The Christian Mennonite Conference, formerly known as the ''Chortitzer Mennonite Conference'' (german: Die Mennonitische Gemeinde zu Chortitz), is a small body of
Mennonites in western
Canada.
History
The forerunners of this group came to
Manitoba from
Russia in 1874. They were first known as
Bergthalers, but eventually became known as ''the Chortitzer Church'' because their bishop, Gerhard Wiebe (1827-1900), lived near the village of
Chortitz (now known as
Randolph Randolph may refer to:
Places In the United States
* Randolph, Alabama, an unincorporated community
* Randolph, Arizona, a populated place
* Randolph, California, a village merged into the city of Brea
* Randolph, Illinois, an unincorporated commun ...
), and made
the local church his home church. This group was very conservative. They sang without harmony (parts), restricting the singing to a melody only. They allowed neither Sunday schools nor evening services. The German language was used exclusively in church services. The bishop and ministers possessed most of the authority in the conference, allowing for little local autonomy.
The departure of the more conservative families to
Paraguay in 1948 left the more progressive families remaining in Canada. This opened the way for a number of changes in the conference. A new emphasis was placed on Christian education, with the addition of Bible studies, Sunday school, Sunday evening services, and young people's programs. Exclusive use of the German language made way for the adoption of English - first in Sunday School, and then in the Sunday morning services. A mission board was formed to conduct the mission outreach of the conference, and now a number of conference members serve in different parts of the world.
Today, the conference has just over 1,000 baptized members in 9 congregations. The bishop is the spiritual leader of the conference. Although all land and property is owned by the conference, each congregation is nearly autonomous and presides over its ministerial elections, spiritual matters, ministries, and budget. The bishop is responsible for the ordination of ministers and deacons. The conference, which has its main office in
Steinbach, Manitoba, prints ''The Chronicle'' as its official publication and has a radio program ministry that ministers to German-speaking Mennonites in
South America,
Mexico, and
Canada.
The conference officially changed its name to ''Christian Mennonite Conference'' in 2015.
Congregations
*
Fort St. John, British Columbia
*
Grunthal, Manitoba
Grunthal (German: ''Grünthal'', 'Green Valley') is a local urban district in the Rural Municipality of Hanover, Manitoba, located 15 miles southwest of Steinbach, and about 50 minutes south of Winnipeg. It had a population of 1,680 in 2016.
To ...
*
Mitchell, Manitoba
*
New Bothwell, Manitoba
New Bothwell, originally called Kronsthal, is a local urban district in the Rural Municipality of Hanover, Manitoba, Canada. It is located approximately northwest of Steinbach, Manitoba, Steinbach on Manitoba Provincial Road 216, Provincial Road ...
*
Niverville, Manitoba
*
Prespatou, British Columbia
Prespatou is a settlement in British Columbia. It is located approximately 100 km north of Fort St John. It is a community with the majority of the residents being German-speaking mennonites
Mennonites are groups of Anabaptist Christia ...
*
Steinbach, Manitoba
*
Weidenfeld, Manitoba
*
Winkler, Manitoba
Former congregations
*
Osler, Saskatchewan
*
Randolph, Manitoba
*
Rosengard, Manitoba
*
Schanzenfeld, Manitoba
Schanzenfeld is a small hanlet community in the Rural Municipality of Stanley, Manitoba, Canada, located about 2 miles south of the City of Winkler. Largely a Mennonite community.
The village was named after Jacob Yost Shantz, a businessman ...
*
Winnipeg, Manitoba
See also
*
Chortitz Heritage Church The Chortitz Heritage Church is a former Mennonite church building located in the Canadian postal district of Randolph, Manitoba (originally known as Chortitz, Manitoba). The building was home to the Randolph Chortitzer Mennonite Church, one of ...
*
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 ...
References
* ''
Mennonite Encyclopedia (Vol. 5)'', Cornelius J. Dyck, Dennis D. Martin, et al., editors
{{reflist
External links
Official websiteChristian Mennonite Conferencein ''Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online''
Mennonite denominations
Mennonitism in Canada
Russian Mennonite diaspora in Canada
Steinbach, Manitoba