Christian Gayman of Cayuga, Ontario, was ordained as a minister about 1863, and as a bishop about 1875. He became one of the active leaders of the Old Order Mennonite schism in the Ontario Mennonite Conference (MC) in 1889. At the 1888 conference he openly stated that he wished to form a conference of his own and did so in May 1889, at the Wideman Church in Markham, Ontario. He was joined by Bishop Abraham Martin of Waterloo County and Bishop Christian Reesor of Markham. Gayman's home congregation was the Cayuga Church in Haldimand County near the shore of Lake Erie.

Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, and Waterloo, Ontario, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 2, p. 440-441. All rights reserved. For information on ordering the encyclopedia visit the Herald Press website.

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