Perilous Journey: The Mennonite Brethren in Russia 1860-1910, John B. Toews, 1988

uffreiheit und Taufzwang," Der Botschafter, VI (1 91 1 ), no. 66, 3-4. 26 "Tauffreiheit und Taufzwang," Der Bo<scAa/iter, VK1911), no. 72,3. 27 Jakob Janzen, "Noch Einiges uber Tauffreiheit und Taufzwang," Der Botschafter, VH1911 ), no. 96, 4. 2 « Ibid. 29 Johann Janzen, "Separatisten," Der Botschafter VHQ912), no. 22, 2-3; no. 23; 2-3. so Ibid., no. 23, 2. 90 EPILOGUE The few surviving records of Brethren beginnings tell very little about the inner spiritual journey which transformed ordinary villagers into radical dissenters. The documents related to the secession registered concerns about the indiscriminate mixing of believer and unbeliever in the overall life of the church. There were calls for a community of believers committed to personal faith and serious discipleship. Official proclamations likely concealed much of the drama associated with religious rediscovery. One thing is certain. The few intimate documents published in P.M. Friesen's massive study suggest that the early Brethren were deeply sincere in their search for new life and readily endured any censure or suffering associated with their quest. Some of their expectations and demands, however, could not be accommodated by the larger constituency under any circumstances. All Mennonites in the Russian setting, whether nominally or passionately religious, found themselves in a political structure which they were powerless to change. The laws governing settlement confined them to self-contained com- munities while their classification as a religious group made them all Christian. The Old Church could not extricate itself from the community as a whole and choose to serve it to the best of its ability. It nourished traditional life patterns with its worship services, festival celebrations, periodic communion and annual baptism. In this setting a separatistic church meant an end to community solidarity. The Brethren emerged in a Mennonite world characterized by varying shades of grey rather than the black and white categories depicted in some of their early pronouncements. While 91 the majority of Mennonites endorsed the religious status quo there were still serious seekers in the old Church like Bernhard Harder, who tried to reform the system from within. Their protests were voiced before the secession and continued after- ward. Some of these supported the Brethren call to repentance and conversion, but felt their demand for a separated church threatened family and community. Unfortunately the ensuing dialogue was not between the spiritually like-minded but involved antagonistic minorities. On one side stood the village or district mayors and some church elders, the one intent on upholding political stability, the other firmly committed to the sanctity of traditional religion. On the other side stood the spokesmen for the Brethren, pulsating with the joy of new found peace and determined to implement a new visio