Congregational Discipline: Trouble with "the Saints”

Gerhard Wiebe was elder of the Elbing-Ellerwalde (Polish-Prussia) Mennonite Church from 1778-1796, which includes the years of early immigration to Russia. His ministerial diary lists many names, and each comes with a story (note 1).

Wiebe’s accounts of church discipline are particularly revealing for helping us understand the first immigrant generation to New Russia.

After preaching the gospel, the elder's most important duty was discipline, and this elder kept note of everything. Wiebe’s cases included:

• regular incidences of drunkenness;

• bar-tending at “The Kruge” [pitcher / name of inn], with music and all manner of “wicked things”;

• leading an “immoral” lifestyle;

• dancing in “The Lame Hand” pub [?],

• stealing pigs;

• licentiousness and leading a worldly life;

• jeering and fist-fighting on the street;

• excessive agitation and anger (mixed with alcohol);

• forgery of payment records, non-payment of debts;

• engagement/ marriage to a Lutheran, or to a Frisian Mennonite;

• premarital intercourse (early arrival of baby for newlywed couple);

• adultery with a married woman; whoring;

• accusation of rape [?] made by a woman of ill-repute with beer involved;

• a woman who left her husband and refused to return;

• a man who lived with his widow’s daughter and then married her (wedding by a Reformed minister);

• a paternity accusation and request for support payment for child born out of wedlock;

• a woman who beat her maidservant multiple times and threw her out without payment;

• a man who verbally abused, choked and pushed down a pregnant woman on the street over a land rental contract, etc.

The accused were normally first required to appear before the ministers and elder after the church service, and then for a second offense, before the entire “brotherhood” for decision. They were asked to clarify, confess, apologize, reconcile and make a promise of improvement.

Some will think: “I can’t believe that this happened in a Flemish congregation!” The list of his Frisian counterpart, Elder Heinrich Donner from the Orlofferfelde Congregation is almost as interesting (note 2).

As far as Elder Wiebe was concerned, to warn and to apply congregational discipline to “obstinate and gross sinners,” i.e., members “living immorally and sinning against God’s commandments” was the next most significant formational task of the minister or elder after “pure and spotless” biblical preaching, teaching, baptism and communion (note 3).

As his colleague Flemish Elder Peter Epp in Danzig emphasized, it is the elder’s high duty to stand guard when others sleep, to admonish and call forth Christian responsibility and the pursuit of unity and perfection—not rashly, with rigour or in anger, but with a love of justice and truth, in kindness and with one’s own example, compassionately sharing in the need and misery of others (note 4).

Wiebe, Donner and Epp were each trained in “the lap of the congregation” (note 5) and together display a recurring emphasis in Mennonite ministry: to form a disciplined, visible “pure and spotless” church which can be a light to the world as they await patiently a new kingdom of righteousness. It is the community that is saved, and that is why it is separated. “You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming … Make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him” (2 Peter 3:11–14).

Despite these convictions, the Prussian elders offered little support to their people leaving for Russia in the first years. Elder Peter Epp was willing to join the settlers but died before leaving Danzig. The first group to settle Chortitza seemed to be a similarly mixed bag. Some early “troublemakers landed in jail until they came to their senses” (note 6). Heinrich Heese, who married into the Mennonites, knew the first settlers well, and years later was unimpressed with many: ignorant, discontented, distrustful, abusive and lethargic (note 7)!

"None but saints"? These diaries can make Mennonites more honest in their story-telling, and help us better understand the leadership intentions and nature of the church community from which the early Russian Mennonites had their beginnings (note 8).

---Arnold Neufeldt-Fast

---Notes---

Pic 1: Elbing City, 1720 (Merian), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elbl%C4%85g#/media/File:Elbl%C4%85g-_miedzioryt_z_XVIII_wieku.jpg .

Pic 2: Rembrandt, 1641, Portrait of the Dutch Mennonite preacher Cornelius Claesz Anslo and his wife Aaltje Gerritsdr Shouten.

