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

ome but frequent indi- vidual study abroad or in Russian universities. Such intellectual expansion was theologically revitalizing insofar as it generated an awareness of world missions. Some of the Brethren now insisted on evangelism among the Russians. Since the conference was not officially committed to such a work, individual members, at the risk of hardship or imprisonment, dedicated themselves to this task. Their enthusiasm and example forced some Brethren out of their confinement. The broadening cultural contacts, especially with Germany, generally sharpened the Russian-Mennonite social conscience. Most of the welfare institutions erected by 1914 were based on western European models. Brethren participation in such applied Christianity of necessity pried them away from the insular and experiential and forced them into a larger world arena. There was another sequel. Open minded leaders from both the Old Church and the Brethren moved to institutionalize their cooperation. Interaction at Faith Conferences (Glaubenskon- ferenzen) and Bible Conferences (Bibelbesprechungen) was not only formalized in the organization of the Allianz but also in the Brethren affiliation with the All-Mennonite Conference at Schoensee, Molotschna, in 1910. Increasingly the Brethren now saw the Old Church not as corrupt and inadequate, but as a fellow pilgrim. 93 Finally, the upheaval generated by revolution, civil war and migration demanded a piety rooted in the reality of the everyday world. Whether individuals stayed or left, the traditional Mennonite and Brethren world was forever shattered. For both the comfort of the mother tongue, the safety of venerated customs and the security of established economic patterns disappeared forever. Now came the challenge of a discipleship capable of transcending dispersion. For some this meant loneliness and death in the labor camp, for others the isolation of the Canadian prairies or the Parguayan Chaco. Time proved a relentless taskmaster. The Brethren moved from the village to the city both in eastern Russia and in western North America. Once again they would have to find the balance between experience and discipleship, feeling and following. 94 THE MENNONITE BRETHREN IN RUSSIA 1860-1910 The history of any movement is always complex. At best its dynamic can be only partially understood. This is true of the Mennonite Brethren living in the Russia of the 1860s and 1870s. Their story can only be understood in the context of the political, social and religious world in which they lived and the circumstances associated with its ongoing trans- formation. The Mennonite Brethren story is one of becoming and so the laudatory and the contradictory, the good and the bad are generously mixed. The author has tried to tell both sides of the early Brethren story. He has written a narrative history which will contribute much to a better under- standing of the dynamics which