 Click to Enlarge — A Stundist meeting in old Russia drawn by Lana Martin Peter Hoover is a Mennonite, born in
near Kitchner,
Ontario, the son of Orthodox Mennonites, one of the more conservative
and
exclusive branches of the Old Order Mennonites. When he was a teenager,
his parents left the Orthodox Mennonites and joined the conservative
Mennonites. In his early twenties, he and his wife Susan (whose
parents were Old Colony Mennonites originally from Cuauhtemoc,
Mexico,
but who later moved to Canada and joined the Conservative Mennonites)
moved
to Cuauhtemoc as missionaries among the the Old Colony Mennonites.
Peter,
as a consequence of his childhood and marriage and mission
work, speaks excellent High German, his native dialect —
Pennsylvania
Dutch — , Platt Deutsch (his wife's native tongue), and Spanish.
However,
he doesn't speak or read Russian. He and another brother moved
to Chile in December 1999, to establish a congregation there in the
Peurto Octay
region. See his 3 books
online. Serguei Vakerievich Peterov is a
Russian Quaker
of Molokan descent, originally from Piatigorsk, Stavropol'skaia krai.
He is a member of the Rockingham Meeting of
Conservative
Friends, Virginia, but lives in Moscow, occasionally attending the
Moscow
Molokan Church. He is very much interested in his dual heritage. He
extensively
edited this book, particularly the sections on the Old Beleivers and
Spiritual
Christians, bringing a vast knowledge of the Russian source material
and
a sympathy and identification with the spriitual heritage of the
Russian Spiritual
Christians. |
Dear Friends,
Benchmark Press and Shippensburg Christian Fellowship would like to announce the release of a new book by Peter Hoover with Serguei V. Petrov: The Russians'
Secret:
MARTYRDOM, by Ignatius' time, already appealed to believers intent on doing great things for Christ. The early Christians venerated martyrs, the dates of whose executions grew into a calendar of saints, and wearing a martyrs halo is still extremely popular. But martyrs' halos do no come in the mail. A great amount of persecution faced by Christians today results not from what they believe, but from what they own, and from where they come. Missionaries in poor countries lose their possessions, and sometimes their lives, because people associate them with foreign wealth. Other "martyrs" lose their lives in political conflict. But does have having our vehicles and cameras stolen, our children kidnapped, or being killed for political "correctness," assure that we have "witnessed for Jesus"? Real martyrs for Christ do not wear halos. They only carry crosses. Most people, even Christians, quickly discredit and forget these martyrs. Real martyrs suffer persecution, not like "great heros of the faith." but like eccentrics and fools. Ordinary people usually consider them fanatics. Does this disappoint or alarm you? Do not worry. Reading this book about Russia's "underground" believers will assure you that if you are a typical Western Christian you will never face persecution. You will never have to be a real martyr for Christ. Only if you are not typical — if you choose to be a "weed that floats upstream."— you may want to know the secret by which Russian Christianity survived through a thousand years of suffering. Prepublication reviews: "True to the spirit of Russia's believers, this work gives a colorful and detailed description of faith 'underground.' But what makes it unique is the author's penetration of the soul of Russian belief — in so many ways dissimilar to western belief in God." —Leonid Maslennikov, Russian professor, James Madison University "Westerners have become increasingly
aware
of the
Russian people's deep roots in Eastern Orthodoxy. The Russians'
Secret
introduces us to 'another' side of Russian Christianity not as well
known
in the West, the 'little traditions' of sectarian, mystical, and
evangelical
faith that have always existed alongside the official Orthodox church.
This book, written for the general reader, offers a sweeping and
detailed
view of those radical Christian movements without stooping to
superficiality." — William Rushby, member, Rockingham
Meeting of
Conservative
Friends.
This 247 page book is available from
Feel free to pass this announcement on to any one who you think might be interested. Benchmark Press is a publishing ministry of Shippensburg Christian Fellowship, an unaffiliated conservative Mennonite congregation. |
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