Note 1: Gerhard Wiebe, “Verzeichniß der gehaltenen Predigten samt andern vorgefallenen Merkwürdigkeiten in der Gemeine Gottes in Elbing und Ellerwald von Anno 1778 d. 1. Januar.” Transcriptions from the original by Willi Risto, https://chortitza.org/Buch/Risto1.pdf. ALSO Ingrid Lamp: https://mla.bethelks.edu/Prussian%20Polish.../wiebe.html.

Note 2: Heinrich Donner and Johann Donner, Orlofferfelde Chronik, transcribed by Werner Janzen, 2010. From Mennonite Library and Archives-Bethel College, Prussian-Polish sources (online), https://mla.bethelks.edu/Prussi.../orlofferfeldechronik.html.

Note 3: G. Wiebe, “Verzeichniß,” 162, 171.

Note 4: Peter Epp, “Abschiedspredigt von Peter Epp, gehalten am 2. August 1789,” in Diese Steine: Die Russlandmennoniten, edited by Adina Reger and Delbert Plett, 20–21 (Steinbach, MB: Crossway, 2001), 20-21, https://www.plettfoundation.org/publications/diese-steine-die-russlandmennoniten/. One the tasks of an elder to keep the congregation pure, in peace and harmony, and to punish the quarrelsome, cf. hymn for the installation of a new elder in: Geistreiches Gesangbuch, zur öffentlichen und besondern Erbauung der Mennonitischen Gemeine in und vor der Stadt Danzig (Marienwerder, West Preußen, 1780), no. 298, http://pbc.gda.pl/dlibra/doccontent?id=8000.

Note 5: The training of ministers and elders is noted in Prussian government documents copied in Georg von Reiswitz and Friedrich Wadzeck, Beiträge zur Kenntniß der Mennoniten-Gemeinden in Europa und Amerika, Part I (Berlin, 1821), 279, https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/009717700.

Note 6: George K. Epp, Geschichte der Mennoniten in Rußland, vol. 1 (Lage: Logos, 1997), 90f.

Note 7: Heinrich Heese, et al., “Das Chortitzer Mennonitengebiet 1848: Kurzgefasste geschichtliche Übersicht der Gründung und des Bestehens der Kolonien des Chortitzer Mennonitenbezirkes,” https://chortitza.org/Ber1848.php#Eg.

Note 8: A few ministerial diaries from Russian Mennonite period survived and have been deemed worthy of translation and publication. Cf. Jacob D. Epp, A Mennonite in Russia: The Diaries of Jacob D. Epp, 1851–1880, translated and edited by Harvey L. Dyck (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2013); Diaries of David Epp: 1837–1843, translated and edited by John B. Toews (Vancouver, BC: Regent College, 2000).

Comments

Outrage in Canada: Ukrainian in Waffen-SS honoured in Parliament. Mennonite Connections

As an historic peace church, Russian Mennonite congregations in Canada never celebrated “their veterans” who had volunteered with the Waffen-SS or Wehrmacht in complex times; hundreds did however volunteer to protect and defend their corner of Ukraine from a new era of Moscow-based Bolshevism. Some later self-identified as "The Lost Generation." German Prussian Mennonites in contrast understood that heritage differently and celebrated the “Heroes' Day Memorial” service anually until 1945. After 1945 Germany appropriately renamed their remembrance day as Volkstrauertag —the People’s Day of Mourning ( note 1 ). Many descendents live in Canada. A parallel Ukrainian story made the news in Canada in September 2023. The Speaker of the House of Commons invited a 98-year-old Ukrainian-Canadian war veteran to a joint session of Parliament for the visit and address by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on September 22. Without good vetting by the Speaker, the guest was laud...

