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

, were almost or Documentary Supplements 447 entirely disregarded. The one demand always persisted: that we could not form an independent church, but must definitely return to the churches in which we had been bom, which now hated, persecuted and excommunicated us because we were children of God. Because these demands could not be sufficiently satisfied, false witnesses were again used to defame us before the whole world. In spite of being dragged from Herod to Pilate, our church remained true to its confession and maintained its efforts to add to her divine knowledge in order to attain godly maturity. II. Then we come to the question whether we, who call ourselves children of God, have done nothing amiss. Have we observed the adage to deprive the enemy of every reason for which he could speak evil of us? Have we always behaved blamelessly toward our brothers in the flesh 226 and given them no offense or annoyance? We must admit, to our own shame, that in the face of the hostile attitude they continually showed toward us, we did not all maintain Christian love, but frequently fought for the honor of the Savior with strange and false zeal, behaving unwisely toward those who are outside, and thereby giving manifold occasion for irritation. Yet because we generally endeavored to search for the evangelical truth and ordered our conduct accordingly, the Lord was gracious toward us, so that we acknowledged and repented of the wrong we committed in ignorance, but which we later recognized, and cleansed ourselves of all the dross that clung to us. Our church grew and increased in knowledge and membership. III. After many a persecution had come over the church, and Satan, as a roaring lion, had seen that he was incapable of harming us with his blood-thirsty manipulations, he then tried to steal into the flock of Christ in another manner, in the form of an angel. Some brethren who had the respect of the church began to preach doctrines that came from an egotistic spirit, and were contrary to the essence of the Gospel. The admonition which the Apostle Paul gave to bishops and elders in Acts 20:28-32, was not sufficiently heeded. Therefore gruesome wolves invaded the flock and did not spare it, but through lovelessness and a judgmental and domineering spirit brought it to the point where a schism occurred. Primarily, the church sinned in that: 1. All interaction with the believers who had left the church because of the unrighteous conduct [see 4. and 8. above], or had been thrust from it, was suspended. No kiss or greeting or other friendly encounter in word or deed was permitted to occur. 2. Interaction with those who were outside was spoken of and carried out so roughly that no one could gain confidence in the believers. Instead the world 227 was rejected and provoked to anger because it was regarded with disdain. 3. Finally, the happy and frivolous manner of 448 THE MENNONITE BRETHREN CHURCH