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

t baptism by immersion. The sincerity of these brethren and those closely related to them (such as Elder Johann Harder, etc.) was questioned repeatedly by many church members. The M.B. Church could not grasp the fact— O we thick of head and narrow of heart— that not everyone else was convinced that we knew it all and had nothin g worthwhile to learn from anyone else, d) Nor did one develop toward that final spiritual ideal that had been taught by Wuest: the understanding of the doctrine of the spiritual fellowship in love and daily life with the whole “brotherhood” (the original text does in fact use the word “brotherhood”— in Russian translated “bratstvo” I Peter 2:17). Claassen had this consciousness. In St. Petersburg he practiced such fellowship with the Mennonites there as well as with the Baptists in Tiflis. At the Ovetschka, in spite of everything that had happened in the “Brotherhood School” and the "parting quarrels” between him and Nikolai Schmidt, he had intimate fellowship with the latter, as well as with Cornelius Reimer, Jakob Giesbrecht and others, for which he was occasionally severely criticized, e) Jakob Reimer had a complete understanding for the alliance, in the best sense of the word. During the “mad year” he wrote in a letter to Abraham Unger about New Year, 1865: . . Dear Brother Unger, I am completely in favor of the alliance; for the true body of Christ consists of all true believers from all confessions and nations, who will come from the East and the West, the North and the South, and will sit at table in the Kingdom of God with Abraham, Isaak and Jacob, and you and I will also be present through the grace of God and the merits of Jesus Christ . . . (During this time Reimer had intimate fellowship with Abraham Matthies, cf. #51: “Brotherhood”— an abomination in the eyes of the “high apostles.”) f) However, Claassen and Reimer had contributed their most essential service in connection with the June (2) Retrospect and Prospect 457 Reforms, and have never since exercised a similar influence on the entire brotherhood. Humanly speaking, what they achieved through their suffering and sacrificial service in behalf of the church was sufficient. 247 The work of each continued, but in a much more limited sphere, g) Abraham Unger was in favor of the alliance as well, except in connection with the communion service (cf. #223, b). h) From this point on, as more and more people joined the group (in that particular Mennonite situation), a new element was introduced: an element brought in by people who knew nothing substantial about Joseph or Moses, Wuest or Claassen, or Unger, in so far as it made any difference in their thinking. This element is described in the footnote to the June Reforms as “Kleingemeindsch” (having a very narrow outlook, the old-Mennonite style with a strong puritanical bent; ingrown, fearful, and intolerant in thought and life-style like the Kleine Gemeinde). H