“The way is finally open”—Russian Mennonite Immigration, 1922-23

In a highly secretive meeting in Ohrloff, Molotschna on February 7, 1922, leaders took a decision to work to remove the entire Mennonite population of some 100,000 people out of the USSR—if at all possible ( note 1 ). B.B. Janz (Ohrloff) and Bishop David Toews (Rosthern, SK) are remembered as the immigration leaders who made it possible to bring some 20,000 Mennonites from the Soviet Union to Canada in the 1920s ( note 2 ). But behind those final numbers were multiple problems. In August 1922, an appeal was made by leaders to churches in Canada and the USA: “The way is finally open, for at least 3,000 persons who have received permission to leave Russia … Two ships of the Canadian Pacific Railway are ready to sail from England to Odessa as soon as the cholera quarantine is lifted. These Russian [Mennonite] refugees are practically without clothing … .” ( Note 3 ) Notably at this point B. B. Janz was also writing Toews, saying that he was utterly exhausted and was preparing to ...

Ukraine Independence--Russian Aggression--German Interests (1918)

The semi-autonomous Ukrainian People's Republic was established shortly after Russia's February Revolution in 1917. Much was still fluid, however. After the October Bolshevik Revolution the Central Rada of Ukraine in Kyiv declared full state independence from the Russian Republic on January 22, 1918. The Ukrainian People's Republic negotiated an end to its participation in Great War, and on February 9, 1918 signed a protectorate treaty in Brest-Litovsk. On February 17, Ukraine appealed to Germany and Austria-Hungary for assistance to repel Russian Bolshevik “invaders,” to detach Ukraine from Russia, and to establish conditions of stability. The World War had not yet ended. Imperialist Germany was desperate for grain and natural resources from Ukraine, eager to end the war in the east while containing Russia, and determined to establish post-war markets for German goods, technologies and influence ( note 1 ). For its part the Russian Bolshevik regime was eager to save ...

What is the Church to Say? Letter 4 (of 4) to American Mennonite Friends

Irony is used in this post to provoke and invite critical thought; the historical research on the Mennonite experience is accurate and carefully considered. ~ANF Preparing for your next AGM: Mennonite Congregations and Deportations Many U.S. Mennonite pastors voted for Donald Trump, whose signature promise was an immediate start to “the largest deportation operation in American history.” Confirmed this week, President Trump will declare a national emergency and deploy military assets to carry this out. The timing is ideal; in January many Mennonite congregations have their Annual General Meeting (AGM) with opportunity to review and update the bylaws of their constitution. Need help? We have related examples from our tradition, which I offer as a template, together with a few red flags. First, your congregational by-laws. It is unlikely you have undocumented immigrants in your congregation, but you should flag this. Model: Gustav Reimer, a deacon and notary public from the ...

From USSR to Cherrywood Station: Mennonites winter in Markham-Stouffville, 1924

On September 26, 1924, 126 Russian Mennonite passengers disembarked the S. S. Melita at Quebec City ( note 1 ). They were among some 20,000 Mennonites who could immigrate to Canada from the Soviet Union in the 1920s. A number of these families received train cards to Cherrywood (Pickering) and Locust Hill (Markham) stations, where they were received by Markham area Mennonites. The Canadian Mennonite Board of Colonization (CMBC) registration forms record each family's travel dates as well as their "first place of arrival" in Canada. The attached artifacts—a few pages from the financial records booklet kept by Markham-Stouffville treasurer J. L. Grove, plus some correspondence—profile concretely the level of support of this community north-east of Toronto for co-religionists fleeing the Soviet Union. Mennonites in Ontario had been well informed of the relief needs in Russia since 1921 and plans for mass immigration ( note 2 ). In April 1924 the local Stouffville Tribune ...

Mennonite-Designed Mosque on the Molotschna

The “Peter J. Braun Archive" is a mammoth 78 reel microfilm collection of Russian Mennonite materials from 1803 to 1920 -- and largely still untapped by researchers ( note 1 ). In the files of Philipp Wiebe, son-in-law and heir to Johann Cornies, is a blueprint for a mosque ( pic ) as well as another file entitled “Akkerman Mosque Construction Accounts, 1850-1859” ( note 2 ). The Molotschna Mennonites were settlers on traditional Nogai lands; their Nogai neighbours were a nomadic, Muslim Tartar group. In 1825, Cornies wrote a significant anthropological report on the Nogai at the request of the Guardianship Committee, based largely on his engagements with these neighbours on Molotschna’s southern border ( note 3 ). Building upon these experiences and relationships, in 1835 Cornies founded the Nogai agricultural colony “Akkerman” outside the southern border of the Molotschna Colony. Akkerman was a projection of Cornies’ ideal Mennonite village outlined in exacting detail, with un...

