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

e have not acted against the government.’ n) It is true that during the earliest years such devotional books as Besser’s Bibelerklaerung , Arndt’s Wahres Christentum and Starke’s Prayerbook were burned. Their practice of baptism is striking, in that all of their members are rebaptized, whether they were once baptized or not— even those who, according to their own profession, had once received baptism on faith (the infant baptism of the church, naturally, is not even recognized), because immersion and not sp rinkling is deemed to be the Scriptural mode of baptism. Therefore they baptize in streams or other still bodies of water on the steppes. I am unable to confirm oft-repeated rumors concerning acts of indecency at baptismal services. Reports which I have recently received from reliable sources inform me that a baptismal candidate is first subjected to a rigorous examination of his faith and after giving an affirmative answer to the question whether he is willing to endure everything for the faith, and, if need be, to forsake all— not to consider property nor blood— he undergoes the rite of baptism dressed in white clothing. If at first their worship services were tempestuous in character and the exposition of the Word was interrupted by Glorias and Hallelujahs and hand clapping by a few (they sing their songs in a rapid tempo, often to the accompaniment of a harmonica or violin), later reports attest much more orderly proceedings. Indeed, one must admit that after the first feverish heat was dissipated, more sobriety and discretion prevailed among them, o) Not these indicated aberrations but the essential truth (as already developed above) confronting the corrupt and disordered essence of the community out of which the so-called ‘Huepfer’ emerged, is the reason why their number increases even yet and why new members are constantly being prepared for baptism. p) “Inadequate as the above summary may be, I have nevertheless sought to avoid everything which did not come to me from a reliable Documentary Supplements 393 source. If I have been able to contribute, by way of this work, to the Lord’s Kingdom on earth, though it be only a little mortar and stone, I shall be happy. He himself will acknowledge that which His unprofitable servant has done, though in weakness. July, 1864. Dobbert, Pastor at Prischib.” 16. Minutes of the Orloff-Halbstadt Ministers and Additional Material About the Meeting of the Secessionists. a) Jacob Becker writes the following to Claassen (St. Petersburg) about the first attempts to bring order to the meetings for edification. “Rudnerweide, May 8, 1861. ... (1) In Elizabethtal, where we met last Sunday, we read from I Cor. 14. We said chiefly that when the congregation comes together, it would be good if two people would place themselves in the midst of the group and read loudly to the rest, so that all could hear, even those sitting at a distance— and then also speak