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

tudy and finally brought him to the knowledge and the blissful enjoyment of truth, also erred in certain things; but he accepted them with love and wisdom from above, and he won over many souls. Together with him, these are now praising the longed-for Lamb in heaven. O Lord Jesus! Give Yourself, Your angels, and Your elect the joy of seeing that your lambs, even when they err, are not sacrificed, persecuted, or become a prey of the wolf, but are sought out, cared for 236 THE MENNONITE BRETHREN CHURCH and become a possession acquired by Your blood and made free through Your truth for time and eternity; and that none of us allow ourselves to be used as hirelings, ravenous wolves in sheep's clothing, or as a hunting dog by Satan, but that all of us together may be filled with the Spirit of Your love and united with one another in faith and become Your blessed possession! Amen.” b) The Minister Johann Harder of Blumenstein, who had still been ordained by Bernhard Fast as elder of the Ohrloff-Halbstadt congregation in 1860, in a very friendly letter of February 11, fully acknowledged the decay of the Mennonite Church but also gave warning in an earnest and friendly manner. Writing to Br. Heinrich Huebert, who had also left the church but had, till then, been a very active member of the Ohrloff congregation, he heartily requested their cooperation: ”... But that you wish to leave us causes us grief, for the church whose condition is in fact as you describe it in your letter, needs members who recognize the decadence, seek to improve matters and pray. . . §88 6. Momentary Lack of Courage and a Wrong Move on the Part of the Three Secessionist Delegates. "We, the undersigned Mennonites of the Elizabethtal Colony— Abraham Comelssen, Isaak Koop, and Johann Claassen of Liebenau— this February 10, 1860, give our word 35 [literally, signature] to the Lord Inspector of the colonies, that we will not secede from the Mennonite Church [!!], not perform any ecclesiastical ceremony, indeed not take any religious action which is forbidden by our church elders— without having first received the express permission of the higher authorities. Joh ann Claassen, Abraham Comelssen, Isaak Koop.” §89 7. Further Actions by the Five Church Elders "To the Molotschna Mennonite Area Administrative Office. From all the chinch elders of the Molotschna Mennonite District [of ‘all’ the elders (7), two were not included: the elders from Ohrloff-Halbstadt and the Kleine Gemeinde], Explanatory Statement "In response to the letter of the honorable Area Administrative Office of the 5th day of this month, regarding the invitation of the Lord Inspector of the Colonies of the 1st day of this month, No. 293, requesting an explanation from us in connection with the members who have seceded from our Mennonite brotherhood, we declare the following to be true: 1) “The position of these erring members consists essentially in the follow