A History of the Mennonite Brethren Church, Ja Toews

THROlKiH STORM AND STRESS 47 March, 1862, shortly after the first baptism. On March 29, twenty-seven Brethren were summoned to appear before the Colony Administrative Office where they were asked to discontinue their services. To this they could not consent. Then they were asked to sign a document declaring their willingness to leave the colony. This they likewise refused to do. (It may be injected here, that in Chortitza, contrary to the situation in the Molotschna, the elders apparently took no official part in dealing with the dissenting group, but left the entire matter in the hands of civic officials.) The matter of procuring some measure of relief and recognition reached a state of such urgency that the Chortitza Brethren sent one of their members, Gerhard Wieler, an exiled schoolteacher from the Molotschna, to Petersburg to work together with Claassen in the common cause. Claassen's numerous connections with high government officials and with prominent "evangelicals" in the aristocracy of Petersburg were a major factor in the eventual success of his venture. In a private letter to his wife he lists the people with whom he associated during his stay in the capital; the list reads like a "Who's Who" among the elite of Petersburg. 32 When Claassen applied to the Molotschna Colony Administrative Office for a renewal of his passport, his request was denied. He went for counsel to his gracious friend, Senator von Hahn, who informed him that a citizen who had paid his taxes could not be denied a passport. He permitted Claassen to use his name in the communications with the Colony Administrative Office. After some delay, the petition for renewal was granted. Claassen's "connections" were a matter of curiosity among the villagers and a matter of extreme displeasure among ecclesiastical and civil authorities in the Molotschna. Claassen's mission culminated in a special petition presented to the Russian Tsar on May 21, 1862. In the preamble of this document an account is given of the circumstances under which the Mennonite Brethren Church originated. The petition emphasizes the fact that the Brethren intend to form a church in the spirit of strict and true disciples of the Gospel and of their first teacher, Menno Simons. 33 The Brethren find historical precedent for their venture in the establishment of the Kleine Gemeinde and the Grosse Gemeinde, both of which have been fully recognized as Mennonite churches. The petition closes with a special appeal for protection and the request for basic freedoms: a) Freedom of worship — without molestation and persecution from local authorities. b) Freedom to exercise their religious and civil rights under legal protection. 34 A similar petition was presented on June 4, 1862 by Gerhard Wieler, the deputy of the Chortitza Mennonite Brethren Church. 35 48 HISTORY OF THE MENNONITE BRETHREN CHURCH Although the two representatives received assurances