Claas Epp Jr.A variant spelling, Claasz Epp, is used in some sources, including Smith. (21 September 1838 – 19 January 1913) was a

Russian Mennonite 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 ...

minister known for leading his followers into Central Asia where he predicted

Christ Jesus ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Christianity, central figure of Christianity, the M ...

would return in 1889.

Life

Epp was born in Fürstenwerder,

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

. His family moved to the Trakt Mennonite settlement in the Russian province of Samara in 1853. He was married to Elisabeth Jantzen in 1862. Most of their twelve children died before reaching adulthood. His son, Claas Epp III migrated to Beatrice, Nebraska, in 1891, and his numerous descendants live in the United States. The 1870s were a time of stress and transition in the Mennonite settlements of Russia. The population of the colonies was more than could be supported by available land. The Russian government announced in 1870 that it would end all special privileges granted to colonists by 1880, including the exemption from military service, which was so important to nonresistant Mennonites. Those most concerned with these changes were looking toward North America as a resettlement option. There was widespread distribution of

chiliastic Millennialism () or chiliasm (from the Greek equivalent) is a belief which is held by some religious denominations. According to this belief, a Messianic Age will be established on Earth prior to the Last Judgment and the future permanent s ...

writings by prophetic authors such as

Jung Stilling Johann Heinrich Jung (12 September 1740, in Grund – 2 April 1817, in Karlsruhe), better known by his assumed name Heinrich Stilling, was a German author. He is often called by both surnames as "Jung-Stilling". Life He was born in the village ...

and others among the Mennonite colonies. It was in this uncertain environment that Epp distributed a self-published book in 1877 in which he put forth his own prophetic interpretation of the Bible. Epp predicted that Christ would return in 1889 and meet the faithful in central Asia. According to Epp, his own congregation was

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

of the

seven churches of the Book of Revelation The Seven Churches of Revelation, also known as the Seven Churches of the Apocalypse and the Seven Churches of Asia, are seven churches of Early centers of Christianity#Anatolia, early Christianity mentioned in the New Testament Book of Revelati ...

, which would become a doorway into heaven. As 1880 and the end of special privileges approached, a group of Epp's followers prepared for a trek east. A party traveled to

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

where they obtained permission to settle near

Tashkent Tashkent (), also known as Toshkent, is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Uzbekistan, largest city of Uzbekistan. It is the most populous city in Central Asia, with a population of more than 3 million people as of April 1, 2024. I ...

from

Konstantin Petrovich Von Kaufman Konstantin Petrovich von Kaufmann (; 2 March 1818 – 16 May 1882), was a military engineer and the first Governor-General of Russian Turkestan. Early life and ancestry Konstantin Petrovich was born as the second eldest of four sons to Lieu ...

, the first

Governor-General Governor-general (plural governors-general), or governor general (plural governors general), is the title of an official, most prominently associated with the British Empire. In the context of the governors-general and former British colonies, ...

Russian Turkestan Russian Turkestan () was a colony of the Russian Empire, located in the western portion of the Central Asian region of Turkestan. Administered as a Krai or Governor-Generalship, it comprised the oasis region to the south of the Kazakh Steppe, b ...

. Over a hundred families in four groups set out in summer and fall of 1880, arriving in the vicinity of Tashkent after an arduous fifteen-week journey. When they learned that the military exemption now no longer applied to Russia's Asiatic possessions, a disagreement arose among the group. Those willing to accept forestry service in lieu of military service, separated from the main group and settled at Aulie-Ata, northeast of Tashkent. Epp took his group of some sixty families to

Bukhara Bukhara ( ) is the List of cities in Uzbekistan, seventh-largest city in Uzbekistan by population, with 280,187 residents . It is the capital of Bukhara Region. People have inhabited the region around Bukhara for at least five millennia, and t ...

, hoping to be out of the reach of Russian jurisdiction and the associated conscription requirements. The emir of Bukhara refused to accept the settlers, sending Epp and his followers back into Turkestan. After much traveling back and forth in the border area of Bukhara and Turkestan, the group was invited to settle near the Laudan canal on the upper Amu Darya river in the

Khanate of Khiva The Khanate of Khiva (, , uz-Latn-Cyrl, Xiva xonligi, Хива хонлиги, , ) was a Central Asian polity that existed in the historical region of Khwarazm, Khorezm from 1511 to 1920, except for a period of Afsharid Iran, Afsharid occupat ...

. Their journey was at its end, but new problems arose. When nearby bandits learned that the Mennonites would not defend themselves their thievery advanced from taking horses and livestock to boldly coming into homes and taking possessions at will. As the violence escalated, a young Mennonite man was murdered, straining the group's nonviolent values. The khan offered a permanent solution by inviting the Mennonites to relocate in a walled garden called Ak Metchet a dozen kilometers southeast of Khiva. Epp became ever more fanatical. He predicted Christ's return on 8 March 1889. When the date came and nothing happened, Epp adjusted his calculations — claiming the original date was based on a leaning clock — and corrected the year to 1891. That year passed and Epp, ever more eccentric, declared himself to be Christ's son. His congregation dwindled over the decades. Epp died in 1913 in Ak Metchet, two days after his wife's death. The community survived until 1935, and is considered by historians as a successful Mennonite settlement that was dissolved under the Soviet collectivization program.

Notes

References

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External links

Interactive Map of the Mennonite Great Trek
*Satellite photo o
Ak Metchet, Khiva
{{DEFAULTSORT:Epp, Claas Jr. 1838 births 1913 deaths Russian Mennonites Prussian Mennonites Mennonite ministers 19th-century Anabaptist ministers

Life

Notes

References

Further reading

External links