to as District Elder, 3 had also been invited to this meeting. According to 38 THROUGH STORM AND STRESS 39 Jacob Becker, five of the six elders present "insisted that the seceding members be turned over to the District Court for prosecution." 4 There appears to be strong circumstantial evidence that David Friesen, the Colony Administrator, had a decisive influence on the formulation of the elders' response. Against the protest of elder Bernhard Fast and the Ohrloff-Halbsta