The spiritual kinship of English Quakers with Mennonites on the European continent has a long and significant history. Shortly after the founding of Quakerism in the mid-17th century, Friends "traveling in the ministry" sought to make converts among Mennonites in Holland and Germany. Among two-score Quaker missioners to the Continent was William Ames. He wrote back to England in 1659 that he found the Mennonites "near to the kingdom" and "white unto harvest."1 With the decline of intense Quaker missionary zeal on the Continent by the end of the 17th century, their interests turned more to the shared peace witness and to the need for offering material aid to Mennonites forced to emigrate. An article in The Friend (London) in 1885 noted that "the early leaders of the Society of Friends took great interest in and support for the Mennonites of the Palatinate who had fled from the persecution of the Calvinists in Switzerland."2

The William Allen and Stephen Grellet Window, 1819-1840
The first recorded Quaker contact with Russian Mennonites was by William Allen and Stephen Grellet in 1819. Allen, an English Quaker, was a noted chemist and philanthropist. Grellet, a Frenchman, emigrated to America where he was converted to the Friends and at age twenty-four was recorded as a traveling minister.

The journey of Allen and Grellet was primarily a religious one, but it gave an extraordinary opportunity for Allen to bring his testimony for peace and social reform before King Bernadotte in Sweden and Czar Alexander I in Russia. Emperor Alexander had become acquainted with Allen in 1814, and had once accompanied him to the Westminster Quaker meeting in London.

After the Quaker travelers left the capital city, St. Petersburg, they continued on a southerly route, visiting the Mennonite settlements of Chortitza and Molotschna in May 1819. In that district of South Russia they were accompanied by the military superintendent, General Contineas, who acted as their translator.

On the 23rd of May the traveling trio came first to the village of Neuenbourg, before moving on to the larger village of Chortitza. After a service there the next morning the men were taken by boat to the Island of Chortitza in the Dneiper River. On the 25th they traveled over part of a vast Steppe, arriving by evening at Graenenthal. During the remaining four days, May 26-29, the visitors came to the Molotschna settlements of Halbstadt and Petershagen, concluding with stays in Orloff and Altona.3 Following are some observations recorded by William Allen on this journey.

On their first impression of a Mennonite village: We arrived at Neuenbourg, the first colony of the Mennonists; 14 families, 500 sheep and lambs, the land is excellent; they pay a few kopeks per acre to the Crown. They are like the Society of Friends, giving no salaries to their minister, and their bishop may be seen guiding his own plough, not at all distinguishable by his clothing from the rest of the brethren...4 On the "colony of Cortitz [sic]":

The first settlers came thirty years ago from Prussia, and consisted of 331 families but they are now increased to nearly 600. The houses are built of wood, very neatly thatched, and comfortable; they present a striking contrast, when compared with a Russian cottage, and are all furnished with a commodious barn and granary, and a garden, well stocked with fruit trees...5

On the 9:00 am meeting at Chortitza, May 24, attended by 500 persons: There were some from most, if not all, the fifteen villages. We found them singing a hymn...the Bishop explained to them in German, who we were, and the object of our journey, and then exhorted them to prayer; they all knelt down, and remained a short time without uttering a word. They are in the practice of silent prayer, both at the beginning and close of their worship...6

On the visit to the pastor's home on the Island of Chortitza: The pious pastor came to meet us in a little cart; we were both struck with the sweetness and simplicity which appeared in his countenance. After the first salutation, he set off at full speed to give notice to his wife of our coming; as we approached the avenue leading to the house, we found the path strewed with lilac blossoms, the rooms also were ornamented with flowers, and everything bore the marks of neatness and comfort. The mistress of the house is, apparently, a very clever woman; they have five or six children, some of them nearly grown up. We were much delighted with this truly Christian family, with whom we had some religious communication...7

From a letter received by Allen and Grellet from Jacob Fast, Elder of the Congregation at Halbstadt:

