Echoes of the Past: My Heritage Across Borders. Part I

Hi Friend,

What a year it's been! (That’s my official excuse for not being as disciplined in my writing as I’d like). The biggest highlight? Our son John got married this summer! We couldn’t be more excited to welcome his now-wife from Australia, Cathrine, into our family. She’s a beautiful woman and such a graceful addition to our little collection of characters.

We’re also soaking up every moment with our granddaughter, who visits us a couple of times a week. Grandparenting is its own adventure, and she keeps us young – or at least makes us feel like we should be!

On the home front, I’ve been busy building our Dacha (a cabin) and trying my hand at gardening. Not to mention, I’m learning the fine art of beekeeping, and surprisingly, we had quite the honey harvest this year. Beginner’s luck? Maybe. We’ll see if I can replicate it next summer.

I won’t bore you with too much personal stuff, but let me say this: Life is good, and God is great.

Another big project on my plate has been translating and compiling my father’s biography. He left behind a lot of notes, and it’s taken quite a bit of effort to turn them into a cohesive story. It’s been both fascinating and, at times, heartbreaking to relive what his generation endured and survived. Before Christmas, I’ll be publishing his first book, The Truth Will Never Die. It tells the story of his childhood, his imprisonment, exile to Siberian work camps, finding my mother, and discovering his faith in Jesus Christ – all while navigating unimaginable hardships and discrimination.

On top of that, I’ve decided to write a short series of articles about my heritage. These stories will be, from my perspective, shaped by years of research and reflection. There’s a lot of overlap with others who went through similar fate, but I feel compelled to share my own take on the history. With an increasing number of speaking invitations, I want to offer a fuller picture of where I come from and the events that shaped my outlook on life.

If you think someone else might enjoy this newsletter, feel free to pass it along! Thanks for being a part of this journey.

Blessings,
Andrej

The Founders

Russia’s triumph over the Turks, leading to the acquisition of lands in Crimea and Novorussia, was a significant historical event. The numerous Russian conflicts with the Ottoman Empire, akin to Europe’s resistance against Islamic invasions, are often overshadowed by the Ottomans’ conquests in North Africa, the Middle East, Jerusalem, Spain, Bulgaria, and the Balkans. These Russian wars, however, are not as widely known in Western history books. 

The land Russia claimed from the Turks was suitable for agriculture, and with proper care, it became Russia’s and Europe’s bread basket. Cathrine the Great, being herself a German princess, invited settlers from all over Europe. They came from Holland, Prussia, Moravia and Switzerland. Many of them were Anabaptists, Mennonites and other groups persecuted by the Catholics and by magisterial Protestants. The Catholics hated all protestants, and the magisterial Protestants, like Lutherans and Calvinists, hated the Anabaptists. As Catholics tyrannized the early protestant reformers, so did the reformers, later to the Anabaptists. Schisms were punished by torture and death. They liked to burn people on a stake, span them on torcher weels, ripp their tongs out and drown them in rivers. Beheading was comparatively a merciful treatment of a dissenter. All that was performed publically, with old and young people watching, as entertainment. Calvinists drowned many Anabaptists in Switzerland, and they called that the third and final baptism. They reasoned that if the anabaptists liked the water that much, let them drown. So, when the Queen of Russia opened the border for the anabaptists to resettle in Novorussia (today’s Ukraine), they did not think twice, and a lot of them found freedom and rest from oppression. 

In the 18^th  and 19th centuries, many colonies were established along the Dnepr River, down to the Black Sea. Because of Russia’s Orthodox faith and Queen Catherine’s conversion, they did not wish the Anabaptists to proselytize the locals. A compromise was struck between the pacifist settlers and the Russian Empire. The settlers agreed not to spread their religion in exchange for exemption from serving 25 years in the Russian military, a compromise that weakened their faith but secured their freedom. 

Somewhere in those long-gone decades, my ancestors also moved to Russia. Our ancestors were hard-working farmers who did not have idle time writing and keeping annals. Many learned to read but read only the bible. So, we do not have many historical records from that time. In the archives of a Mennonite historical collector in Germany, I read that my clan of Voths most probably came from the Swiss area bordering France. People with the same surname were also found in Holland and South Germany. Near the city of Geneva was a village where the Voths lived. They were farmers but also skilled swordsmen. In the winter, the French hired them as mercenaries, and in the summer, they farmed. Calvin and his followers were uneasy about having some anabaptists close by who were also good fighters. So after John Calvin approved burning at the stake, the Spanish theologian Michael Servetus, who disagreed with him on the doctrine of the Trinity, turned to persecute the anabaptists who disagreed with him on baptism. He ordered his fellow believers to drown my anabaptist ancestors in the river. Many Calvinist historians and theologians, like Lutzer, MacArthur and Sproul, are justifying the young and ambitious French lawyer for floggings in public squares and killing Christians if they disagreed with him, “Well, in those days, that was how they settled disagreements!” they argue. This makes complete sense in understanding why the Nazzies settled their disagreements with the Jews in gas chambers and the Pharisees crucified Christ as a fair way of resolving their religious quarrels. 

One of my mentors said you can tell what a church or association lacks by looking at its names and the words it uses the most. Calvinists like to use “Grace” in their church names and their writing and preachings. There is but very little grace and mercy in their practice. Historically, they have been one of the most enthusiastic persecutors of those who disagreed. It is a topic for another discussion on how a founder sets the culture for his followers for generations. They also high-jacked the word “reformed” as only applicable to the followers of Calvin’s ideas. 

The German settlers organized themself and became prosperous. It is said that their farms and houses were nicely built, and if you opened the front and the back door of every home in the village, you could look from one end to the other. The local Russians were hired to serve the German farmers. Some treated them fairly, and some abused them. It was said that you could hunger and starve on the steps of a wealthy German farmer who would not share his food. This historical fact always bothered me. How could Christians whose ancestors were persecuted for their biblical view on faith, evangelism and charity just in a few generations enjoying freedom and prosperity become in name Christians only and be so heartless? 

These now nominal religious people were later re-evangelized and experienced a revival. Notable European preachers of the 19^th century made an outstanding contribution, like Onken, the founder of the Baptist Union in Germany, Lord Radstock from England and many others. The new converts of the Mennonites called themselves Mennonite Brethren and practised immersion baptism, while the traditionalists (called die kirchlichen) stayed with infant or sprinkle baptisms. 

For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings. Hosea 6:6
But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice.’ For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.” Matthew 9:13