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Mennonites
were in constant danger because of their unpopular beliefs. Maybe
you sometimes think differently than your family or friends. Can
you imagine what it would feel like if someone tried to kill you
for that? Would you be willing to suffer and lose your possessions
to stand up for your beliefs? You would have to be very certain
that what you believe is right.
The
early Mennonites were very certain. They were tortured
and killed in horrible
ways, but many kept their faith.
To
avoid this punishment, Mennonites and Anabaptists escaped to areas
where they could hide and practice their faith. First this meant
moving from cities into the countryside, but soon they spread all
over Europe. From Switzerland and the Netherlands, they spread to
England, Germany, Moravia, Poland, Russia, and America.
Many
countries did not accept Mennonites as settlers because they would
not serve in the army or participate in society. Other countries
promised them that they could live in peace. The Queen of Russia,
Catherine the Great, invited the Mennonites to come to her country.
She was looking for citizens to live in some land she had just conquered,
and she had heard that the Mennonites were excellent farmers. She
offered them land and the opportunity to keep their language, their
customs, and their religion. She told them that they wouldn't have
to do any military service. Although the first years were hard,
the Mennonite colonies in New Russia soon prospered.
Another
group of Mennonites moved to Pennsylvania, USA, because the governor
of that colony promised them freedom to live as they wanted.
Even
though many people disagreed with them and persecuted them, the
Mennonites survived by finding places where they could practise
their religion in peace.
Why
did they move to Canada ?
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