Dear friends and brethren in Christ, your honest-hearted visit to us, your edifying counsel, and your balsamic epistle, we gratefully accept as a proof of pure brotherly love. Our hearts have been thereby united to you...You have left your homes for the sake of the word of God, and the salvation of souls, and have offered yourselves up to his guidance for Jesus' sake. We very earnestly desire that he may accompany your important work with his saving blessing...8

When Allen returned to London, he immediately sent a selection of seeds and cuttings for the Mennonite villagers. The Quaker pair received a warm letter of appreciation from General Costineas, dated 16th November 1819. "The two weeks which I had the happiness of passing in your society, are a memorable epoch in my life." Thereafter, occasional letters were exchanged between the Quakers and Contineas until his death in 1830.9

William Allen and Stephen Grellet, on a subsequent trip to Europe in 1832 visited Mennonites in Holland and Germany. Allen records in detail their visit to Maxweiler, a pioneer Mennonite village on the Danube in Bavaria. Allen returned once more to Maxweiler in 1840 where he was welcomed into the home of Johann Schmidt, wife and eight children. Through an interpreter, Jacob Lechy, who had walked 22 miles to the service, Allen preached to an audience of nearly 100.10

The Daniel Wheeler and Joseph Yeardly Windows, 1820-1853
Daniel Wheeler, a prosperous farmer and seed merchant, was a recorded Quaker minister. When Czar Alexander I asked for a Quaker agriculturist to oversee the draining and reclamation of the swamps around St. Petersburg, Wheeler answered the call and was accepted. He went to Russia in 1818 with his family and retinue of servants, including a teacher for his children. During his 14-year stay in Russia he visited the Mennonite colonies to study their farming methods. Wheeler greatly admired their management of land and crops, but deplored the visible inferiority of their Russian peasant neighbors. He felt that the disparity "sinned against the light" because the Mennonites "hugged their prosperity without sharing it with their Russian neighbors." 11

In a letter written by Wheeler to David Mallison in February 1820 he was outspoken on the matter: Last summer I visited a large German colony. They have great privileges, live in good houses, are exempt from all taxes and from military service and the land does not cost them more than one shilling per acre. Dost thou think this likely to benefit the Russians? Wilt thou agree with me that it just serves to keep them where they are, in great degradation and hopeless servitude?12

Joseph Yeardly, who visited the Molotschna villages of Halbstadt, Alexanderwohl, Gnadenfeld and Steinbach in the summer of 1853, viewed differently the responsibility for the disparity between the life of the Russian peasant and the German colonist. "Although his German neighbor is in an infinitely better condition than himself, the Russian peasant will not imitate the husbandry which is practiced so successfully before his eyes."13

The Isaac Robson and Thomas Harvey Window, 1867-1887
Isaac Robson, joined by Thomas Harvey, made a visit to Germany and Russia in 1867, always on a lookout for Mennonite communities. Robson was a tea dealer originally from Liverpool, and Harvey was a retired businessman from Leeds. On the 25th of August they arrived at the Mennonite village of Neuburg in Bavaria where they met for worship at the home of Jacob Hege. A group of twenty "gathered around a large table with their hymn books before them and very quickly and seriously joined in singing. After this, one of the elders, a sturdy-looking farmer, preached we thought in a feeling manner. Immediately after this they all knelt down, whilst he read a long prayer." Then the Quakers were asked to speak. "We felt it our duty to stir them up to diligence and to the importance of letting their light be seen -- touching also on the nature of true worship and on their practice of reading prayers." After the meeting the table was spread and a simple but bountiful meal was served for the whole company -- a practice arising out of their circumstances of distance from each other.14

