The Sommerfelders, also called Sommerfeld Mennonites or Sommerfeld Mennonite Church (), are a

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

group. They are a subgroup of the so-called

Russian Mennonites The Russian Mennonites ( it. "Russia Mennonites", i.e., Mennonites of or from the Russian Empire are a group of Mennonites who are the descendants of Dutch and North German Anabaptists who settled in the Vistula delta in West Prussia for about 2 ...

who lived in the

Bergthal Colony The Bergthal Colony is a former Russian Mennonite settlement in what is now Ukraine. The colony consisted of five villages - Schoenfeld, Heuboden, Bergthal, Schoenthal, and Friedrichsthal - which were settled during the years 1836 to 1852 by 149 la ...

Zaporizhzhia Zaporizhzhia, formerly known as Aleksandrovsk or Oleksandrivsk until 1921, is a city in southeast Ukraine, situated on the banks of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. It is the Capital city, administrative centre of Zaporizhzhia Oblast. Zaporizhzhia ...

(then part of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

) in the late 1800s. The colony members moved to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

in the 1870s, but split in 1893. The larger group became known as the Sommerfeld Mennoniten Gemeinde, while the smaller group named themselves the Bergthaler Mennonite Church of Manitoba. The Sommerfeld group is the more conservative of the two. The group was based in Sommerfeld in Rhineland, Manitoba. Over time, the Canadian government required all children to take part in government education programmes. Some of the Sommerfeld members disagreed with this and decided to move to South America where they would be allowed to educate their own children as they saw fit. Some emigrated to

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

in 1922, with others travelling to

Paraguay Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the Argentina–Paraguay border, south and southwest, Brazil to the Brazil–Paraguay border, east and northeast, and Boli ...

in 1927 and 1948. Many of them left Canada for

Latin America Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...

starting in the early 1920s. They now live in Canada,

and

Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...

. In 1985 they had a total population of about 5,400 people in

Manitoba Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population ...

and

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada. It is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and to the south by the ...

in Canada and in 1987 they had 10 colonies in Latin America with a total population of about 7,500 people. In 2007 they had churches in Manitoba, Saskatchewan,

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

and

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

. In 1936, there was a revival movement among the group. This movement emphasized personal conversion,

evangelism Evangelism, or witnessing, is the act of sharing the Christian gospel, the message and teachings of Jesus Christ. It is typically done with the intention of converting others to Christianity. Evangelism can take several forms, such as persona ...

and missions, and led to the creation of a new group known as the Rudnerweider Mennonite Church.Regehr, T. D. (1996). Mennonites in Canada, 1939-1970: A People Transformed. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. p. 427. 0-8020-0465-2 In 1959, the RMC later became known as the

Evangelical Mennonite Mission Conference The Evangelical Mennonite Mission Conference (EMMC) is an evangelicalism, evangelical body of Mennonite Christians, organized on July 1, 1959. The EMMC was formed from the ''Rudnerweider Mennonite Church'', which was organized in 1937. The ''Rud ...

References

Canadian diaspora in North America Canadian diaspora in South America Mennonite congregations Mennonitism in Bolivia Mennonitism in Paraguay Russian Mennonite diaspora in Belize Russian Mennonite diaspora in Canada Russian Mennonite diaspora in Manitoba Russian Mennonite diaspora in Mexico {{Menno-stub

See also

References