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

. Petersburg; and even then, in order to receive his passport, the Area Administrative Office, in order to irritate him, made him come from Liebenau to Halbstadt six times (at a distance of approximately 22 versts one way, or a total of approximately 264 versts!). The letter from the Minister of War, with which Claassen and the brethren travelled to the Caucasus in the fall of 1862, enabled the Molotschna and Chortitza brethren to establish the currently flourishing settlements of Wohldemfuerst and Alexanderfeld— now Velikokniashesk and Alexandrodar— of 1864-66 in the Kuban. (Claassen’s activities in St. Petersburg and the settlement in the Kuban are described in greater detail in XXV.: “Documentary Supplement.”) 15. The Question regarding Marriage in the Molotschna M.B. §110 Church a) The circular mentioned in Harder’s document of December 24, 1863, shows how everyone was concerned to inflict pain and dishonor upon 258 THE MENNONITE BRETHREN CHURCH the M.B. Church after the government had forced the local authorities to issue passports and remove the civil restrictions. The question of marriage, which this circular treats in such an offensive manner, was conclusively settled in the Molotschna only around 1865 and later, after David Friesen had stepped down from office and Franz Dyck of Blumenort and Cornelius Toews of Tiege (who died as a member of the M.B. Church), both members of the Ohrloff congregation, had become the colony administrators. b) The fine circular to the village mayors reads as follows: “Since some among the so-called joyous brethren, in spite of the order issued against them, not to undertake any ecclesiastical acts until their newly-formed sect should be recognized 58 by the authorities and our entire Council of Elders, continue to baptize and perform marriages, 59 the Area Administrative Office orders the village offices not to recognize these marriages as valid or in any way to view the persons, living in this kind of unchastity, as a family. 60 On the contrary, each member is to remain on his original family register and the illegitimately- born children are to be appended to the family register of the respective female persons. Since dubious opinions regarding the foregoing matter have arisen in some of the village offices, the Area Administrative Office orders the village offices to enforce the order as given above and to keep correct copies of the same on hand. The Area Administrative Office at Halbstadt, December 7, 1863. No. 12652. Colony Administrator Friesen.” c) The Brethren replied energetically in a presentation which had been inserted into the Promemoria of a petition to the Ministry of Crown Lands of December 30, 1863. (Cf. further #175(2).) The Brethren wrote: ". . . Marriages take place in the Lord according to the Word of God, as can also be seen from article 10 of the Confession of Faith 61 of the Anabaptist-Mennonite churches concerning holy matrimo