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179:, 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
105:. 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.
164:. 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
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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.
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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.
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Mennonites. Those most concerned with these changes were looking toward North
America as a resettlement option. There was widespread distribution of
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As 1880 and the end of special privileges approached, a group of Epp's followers prepared for a trek east. A party traveled to
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Dyck, Frederick D. "In their own Words, A Short Sketch of my Life:Jacob Toews (1838 - 1922)."
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minister known for leading his followers into
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in lieu of military service, separated from the main group and settled at
244:"Epp, Claas (1838-1913), Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online"
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A variant spelling, Claasz Epp, is used in some sources, including Smith.
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Pilgrims On The Silk Road: A Muslim-Christian
Encounter in Khiva
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exemption from military service, which was so important to
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140:Mennonite settlers at Aulie Ata in the late 1800s.
242:Bartsch, Franz & Richard D. Thiessen (2005).
148:where they obtained permission to settle near
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81:(21 September 1838 – 19 January 1913) was a
343:Interactive Map of the Mennonite Great Trek
325:Mennonite Millennial Madness: A Case Study
314:Last Oasis: The Mennonite Refuge in Khiva
285:Claas Epp and the Great Trek Reconsidered
121:and others among the Mennonite colonies.
66:Learn how and when to remove this message
131:seven churches of the Book of Revelation
29:This article includes a list of general
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117:writings by prophetic authors such as
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221:Ratliff, Walter R. (January 2010).
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154:Konstantin Petrovich Von Kaufman
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259:Smith's Story of the Mennonites
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289:Journal of Mennonite Studies
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331:28, no. 2 (1999): 201-217.
303:Rethinking the Great Trek
296:Mennonite Family History
257:Smith, C. Henry (1981).
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89:would return in 1889.
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312:Ratliff, Walter R. "
227:. Wipf & Stock.
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372:41.3162°N 60.4715°E
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301:Juhnke, James C. "
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360:41°18′58″N
249:2006-11-05
215:References
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329:Direction
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