On October 10, 1867, Robson and Harvey arrived in South Russia by way of steamer, landing at Berdiansk, a port town on the north shore of the Sea of Azov. Cornelius Janzen who had been apprised of their coming rescued them from an uncomfortable inn and took them to his home. Jansen was a Mennonite leader and the German consul for the area, who was fluent in German and English. The travelers spent a few days at the Jansen home attending two special services and a Sunday meeting. In his journal Robson mentioned that "the Mennonites made many inquiries regarding our principles and practices -- particularly respecting baptism and the supper. These Mennonites are firm against war and in many respects are nearly one with Friends." Regarding the Sunday service Robson wrote: "The house is fitted up much like a Friends' meeting -- only the gallery where the preachers sit has a pulpit in the middle. Men and women sit separately as with us. During the service the congregation twice knelt down for silent prayer."15

In succeeding days Robson and Harvey, accompanied by Jansen, visited a number of Molotschna villages, usually requesting a religious service. In appendices to their report to the Yearly Meeting, 1868, Robson and Harvey make note of "a new wind of doctrine regarding baptism in the river." They also sent a paper on the Quaker view of baptism and the Lord's supper to Jacob Martens, pastor at Tiegenhagen, at his request.

Several years after the Quaker visit, the Russian government rescinded the military exemption originally promised by Catherine II. The Mennonites were given ten years to comply, with the option of leaving the country. Mennonite delegations to St. Petersburg in 1871 and 1873 failed to move the government, so in 1873 the emigration to America began. In the next year it developed into a mass movement which eventually carried one-third of the Russian Mennonites to the prairies of Canada and United States.16

Robson and Harvey were periodically appraised of this crisis in Russia through correspondence with Cornelius Janzen. Robson, in turn, kept Friends in England informed of the plight of the Mennonites through a pamphlet published in 1872, The Mennonites in South Russia and through articles appearing periodically in The Friend. By January 1874 Jansen and family were in Canada and in the States negotiating the anticipated immigration into the New World. Robson and Harvey further responded by asking English Quakers to raise funds to help the emigrating Mennonites. The Friends' Meeting for Sufferings (April 1874) was not prepared to take a definite course of action. But at a subsequent meeting (February 1875) they agreed to send out an appeal to all constituent meetings in Britain and asked Robson and Harvey to draft the document.17

The "Appeal on behalf of the Emigrant Mennonite" outlined a brief history of the Mennonites and explained the present emergency. The object of the appeal was to raise money, not for the purpose of stimulating emigration, but to give relief to sick and destitute emigrants and to supply seed, implements, and cattle for those whose means have been exhausted.

The appeal closed with the words: "We think it can scarcely be needful to add that these our suffering brethren seem to have a special claim on Friends, on the grounds of their holding many of the same religious views which we hold; especially the Christian testimony against war, for which they are now witnessing and suffering." Attachments to the appeal quoted letters from the Jansens (then in Mt. Pleasant, Iowa), a description of the hardships of Mennonites in Dakota from the Herald of Truth, 1874, and a news item from the Liverpool Daily Post, February 2, 1875, regarding 328 Mennonite emigrants detained there because of an outbreak of smallpox in the group. Five deaths occurred while the men and women were quartered in separate workhouses in the city for some days. Finally there was a list of forty contributions already made to the Mennonite fund ranging from three shillings to 150 pounds.18

From 1873 to 1887 The Friend periodically published short articles regarding the Mennonite exodus from Russia and how they were faring in America. Such reports were written by Thomas Harvey, Cornelius Jansen, John F. Funk, editor of the Herald of Truth, plus a few letters of thanks by emigrant Isaac Peters and others. The total amount subscribed by British Quakers was1865 pounds,8 shillings,1 pence. Of this amount over 620 pounds was not needed and was put at the disposal of the Meeting for Sufferings, who decided "to help coloured refugees from Southern States into Kansas." If a British subscriber objected, the money would be returned or put to another cause. The Friend reported in 1881 that no one claimed a dividend.

