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

he Chinch; all these men were characterized by the firmness of their convictions as well as their tolerance of and affection toward all of Christ’s disciples. The concept of the “one universal Christian Church” was a significant aspect of their thought. An interesting man Holland 35 was J. Sinatra (d. 1800), an outstanding minister of the Waterlander congregation in Harlingen, Friesland. The Reformed ministers, once they had overcome the Remonstrants at the Synod of Dort, 1618-19, demonstrated great concern for the orthodoxy of the Mennonite ministers. Sinstra for example, was too latitudinarian for them, and through their efforts they were instrumental in getting the authorities to deny him the right to preach for many years! By 1757, however, such a change in the climate of opinion had occurred that the Frisian provincial legislature could persuade Sinstra to come to Leeu warden, the capital of Friesland, so that the representatives could attend his services in the local Mennonite church while the legislature was in session. 4. The Dutch Mennonites (Doopsgezinde) Today. a) Today the Dutch Mennonite Churches are well ordered. They number about 70,000 persons (members and children) with about 130 congregations and an equal number of pastors (called “teachers, Praedikanten or Domines”). Despite considerable congregational in- dependence, the congregations are nevertheless closely tied to one another through mutual financial support, a common seminary and the exchange of ministers, etc. The first tentative and irregular education of a trained ministry began in Amsterdam under the direction of Dr. de Haan and Jakob Deknatel, among others, in the first half of the 18th century. The first teachers at the seminary (at first only one, then two at the same time) were the professors Niewenhuis (d. 1761), Osterbaan, Hesselink, R. Koopmanns, L. Koopmanns, Samuel Mueller, de Hoof Scheffer (d. 1893), and S. Hoekstra (d. 1898); in recent years, S. Cramer, and de Buissy (doctors of theology). These men were also professors at the University of Amsterdam, with which the seminary has been intimately associated for a long time. Dutch Anabaptist students of theology may spend the first three years studying at any Dutch university,— though most of them study in Amsterdam, more particularly at the seminary there. Here they are examined and accredited. The congregations, in accordance with a longstanding policy openly arrived at, choose their ministers only from the ranks of those thus accredited. These Dutch Anabaptist theologians are highly regarded in the Protestant theological world (cf. further “e” and §22, g). The largest Anabaptist congregation of the Netherlands is located in Amsterdam numbering some 10,000 persons of which over half are baptized members (next to Chortitza in Southern Russia the largest and most compact Mennonite congregation of the world), with 5(67) pastors. There are also congregation