On-line forum for Germans from Russia Researchers

hi there,
this is just a general question - not related to any specific family.

In the Odessa3 files, some families or family members are marked as separatists. What does that really mean?

I appreciate that most folks were either Catholic or Lutheran, and we have Mennonites in some areas....but am wondering what separatists were.

Thanks, Ray Broneske.

Hi Ray, I polled a couple of knowledgeable people about Separatists. Here's what they had to say:

Elli Wise:
There is a long story in the old Teplitz book by Herbert Weiss. The Separatists are a group of people who “divorced” themselves from the Evangelical Lutheran churches. They appointed pastors from their midst to perform baptisms, confirmations and other church functions. Separatists at some time refused to pay dues for support of pastors or send their children to school. There were feuds between pastors and the separatist leaders. The Separatists had their own sermons and visions but eventually many separatists rejoined the Lutheran church system when prophecies by the separatist leaders did not come about.

Reuben Drefs:
Albert Kern's book The Homeland Book of the Bessarabian Germans states "The Separatist movement was based in Alt Elft. A healthy movement followed which was blessed by revivals and led to a healthy Christian attitude in the framework of the Lutheran Church. The Brotherhood of Paris were instrumental shaping the spiritual life." But he is more critical of Separatists in the stories in other Bessarabian towns. For Borodino he writes that the Separatists he called fanatics and was led by Karl Ehne of Marbach. Only his visions mattered not the scriptures. After Lindl left the moral fabric of Alt Elft, Kloestitz and Tarutino was destroyed. Again he says that the moral decline was healed when the Separtists returned to the church community. Yet the writer of the Tarutino report barely mentions the Separtists, emphasizing how strong the Lutheran Church of Tarutino had become.

hi Carolyn,
thanks for that. It is more or less what I thought - that some folks (the separatists) were unhappy with the "normal" running of the church and ran their own "Gottesdienst". I do expect that there was a fair amount of acrimony between the two groups.

What I don't know is if there was actually a rejoining of the two groups......but it's nice to get some perspective on this subject. And it may have been of interest of other members here.

Thanks again, cheers, Ray Broneske