A note of local interest appeared in The Friend in 1885 in an article by Abraham Blosser of Dale Enterprise, Virginia. In describing early relationships between Quakers and Mennonites he wrote, "Quakers may be called the Mennonites of England."19

The Woodbrooke College Window, 1903 Onward
Woodbrooke, a Quaker study centre, was established in 1903 to strengthen the religious life of the Society of Friends. It was the founding member of the Selly Oak Colleges at Birmingham, England. From its beginnings, Woodbrooke's educational program attracted an international student body, representing a variety of religious faiths. Early on, Woodbrooke enrolled numbers of Dutch students, due to the Dutch academic connections of its first head, J. Rendell Harris. By 1935, 194 people from the Netherlands had been to Woodbrooke.20

Among the early attenders at Woodbrooke was T. O. Hylkema, who later became an influential pastor in the Dutch Mennonite Church. Hylkema was a student at Woodbrooke in the autumn term of 1909 and summer term of 1919. His life was profoundly influenced. He commented: "I came to Woodbrooke with my tennis racquet to have a good time and found Jesus Christ there."21

In June 1911 Hylkema published a dissertation entitled "Woodbrooke en de Oud-Woodbrookers." He wrote that in 1908 several former students at Woodbrooke had founded a society, "Woodbrookers in Holland." Their purpose was to keep alive their ties with each other and with Woodbrooke. Very soon the group began to talk about some kind of outreach. Accordingly in 1910 the first summer course was held at Lunteren. Two more followed in 1911 in Bennekom and two at Barchem in 1912. The purpose of the society was broadened "to enrich and strengthen religious life in the spirit of Woodbrooke." According to Hylkema the Old Woodbrookers sought to bridge a serious breech in the religious life of their country between the orthodox and the modern. The Old Woodbrookers were also interested in providing their own "Dutch Woodbrooke" facilities. This dream came to realization with the gift from Baroness von Heeckeren von Kell of a parcel of land near Barchem. The site was remote, surrounded by extensive pine and birch forests. A lecture hall already stood on a high elevation and there were plans for a main building to house sixty visitors. Barchem was to be "a place of retreat and of study, at the same time a place where people can go to be inwardly strengthened and enriched, and where people can prepare their spirits and minds for the service of God and of their neighbor."22

The influence of the Woodbrooke-and-Barchem-type conferences and summer schools continued under T. O. Hylkema's leadership. In 1917 at a conference at Barchem, he called together a meeting of the Mennonites present, out of which developed the Church-Day Conference of Mennonites. It was the intense desire of these leaders to revitalize the religious life of the total membership. Mennonites in Holland began to remember their own forgotten principle of biblical nonresistance. Silent prayer, Bible study and missions came to the fore. The Mennonite Youth Union was founded. Five retreat centers, called originally Mennonite Brotherhood Houses, were established. One of these, Elspeet, provided a range of facilities for retreats and conferences, camping and recreation.23

T. O. Hylkema, then pastor of Giethoorn Mennonite Church, remained active in associations with English Quakers. On February 4, 1921, as an official delegate to the Meeting for Sufferings, he spoke on behalf of the Mennonites in South Russia and their efforts to emigrate to United States, Canada and Paraguay. He also requested that the London Yearly Meeting send one or two delegates to the annual Mennonite conference convening at Lunteren, June 13-17 of that year. Two Quakers were appointed to attend and "carry the loving greetings of Friends to the Brethren of the Mennonite Church and the hope that this visit will strengthen the fellowship binding together all followers of Jesus Christ."24

In 1922 T. O. Hylkema, Jan Gleijsteen, Sr., Fritz Kuiper and others founded the Workgroup of Mennonites and Quakers Against War and Military Conscription (renamed Mennonite Peace Group in 1946) to reintroduce the almost forgotten principles of biblical nonresistance into the respective groups.25