What is the Church to Say? Letter 1 (of 4) to American Mennonite Friends

Irony is used in this post to provoke and invite critical thought; the historical research on the Mennonite experience is accuarte and carefully considered. ~ANF American Mennonite leaders who supported Trump will be responding to the election results in the near future. Sometimes a template or sample conference address helps to formulate one’s own text. To that end I offer the following. When Hitler came to power in 1933, Mennonites in Germany sent official greetings by telegram: “The Conference of the East and West Prussian Mennonites meeting today at Tiegenhagen in the Free City of Danzig are deeply grateful for the tremendous uprising ( Erhebung ) that God has given our people ( Volk ) through the vigor and action of [unclear], and promise our cooperation in the construction of our Fatherland, true to the Gospel motto of [our founder Menno Simons], ‘For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.’” ( Note 1 ) Hitler responded in a letter...

1929 Flight of Mennonites to Moscow and Reception in Germany

At the core of the attached video are some thirty photos of Mennonite refugees arriving from Moscow in 1929 which are new archival finds. While some 13,000 had gathered in outskirts of Moscow, with many more attempting the same journey, the Soviet Union only released 3,885 Mennonite "German farmers," together with 1,260 Lutherans, 468 Catholics, 51 Baptists, and 7 Adventists. Some of new photographs are from the first group of 323 refugees who left Moscow on October 29, arriving in Kiel on November 3, 1929. A second group of photos are from the so-called “Swinemünde group,” which left Moscow only a day later. This group however could not be accommodated in the first transport and departed from a different station on October 31. They were however held up in Leningrad for one month as intense diplomatic negotiations between the Soviet Union, Germany and also Canada took place. This second group arrived at the Prussian sea port of Swinemünde on December 2. In the next ten ...

Russian Mennonites were Monarchists

In 1848, Evgenii von Hahn, President of the Guardianship Committee for Foreign Settlers in New Russia, tasked each village administration to work with the schoolteacher to produce an exact historical description of its settlement and key events in its history ( note 1 ). Looking back 44 years, the mayor and teacher of the Molotschna village of Altona had no difficulty identifying and describing the most glorious event in their history ( note 2 ). “There are moments in life that are too great for the human heart, when we are simply overwhelmed--exquisite, great, blissful moments when our voices fall silent, when we are moved so profoundly in our inward being that our hands fold of their own accord and our eyes gaze heavenward and prayer is the one thing needed by an overflowing heart. One such great, blissful moment was in the year 1818, when the most blessed Emperor Alexander I on his journey from the Crimea to St. Petersburg honoured our colony [village] with his distinguished visit a...

Flooding and Mennonites: A Common Thread

In November 2021 many Mennonites in the Fraser Valley of British Columbia were impacted by disastrous flooding. The mayor of Abbotsford—the worst-hit city—as well as the local Member of Parliament were Mennonites. Many Mennonites across Canada had family members who are directly impacted. Flood stories have been an important thread in the Prussian-Russian Mennonite story. How have Mennonites responded? Mutual aid stands out. For Menno Simons, it was “the only sign whereby a true Christian may be known” ( note 1 ). In 1562, “Dutch people of the Mennonite religion” were specifically invited by the Polish banking house Loysen to settle on the “Tiegenhoff part of the Vistula Delta” to rebuild dikes partially destroyed by huge floods (1540 and 1543) and wars, and to drain low-lying lagoons and swamps over large blocks of land ( note 2 ). The Tiege River—a branch of the Vistula—was at or below sea level. Dams and ditches along the Nogat and Vistula rivers had been construct...

History of the Russian Mennonites

Search This Blog