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

in much better and purer form than Holland and many German 58 DUTCH-PRUSSIAN ANABAPTISTS urban congregations. (Wichem presents a much more favorable picture of a Prussian Mennonite congregation than the one we have presented on the basis of more broadly based evidence. Cf. further VI, 5). 1) We cannot avoid briefly recounting an episode from the congregational life of the Prussian Mennonite brotherhood here which clearly demonstrates with what unity, decisiveness, and dignity the church leaders could act when the occasion arose. In 1815, D. von Riesen, a member of the Elbing-Ellerwalde congregation, became a Prussian soldier, freely and “out of a sense of patriotism,” as he declared. He soon gave up the army, and, without confessing any wrong, wanted again to become a member of the congregation which had excommunicated him because of his uncoerced breach of faith and unrepentant attitude. It refused to readmit him. Eventually the case came before the combined leadership of the East and West Prussian Mennonite congregations, which, because of their agreement with the decision of the Elbing- Ellerwalde congregations, were now taken to court by D. von Riesen. Finally, the Minister of Justice and Internal Affairs threatened all the elders, teachers and deacons with the most severe punishment as political and civil criminals. Not one of them lost his courage, however. Finally, the criminal branch of the Cameral Court, acting as the court of last resort, stated that, viewed from the point of view of the church law of his congregation, D. von Riesen had no grounds for his accusation and declared the accused leaders of the Mennonite congregations “as not liable to punishment” (Berlin, January 24, 1818). No matter how the individual Christian may view the question of nonresistance, the steadfastness of these Mennonite preachers deserves praise from everyone. Would that our Mennonite leadership in Russia had always acted as steadfastly and in as unified a manner on the basis of purely religious principles! Certainly, their action was the positive result of an education stretching over the centuries and that “preparation for the ministry in the bosom of the church,” something that is respectfully noted in the documents of the Prussian government that dealt with this incident. (Cf. Reiswitz and Wadzeck.) The D. von Riesen incident falls between the years 1815-1818, when the greatest number of emigrants had already left for Russia. 5. Appendix I A West-Prussian Mennonite congregation in the years 1778-1795. (Paraphased from “W” in Monatsblaetter aus Bethel College. Newton, Kansas. January, February, and March 1904.) a) The memoirs of Elder Gerhard Wiebe of the Elbing-Ellerwalde congregation, in which the D. von Riesen episode took place about 25 Prussia 59 years later, present us with an interesting insight into the congregational conditions of our West Prussian fathers during the last decade o