Zahoriz (Sahorez), a village located five miles southwest of Dubno, Volhynia (now Rivne Oblast, Ukraine). Zahoriz and the neighboring villages of Futtor, Gorrit, Hecker, and others were settled by Swiss-Volhynian Mennonites who organized a congregation soon after 1861, holding services alternately at Zahoriz and Futtor, although neither had a meetinghouse. The time of the arrival of the Mennonites in these villages is unknown, but some apparently settled in Futtor in the early 19th century; by 1829 several families were living there, having come either from Poutchy or Vignanka. Zahoriz was probably settled by people from Poutschy. Before 1861 the Mennonite congregation in these villages was a subsidiary of the congregation at Poutchy; but when that larger settlement moved to the villages of Neumannovka and Kutusovka in eastern Volhynia, a congregation was organized with its center in Zahoriz and Futtor. Elder Johann Schrag of Poutchy moved to Zahoriz in 1861 and shepherded the church. Virtually all of the Mennonites in these villages emigrated to the United States in 1874, settling in Hutchinson and Turner counties, South Dakota. Ten families of Zahoriz and Futtor left Russia in April 1874 under the leadership of Andreas Schrag and were followed a few weeks later by the inhabitants of Gorrit and Hecker.

Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, and Waterloo, Ontario, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 4, p. 1016. All rights reserved. For information on ordering the encyclopedia visit the Herald Press website.

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