A History of the Mennonite Brethren Church, Ja Toews

ethren and the Mennonite Church was provided by the Forestry Service iForstci Dienst) initiated in 1880. Even before the universal conscription law of 1874 was passed, Mennonites endeavored to secure some form of alternative service. The threat of emigration in the event that this request would be denied, forced the Russian government to make liberal concessions. It then proposed a system of release from military service by service in (1) the shops of the Navy Department, (2) the Fire Department of a city, or (3) the Forestry Department. The Mennonites accepted the third option, because this service would enable them to keep their young men together in larger units, and thus make pastoral care possible. In the course of a few years, eight "barracks" were built in different areas to accommodate the young men from all parts of the Mennonite ERA OF PROSPERITY AND PROGRESS (1885-1914] 95 constituency.-'" Each company had an "economist-preacher" (Oekonom- Predigcr) who was in charge of pastoral care as well as material supervisions. This combination of duties was not always conducive for creating a wholesome spiritual atmosphere. Nevertheless, many young men who spent four years (the regular term of service) in these forestry camps have testified to the fact that this experience widened their intellectual horizons and also led to a deeper Christian commitment. In 1913 the total number of young Mennonites in alternative government service numbered about one thousand, at an expense to the churches of three hundred and fifty thousand rubles. This was the price, in terms of money, that the Mennonites of Russia, including the Mennonite Brethren, were willing to pay for the preservation of their biblical and historic position of peace and nonresistance. This cooperation and involvement in the forestry service, according to one observer, "led to a reuniting of all Mennonite groups for one purpose. Such a union . . . within the Mennonite fraternity created a consciousness of kind,' and opened the way for united efforts in various directions for the good of Mennonitism as a whole." 21 'i. New Frontiers in Publication In the realm of production and distribution of Christian literature Russian Mennonite history in the nineteenth century is marked by an almost incredible sterility. By 1845 only one item had been printed, a polemical tract on the Kleine Gemeinde. 22 In the next few decades a few minor works of a pedagogical and historical nature were published. A refreshing oasis in this literary desert was the poetry of Bernhard Harder, teacher and evangelist of" the Ohrloff Mennonite Church. Over one thousand of his poems and hymns have been published. Among the Mennonite Brethren interest in publication manifested itself relatively early in their history, and they became trailblazers in several areas. This is certainly true in historical writing. P. M. Friesen's monumental work, Die All-Evuntfelische M