THE MENNONITE BROTHERHOOD IN RUSSIA (1789 - 1910), P. M. Friesen, 1911

yrs, in which they expressed their views concerning that which was to be established among us. ... As I was delivering this sermon to the brethren, H. W. grasped his cap and said: ‘That is wrong,’ and walked out. Nearly everyone followed him. That seemed to be the end of everything, for I could not acknowledge their self-proclaimed holiness, and without such a concession they were prepared to reject me. [He is again recognized as elder; but how the matter ran its course can not be clearly understood. . . .] Then I spoke once again emphasizing the new, and God worked mighty wonders in our midst, convicting the hearts of the foolish so that they were compelled to confess their great shame, indeed more than that, as Paul says, such as is not found even among the pagans; and that not only one, as in Joshua’s time, but more than two or three among the few of us. And God gave strength to discipline in accordance with His Word. Nevertheless, Documentary Supplement 133 one cannot eradicate the spirit of Achan entirely because he remains hidden until God reveals him. . . . h) “I must go back once more; for when we had become a separate congregation it was our desire willingly to serve God in all simplicity and keep all His commandments as Jesus had instructed His disciples in Matt. 28. As a consequence, Jesus’ command to wash one another’s feet, which He both taught and practiced as an act of love, thus became very important to us, especially since he had very urgently commended it to us four times. The Frisians and Flemish had rejected it for many years [though not all: the old Flemish, Alexanderwohl and Gnadenfeld, practiced it continuously]. And since we became more and more convinced that we should adopt the practice— this was approximately in 1826— the words of the author in the Martyr's Mirror were fulfilled where he spoke: Where God erects a temple, Satan seeks to destroy it. But God purified us, . . . and so we adopted the loving practice and intend, God willing, to retain it. . . .” [It appears to be Reimer’s opinion that the renewal of the practice of footwashing among other things produced spiritual pride which in turn led to the confusion described above. We are not in possession of the conclusion of the document.] i) Aside from a few handwritten documents from inside the Kleine Gemeinde, which add nothing new to the characterization of this church, we possess a small printed booklet of some forty pages entitled: Eine Einfache Erklaerung ueber einige Glaubenssaetze der sogenannten Kleinen Gemeinde (A Simple Explanation of a few Dogmas of the so-called Kleine Gemeinde). “Written by a well-intentioned, faithful servant of the Word of the Lord [Abraham Friesen] in 1845, Danzig, and published by the Gerhard Press.” Abraham Friesen later became elder 56 of this church. The booklet is an energetic defense of the secession and the church’s unique position. The language is much clearer, indicating a