Jacob H. Janzen (19 March 1878-16 February 1950) was a Mennonite teacher, preacher, elder, and author, a man of rare gifts and rich understanding. He had a strong influence in the General Conference. He was born in Steinbach, South Russia, and died in Waterloo, ON. He was educated in the Zentralschule at Gnadenfeld, and by industrious private study he acquired a teachers' certificate in Melitopol and Kharkov. In 1913-14 he studied philosophy and natural sciences at the universities of Jena and Greifswald in Germany. He served in Russia first as a village schoolteacher; from 1908 until 1921 he was head teacher of the Girls' School at Tiege, Molotschna. He was ordained to the ministry on 19 November 1906, in Gnadenfeld. Because he was a minister he was compelled by the Red government to give up his teaching position in 1921. From that time until his emigration he served the congregations with preaching and lecturing, and also represented the interests of the Mennonite Church to the government as a member of the Kommission für Kirchenangelegenheiten (KfK). In the fall of 1924 he arrived in Canada and settled in Waterloo, ON, where he was ordained as elder on 14 February 1926. He lived in Waterloo until his death, with the exception of 1935-1937, when he was the head of the Mary Martha Girls' Home in Vancouver and elder of the United Mennonite Church in British Columbia. In Ontario, especially in the Kitchener-Waterloo area, he did great work helping to gather and organize the new immigrants from Russia (those who arrived after 1924) into congregations. In addition he did much work as a traveling evangelist and as a writer. At least 38 published writings have come from his pen. Bethel College, where he lectured repeatedly, awarded him a doctor's degree in 1944 in recognition of his services for the Mennonite community. Particulars about his life and work, as well as a list of his writings, are found in Mennonite Life (July 1951) and also in Der Bote (12 April 1950). He was a pioneer Mennonite writer, his articles and short stories appearing in many European and North American Mennonite papers and yearbooks. (The J.H. Janzen collection is located in Bethel College Historical Library.)

Additional Information

Jacob H. Janzen collection at Mennonite Archives of Ontario

Clip (6:55) of Jacob Janzen preaching at the Johannesthal Mennonite Church, Hillsboro, Kansas on 23 March 1949. These are large files.

MP3 version (9.7 mb)       WMA version (6.5 mb)

Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Scottdale, Pennsylvania, and Waterloo, Ontario, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 3, p. 95-96. All rights reserved. For information on ordering the encyclopedia visit the Herald Press website.

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