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

lly left in the pews, and was not called upon to preach! Some of the brethren of the Mennonite Church have displayed an admirable meekness and humility. (We talk about that which we— as members of the §297 646 MATTERS OF FAITH M.B. Church have witnessed with boiling blood and burning brain. This sin of the M.B. Church, too, must be named in a truthful history. We have granted the M.B. Church the great right, in its origination and continuation, of being a Mennonite communion and have established this thoroughly on the basis of the documents. Not only have we presented the great triumphs over its ecclesio-political opponents, but also— and this is even more important— we have incontrovertibly documented its triumphs over the ailments of its childhood days. For this reason we have of necessity devoted a vast space to it in our book, and also generously shown our love and appreciation. But we love and appreciate our brethren in the older Mennonite congregations just as much; [especially the determined believers and honest seekers after God] and every injustice which is perpetrated by the “brethren” against them arouses our indignation as much as that which they experience from the Mennonites. But— to the concerns of today.) To the “General Conferences,” as well as to the meetings of the local conventions, the “brethren” had to be invited and had to come, as a consequence of their inviolable legal status as Mennonites, their common enjoyment and obligatory or voluntary participation in the achievements and sacrifices in the forestry service, in schools, and in matters of public welfare. Gradually the representatives of the M.B. congregations, especially the younger generation, learned to conduct themselves in a more objective and brotherly fashion. The invitations and participations mentioned were, as already emphasized, occasional and irregular. The consultative body, formerly designated as the General Conference (Bundes-Konferenz), was re-named several years ago as “the General Conference of the Mennonite Ministry in Russia.” At one of the former sessions, 27 the question was raised by one of the conference participants whether the title “General Conference” was justified, since the large M.B. Church was not represented (in a regular manner, often not at all), and it was decided to extend a regular invitation. Thus, numerous representatives of the M.B. congregations came to the recently concluded General Mennonite Conference (of 1910). Approximately one-third of all participants were “brethren,” the honorable conference chairman informs us. The leadership of the M.B. congregations was well represented from the Rueckenau-Molotschna, Einlage (District of Chortitza), Kuban, Ignatievo, Zagradovka, Memrik congregations, etc., etc. The represen- tatives were formally authorized by resolutions of the congregations which were presented to the Ministry of the Interior (with the request and approval of t