Elder Jacob Aron Rempel was probably one of the most important personalities among the Mennonites of Russia in the 20th century, both in terms of his theological education as well as in his extraordinary personality and public activities. In 1929 he was arrested by the USSR’s secret police force (GPU) for his religious affiliations. He spent Keep Reading…
On January 6, 1860, Johann and Katharina Claassen were among the 18 families of the Molochna Colony, South Russia who organized the Mennonite Brethren Church. The group experienced much joy but also new challenges. In March, nearly three months later, the municipal authorities ordered the “Brethren” back to their former churches and Johann, as their Keep Reading…
The story of David Klassen, a Mennonite Brethren church leader in the USSR who was imprisoned three separate times between 1936 and 1965, is an inspiring account of faithfulness in the face of overwhelming opposition. How did he and other Mennonite Brethren in Karaganda sustain their faith in such difficult circumstances?
Klicken Sie bitte hier auf Deutsch zu lesen. David Klassen was born in 1899 to Johann and Anna Klassen in a Mennonite village called Rosenort in South Russia (now Ukraine). Although Johann and Anna owned a small grocery story, they owned no land and were not wealthy. At a young age, David, along with his Keep Reading…
The village of Suzanovo in the Orenburg region of Russia was founded in 1911 by Johann Peters, as a farmstead outside of the larger Mennonite settlement in that area. In the early years, it was populated by Johann and his children. Later, other Mennonites joined this Mennonite island located amidst Russian and Bashkir villages. In Keep Reading…