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

ng to substitute state service in the place of army duty because both meant involvement in non-Christian activities. The kingdom of God, based on peace, could not be served if Mennonites became in- volved with a modern state that believed in warfare. The saving sword of the Spirit was needed more in the world than the killing sword of the state. Since a true Christian cannot serve two masters, the millennialists totally committed themselves to the Spirit of God; their opponents, they charged, were instruments of the Antichrist. Finally, the Epp faction offered a vision of the future. They were seeking a utopia free from authoritarian rule, with freedom of con- science, strong church education, and freedom of belief foremost in their minds. They wanted safety from the “fire of war’ and a place where the law of God ruled over all other laws. Since they be- lieved that the “time of tribulation” had already begun, they worried about the “last days.’ They did not want to defy the Russian govern- ment, which had done much for Mennonites, but they decided they must first obey God because they were but strangers and pilgrims. These were their motives for emigration.“ They decided to leave the Volga that summer. In the late spring of 1880, two separate groups, one from the Trakt settlement led by Epp and another under Abraham Peters of the Molotschna colony, began final preparations to travel eastward. After much dissension within his congregation, Peters convinced his people to accept the chiliastic teachings, and they began preparations to join the Trakt community in their venture.% Several families from the Kuban region of the Caucasus who were of the same persuasion and had been forced to leave their homes also joined the Molotschna movement.” All these people had reached the point at which they could no longer endure the demands of their society. They began to feel dis- criminated against by those in their respective communities who de- cided to remain. Tension, in fact, became so pronounced that even the millennial migrants separated into two parties. The division arose over whether to continue to follow Claas Epp and his teachings or to countenance the criticism by the government and fellow 84 The Great Trek of the Russian Mennonites Mennonites who tried to dissuade them from their plans. A few simply did not know what to do. To restore unity of purpose, Epp called for a communion service at Hahnsau on June 25, 1880. Only about 35 families came, but only one would remain behind when the migration began.** This communion celebration led to the separation of the Epp faction known as the ‘Bride Community’ — a body of believers totally dedicated to the goal of meeting Christ the Bridegroom in Central Asia. The Bride Community became the nucleus of leadership for the entire Turkestan migration, but their superpiety and intransigence would contribute to future schisms. In fact, dissension was exacerba