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

. Under the guise of “cleansing” the church, they threw their brother out of the house because his beard was either too long or too short, because of a button or hook, because of a shibboleth or "Sib.”! 32 DUTCH-PRUSSIAN ANABAPTISTS Finally, after the church had thus been cut up into little pieces by the proponents as well as the opponents of the “strict ban,” peace-loving men finall y came to power around 1680. These strove for reconciliation on the basis of love, unity in essentials, and freedom in regard to externals and matters of minor import. The “Olive Branch” (ca. 1630) was a kind of formula of concord (Agreement, Comparison, “Summary”). In 1640, 74 ministers representing the three main groups— the Flemish, Frisian, and High German (South German) Mennonites— united. An excerpt from these three confessions of faith (i.e., 1. the "Olive Branch” of 1627-30; 2. the “South German or Frisian” of 1630; and 3. the “Dortrecht” confession of the United Flemish of 1632) constitutes the confession repeatedly referred to below. It is called the “Rudnerweide” and “Kronsweide” confession in the “Glaubensbekenntnis der Menno- niten Brueder Gemeinde” (Confession of Faith of the M.B. Church) of 1900/1902 as well as that of the “combined Flemish, Frisian and South German Anabaptist-Mennonite congregations.” Only a few very strict groups, such as the old-Flemish and old-Frisians, refused to join this association. b) But before this formal union could gain in strength, before it could be established, a new enemy in the form of Socinianism or Antitrinitarianism, also called Unitarianism, 5 assailed this fellowship- weakened by incessant quarrels over dogma and ceremonies, a fellowship bound to ceremony, catechism and a sterile orthodoxy rather than to a warm inner faith. Two Italian Protestant theologians, Socinus the elder, who died in Zurich in 1562, and his nephew, who died in Poland in 1604 (where a Unitarian Church was established which exists to this day in Hungary as an officially recognized Protestant body), deviated from the orthodox Christian teaching on the consubstantiality of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. There was no denial of Christ as the Redeemer, though His accomplishments were deprecated and human will and man’s capacity to perform good works, overly accentuated. These ideas reached the Dutch Mennonite congregations by way of their Polish brethren. The nephew of Socinus attempted to win our forefathers in Poland to his views, and to a certain extent he succeeded, as can be seen from a study of church history. Our specifically Mennonite histories hardly touch on this subject, if at all. After the initial period of persecution had ended, they concerned themselves rather with such matters as the acquisition or loss of living and trading rights, with the privileges and industry of our ancestors, generally speaking in glowing terms of their great piety, religious faithfulness and morality, so