The Great Trek of the Russian Mennonites to Central Asia, 1880-1884, Fred Richard Belk, 1976

ause his good friends, Michael Klasssen and Jonas Quiring, were going to Khiva. Even J. K. Penner’s broth- er Wilhelm chose to stay with Epp in the Khivan refuge.” Founding of Ak Metchet After a week of traveling, this faction began their new settlement. Their ‘‘big garden’ was surrounded by high walls, had huge gates and a courtyard. Within this walled compound they tried to forget the past hardships and dissension. With little land to farm, the men be- came carpenters on a new building of the khan, and the women did a good business as seamstresses and made small boxes which were widely sold as containers for personal belongings. Outside their wall they raised vegetables, melons, and some rice. Their first project within the walls was to build a church, personally financed by Epp, and a school and residence for teacher Wilhem Penner. From the be- ginning the church was the only building in the community painted white, and the friendly natives began referring to the Mennonite vil- lage garden as “Ak Metchet” or the “White Mosque’ in the Uzbek language. The Mennonites, anxious to adapt to their new surroundings, began using the same term for the settlement." Ak Metchet was totally controlled and dominated by Claas Epp. The local natives never bothered the Mennonites, and left to himself, Epp’s popularity once again began growing. He preached with a new vigor that Ak Metchet was the real refuge and that Christ would re- turn there in early 1889. In fact, under Epp’s watchful eye the Mennonites began to construct apartments for the great influx of refugees they expected would soon begin arriving. Epp’s little flock rallied behind their leader because of his effective preaching. Epp’s preaching not only captivated his congregation, but his Refuge Becomes a Trap 171 ae eae (i. 7 euigls3* = : - . - Ak Metchet, Khiva, in 1884, a Mennonite village totally controlled and dominated by Claas Epp. poetry became popular too. It was even read on the Trakt, where Claas Hamm, the son of Epp’s former opponent, became so completely enthralled with this religious verse that he began writing similar poetry and signing it “Claas Epp.’ When Hamm visited Ak Metchet, Epp graciously received him as a disciple even though many on the Trakt viewed his poetry as a cacophony of radical ideas. '* In Ak Metchet also Epp’s preaching and poetry found its de- tractors. One of the first men to come into open conflict was Jonas Quiring. Although it is not known what caused the break between these former allies, Epp excommunicated Quiring from the Bride Commu- nity as the ‘dragon’ mentioned in Revelation. The disenchanted Quir- ing decided to take his family to America. The day before they left, Epp audaciously led a celebration that was for “believers” only, and his former supporter and his family were not invited. In fact, this disregard of the Quiring family is but an example of how Epp increas- ingly justified