Friedensfeld (Miropol), a Mennonite village with 5,400 acres of land in the province and district of Ekaterinoslav in South Russia, 30 miles from Nikopol, was founded by 1867 by members of the Kleine Gemeinde of the Molotschna settlement. Three families of settlers were Mennonite Brethren. In 1869 two other Mennonite Brethren families moved in; since the Kleine Gemeinde congregation was in the process of dissolution, all the remaining inhabitants of the village joined the Mennonite Brethren. Friedensfeld was at first a subsidiary of the Molotschna Mennonite Brethren Church, but in 1875 it was organized as an independent congregation with 45 members. Friedensfeld from the beginning gave much thought to its school system, and especially to clubs devoted to youth welfare, to music, and to singing. Several Baptist families were admitted into the village. Its fate after the Revolution and World War II was no doubt similar to that of other Molotschna villages.

Bibliography

Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, and Waterloo, Ontario, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 2, p. 400. All rights reserved. For information on ordering the encyclopedia visit the Herald Press website.

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