In August 1927 Hylkema with American Mennonite H. P. Krehbiel of Kansas visited England to call for closer contacts between churches taking the pacifist position. Their proposals were referred to the Meeting for Sufferings which decided to follow a more guarded approach. "The formation of any large international board had better follow than precede closer contact." That was the end of the matter as far as English Quakers were concerned, although the historic peace churches in America did achieve a degree of cooperation.26

The Quaker-Mennonite Window Between World War I and II
While English Quakers historically were ready to cooperate in ventures with Mennonites on the Continent, they were hesitant to make alliances on their own turf. In 1918 English Friends serving in relief work in France, who had been accorded the status of an "Allowed Monthly Meeting," were interested in extending their fellowship. On May 2nd, 1919, this group passed the following minute: The earnest desire of Friends now working in the Mission in France is that the spirit of fellowship and service which they have come to share, may find a wider and more permanent expression...with service and similar committees amongst the different branches of Friends and in the Mennonite churches and other bodies who may wish to unite in helping us interpret the living message of the Spirit of Christ through free and loving service.27

The minute was too late to get on the agenda of Yearly Meeting on the 21st of May, 1919.

In July, three hundred unit members including Mennonite representatives met at Jordans, a Friends Centre in England, and came up with a similar proposal. Jordans Conference had no executive power. The proposal was sent on to the Friends World Conference, but discussions never took place. After the close of World War I the French relief units were disbanded and the French Allowed Monthly Meeting was "laid down."28

The English Friends did respond to calls for help for Mennonites emigrating from Russia in 1924 and 1930. In 1924 a few Mennonites who were detained in Southampton because of illness were visited by Quaker Katherine Balls, who provided them with clothing and money and reported to the Dutch Mennonite Committee on their welfare.29

During 1935-38 British Quaker, Corder Catchpool, was involved in relief efforts for hungry children in the Sudetenland, a region disputed between Czechoslovakia and Germany. Catchpool was a conscientious objector in World War I, a pioneer member of the Friends Ambulance Unit, and by the 30's was connected with the Friends Berlin Centre.

In Germany there was a relief organization, Bruder im Not (Brothers in Need), originally founded by German Mennonites to assist their co-religionists in Russia during the Revolution. But because of political reluctance by the Czech government to allow German aid to be given to German minorities in their territory, Catchpool saw the opportunity to intervene as a "neutral" relief agency. In the interests of Quaker relief, he was permitted to use funds from Bruder im Not to provide food in the disputed area for both German and Czech children. Over two winters he supervised the distribution of food, visiting seventy food centers in the area. Before Czechoslovakia was overrun by the Nazis in 1938, Corder Catchpool had been decorated by Jan Masaryk with the Czech Order of the White Lion.30.

The kinship between English Quakers and European Mennonites continues today. In June 1991 the first of three gatherings of the Friends Fifth World Conference met at Elspeet Mennonite Center in the Netherlands. In recent years fraternal delegates exchange visits between London Yearly Meeting and the Dutch Mennonite Conference.

The windows opened by English Quaker travelers during the 19th century provided a unique view on Mennonite life in Europe. The Quakers reflected interests and values similar to the Mennonites, as well as a few differences. Historically there had been the early efforts to proselytize Mennonites, notably in Holland. The Quaker travelers expressed a glowing appreciation for the hospitable reception they received in Mennonite homes and worship services. Of special interest to 19th century Friends were the major successes of agricultural life among the Mennonites transplanted into South Russia.

The nonresistant testimony of the Mennonites was shared by the Quakers. When exemption from military service was withdrawn from the Mennonites, the Friends supported their emigration to America. The Quaker window revealed differences in styles of worship, symbols associated with religious expression, and patterns of leadership. Concern was expressed for the Mennonite colonists' apparent lack of interest in the welfare of their peasant neighbors.

How did the Mennonites respond to this Quaker connection? There was evident appreciation for the social contact, spiritual testimony, and material aid offered by the Friends. They were curious about Quaker religious views, especially on the sacraments. Mennonites respected the Quakers' leadership in peace witness to civil authorities and acknowledged their expertise in relief efforts.

