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

d of an education, the Dutch employ only theologically trained and salaried ministers. 13 Holland 37 c) In Southern Russia, especially in the M.B. churches during the last thirty years, the attempt is being made slowly to become freed from this one-sided West Prussian system and to move gradually in the direction of the natural and correct apostolic pattern, a combination of the above positions, where, in the case of need, the elder (leading minister) is paid a salary, and where, increasingly, a growing number of individuals are voluntarily acquiring a theological training. Nevertheless, a minister is not chosen because of the nature and extent of his education, but rather because of a genuine piety and ability. The most popular theological schools are: Barmen-Missionshaus ; Johanneum; Hamburg Seminary: St. Chrischona; Basel Seminary and University; Neukirchen, and more recently Bethel College in the United States— Newton, Kansas, and the Alliance Bible School in Berlin. Characteristic of the Russian Mennonite ministers is that a relatively large number have come into the ministry from the ranks of the elementary school teachers, or such as have been school teachers, which makes them less educated than their Prussian counterparts ; yet since they must earnestly pursue both the Russian and the German languages, their level of intelligence is not thereby decreased! To these there are gradually being added others from the higher teaching ranks. Nevertheless, those who have become ministers out of necessity and those educated as school teachers still far outnumber those formally trained as theologians. Having our own schools to train ministers has long since become a matter of serious discussion. Yet creation of such schools is problematical primarily for theological and institutional reasons, least of all for financial reasons. Indeed, the governing authorities have long since granted permission for their creation; the congregations, however, have declined to establish them. Perhaps the best temporary expedient would be the extension and increased frequency of the established Bible courses, held in the midst of the spiritual congregation and within the confines of the legally established places of worship, as a theological supplement to our fine secondary schools and other institutions of higher learning for younger ministers and those aspiring to become ministers, because they would entail neither new financial expenditures nor church administrative novelties, and because the number of those able to lead such Bible courses in all Mennonite groups is increasing yearly. Why travel to distant regions when such treasures lie so near! Certain especially gifted young men eager for an education will in any case seek to acquire a formal theological education in the universities of other countries, but we should educate the main group at home, and truly educate them: in the schools of our churches and our l