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

sk, on Jan. 6, 1860, after they had recognized the moral decay that had entered the church as well as the private lives of their fellow believers, decided to form an independent church in accordance with their convictions in the sense of true and strict disciples of the teaching of the Gospel and their original teacher, Menno Simons. c) “As guidelines they used the same right attested to both by the Gospel and Menno’s teaching, as was used earlier and repeatedly in the similar instances in the Molotschna Mennonite congregations, such as §159 346 THE MENNONITE BRETHREN CHURCH the Lichtenauer, and so-called ‘Kleine’ Gemeinde, which are recognized to this day and serve as examples. In spite of this, the church elders, to whom the formation of a new church appeared to be an act threatening their authority, persuaded the local authorities to initiate such oppressive and persecutive measures that the newly established church was not only doomed to complete economic ruin, but also daily lost more and more civil rights and privileges. These actions involuntarily call to mind the days of the fanatical inquisition in the Middle Ages. d) “The Supervisory Commission for the welfare of foreign settlers in South Russia, although it received complaints regarding the above-mentioned grievances, has, until the present, neglected to limit the arbitrariness of the Area Administrative Office, rather it has strengthened it in its arbitrary actions through its decrees as well as and especially in that the numerous orders of the Ministry of Crown Lands— consequent to the complaints of the undersigned for an explanation of the matter at hand— have remained unanswered by the Supervisory Commission for nearly a full year. e) “Although the last-mentioned circumstance of itself may already serve as proof of the unjust handling of this matter on the part of the entire colonial administration, it nevertheless still follows that the refusal of the Supervisory Commission to submit the required explanations de- prives the Ministry of Crown Lands of the possibility of taking appropriate measures for the protection of the new Mennonite church, so that complete ruin continues to threaten people whose hearts are faithfully devoted to their faith, emperor and fatherland. (People who only and solely plead to be allowed to strive, in word and deed, in church, family and fellowship, amid their other fellow believers, to call to life anew the virtues of their forefathers that are disappearing among their descendants, or, in extreme emergency, to practice this their life purpose by resettling on crown or other purchased territories.) [This bracketed passage is crossed out with a pencil in our copy.] f) “Most gracious Emperor! Incline your ear to the humble complaint of your faithful children, who, next to God, seek their aid from you: their petition is that they be granted a just protection in the practice of their evangelical wor