Although the English Quaker-European Mennonite kinship was an expression of mutual appreciation, it is apparent that each group maintained its distinctive piety and religious practices. In the long view of history, Quakers were not able to maintain a flourishing membership on the Continent, nor did the Mennonites establish a significant foothold in Britain.

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--Harold Lehman, now retired from teaching at EMU, spent several years at Woodbrooke, Birmingham, England.

Notes

For another treatment of the Quaker-Russian Mennonite connections see
Owen Gingerich, "Relations Between the Russian Mennonites and the
Friends During the Nineteenth Century," Mennonite Quarterly Review 25
(October 1951), 283-295.

All references to the periodical The Friend refer to the British
publication except where specific mention is given to the Philadelphia
paper by the same name.

The terms "Quakers" and "Friends" are used interchangeably.

1. William I. Hull, Children of Light, Howard H. Brinton, ed. (The
Macmillan Company, 1938), 197-202.
2. The Friend XXV (1885), 288.
3. The Friend III (Philadelphia, 1830) from a manuscript of travels
in the year 1819 by William Allen, 188-190.
4. Ibid., p. 189.
5. Life of William Allen with Selections from His Correspondence,
Vol. II (London: Charles Gilpin, 1846), 65.
6. Ibid., 65.
7. Ibid., 66.
8. Ibid., 69.
9. Ibid., 71-72.
10. Life of William Allen with Selections from His Correspondence,
Vol. III (London: Charles Gilpin, 1847), 44, 88, 393.
11. John Ormerod Greenwood, Quaker Encounters: Friends and Relief,
Vol. 1 (York: Wm. Sessions, 1975), footnote 98.
12. Letter, Daniel Wheeler to David Mallison (The Library, Friends
 House, London), MSS Portfolio 41-176.
13. Isaac Robson and Thomas Harvey, The Mennonites of South Russia
 (Birmingham 1872) an unpublished ms. (The Library, Friends House,
 London), 5.
14. Yearly Meeting, 1868, Narrative of the Visit of Isaac Robson and
 Thomas Harvey to the South of Russia, an unpublished ms. (The
 Library, Friends House, London), 8
15. Ibid., 23.
16. Greenwood, op. cit., 104-105.
17. Minutes of Meeting for Sufferings, May 11, 1875, "Sufferings of
 the Mennonites," one-page leaflet, Vol. 229. (The Library,
 Friends House, London.)
18. Isaac Robson and Thomas Harvey, "Appeal on behalf of the Emigrant
 Mennonites," February, 1875, 4-page document in Box 218 (The
 Library, Friends House, London).
19. The Friend, articles appearing from Vol. XIII (1873) to Vol.
 XXVII (1887).
20. Robert Davis, Woodbrooke: 1903-1953, (London: The Barnsdale
 Press, 1953), 163.
21. The Friend, 8 vii (1932), 598-599.
22. T. O. Hylkema, Woodbrooke in de Oud-Woodbrookers (Steenwijk:
 1911, reprinted 1913), 66-67. Translated by Marijke Kyler.
23. Davis, op. cit., 164-165.
24. The Friend, 61 (1921), 84, 426.
25. Mennonite Weekly Review, "The Peaceful Dutch Warrior Goes Home,"
 May 18, 1989.
26. John Ormerod Greenwood, Quaker Encounters: Vines on the Moun-
 tains, Vol 2 (York: Wm. Sessions, 1977), 228.
27. The Friend, 13 June 1919, 382.
28. Greenwood, op. cit., Vol. 2, 226-227.
29. Greenwood, op. cit., Vol. 1, 106.
30. John Ormerod Greenwood, Quaker Encounters: Whispers of Truth,
 Vol. 3 (York: Wm. Sessions, 1978), 311.

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Mennonite Historical Bulletin, October, 1995