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

Br. Neufeld left the District of Chortitza and moved to the city of Stavropol in the vicinity of the Kuban settlement [which was once again brought to a state of turmoil for a time by him, partially in the company of Johann Friesen of Gnadenheim and other adherents of the excesses of 1864/1865]. The departure of Br. Heinrich Neufeld occurred in the winter of 1865-1866. Two ministers were now elected on a temporary basis: Br. Peter Friesen of Chortitza [d. in Wiesenfeld] and Br. Aron Lepp [later an elder in Andreasfeld]. These men both tried to do §152 340 THE MENNONITE BRETHREN CHURCH their best in the Kingdom of God, and attempted to bring order into the congregation on account of which [by one group] they were considered legalistic and pharisaical. In the midst of these troubles Br. Unger looked to Hamburg once again. §153 2. Help from the Anabaptists of the Hamburg Confession: the first visit of Brother August Liebig. As we know [H. Epp], Br. Unger was in correspondence with the brethren from Hamburg. These people knew, therefore, that there was still no organized church in the District of Chortitza. As late as 1865 Br. Unger had suggested that several brethren write to Hamburg requesting that a minister be sent to help organize the church. The following brethren signed that request: Abraham Unger, Cornelius Unger, Cornelius Fast, Johann Neufeld, Johann Loewen, Hermann Bom, Heinrich Epp [the "reporter”] and Johann Epp. 132 “These men desired that the congregation be established on a secure foundation,” which up to that time had not been the case. In the spring of 1866, Minister August Liebig arrived [cf. above "Old- and Neu-Danzig,”— Katalui in the Dobrudscha]. “God is a God of order. But Br. Liebig found conflict and confusion in our church.” He began with an address on Sunday, which the brothers and sisters found "very fine, serious, and engaging.” Following this a “congregational meeting” [brotherhood counsel] was arranged. Minister Liebig was asked to chair the meeting. He immediately asked that someone be delegated to take minutes of the proceedings— which was quite unknown to some brethren. Hearing this, the chairman delivered "a very gentle lesson on the questionable usefulness of a church meeting when nothing is recorded.” Many brethren found that quite enlightening! So they followed his advice. The most eloquent brethren spoke up; even before one had finished, he was interrupted by another. They all remained seated while speaking. At this the chairman interrupted the meeting with the words, "Brethren, this is certainly not the way we do it. God is a God of order. He who wishes to speak must rise to his feet and address the whole assembly, one after the other. A speaker should not speak more than three times to the same point, so that the consensus of the group can emerge.” Many felt this latter comment to be enlightening, except those brethren "who were used to making weighty sta