Alexandrodar (Russia)

Alexandrodar was a name given to villages and congregations in the Russian Caucasus.

1. Alexandrodar (also called Alexanderfeld) was a village in the Mennonite colony of Wohldemfürst-Alexanderfeld in the Kuban River district. The nearest railway station was at Bogoslovskaya, and the nearest post office at Velikoknyazheskoye. It was founded in 1864, covered 5,400 acres and in 1912 had a population of 950, mostly Mennonites, belonging in part to the Mennonite Church (who built a church here in 1896), in part to the Mennonite Brethren, and in part to the Jerusalemsfreunde. In the village there were two schools, attended by about two hundred children. Most of the inhabitants were farmers; there were thirty-two farms of 135 acres each, and several farms of thirty-seven acres. Only Mennonites were permitted to own land. The adherents of other creeds were for the most part employed in the farm machinery factory at Alexandrodar, which had a good market in the Caucasus. To promote farming, a short-loan bank was established.
2. A congregation of the Mennonite Church in the colony of Wohldemfürst-Alexanderfeld on the Kuban River, Caucasus district, was established in 1886 by the settling of Mennonites from the Molotschna colony. The Kuban settlement had been started in 1864 by Mennonite Brethren. The government granted them some of the crown lands along the Kuban River for colonization, each family receiving 135 acres. Nevertheless many returned to their old home and their property was taken over by members of the Mennonite congregations. These united in 1886 to form the Mennonite Church of Alexandrodar on the Kuban. Kornelius Dirks, Elder of the Waldheim congregation (province Taurida), was commissioned by the Allgemeine Bundeskonferenz der Mennoniten to head the work of the church. From 1887 to 1902 he visited the church several times annually, and in 1902 settled among them. At first services were held in private homes and later in a rented hall; in 1896 the congregation acquired a church building. In 1912 the church had 312 souls (including 174 children), most of whom lived in Alexandrodar and Wohldemfürst; subsidiary churches arose in Ebenfeld and Hochfeld. Most of the inhabitants were landowners. Social welfare was carried on in providing for widows, orphans and the poor by means of an assessment of the members; the church had no other assets. A women's sewing circle contributed to foreign missions through its products. Services were conducted every Sunday and holiday. Preachers served without salary. -- Hege
3. Alexandrodar Mennonite Church of Jerusalemsfreunde was organized by members of the group coming from Gnadenfeld, Molotschna, to the Kuma River, Caucasia, at the Wohldemfürst Mennonite settlement. Nikolai Schmidt, a former minister of the Mennonite Church, was the leader and minister of this group. Until 1907 the Sunday services were held alternately in the schools of Wohldemfürst and Alexandrodar. In cooperation with the music association made up of members of all branches of Mennonites, a spacious auditorium was built in 1907, with a seating capacity of three hundred, for the use of all, where services were held. It was located halfway between the two villages. Services were conducted on alternate Sundays for adults and children Most of the members were farmers, some were businessmen, etc. In 1912 the church had ninety-three members over twenty years of age and one hundred children. Nikolai Schmidt was succeeded as elder by Isaak Fast.
4. Alexandrodar, the seat of the Kuban Mennonite Brethren Church, was founded in 1864 and numbered about 375 souls in 1912. -- SF

Author(s)	Christian Hege
	S F
Date Published	1955

Cite This Article

MLA style

Hege, Christian and S F. "Alexandrodar (Russia)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1955. Web. 16 Apr 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Alexandrodar_(Russia)&oldid=132407.

APA style

Hege, Christian and S F. (1955). Alexandrodar (Russia). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 16 April 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Alexandrodar_(Russia)&oldid=132407.

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Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 1, p. 50. All rights reserved.

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