Claas Epp Jr.^[1] (1838-09-21 Р1913-01-19) was a Russian Mennonite minister known for leading his followers into middle Asia where he predicted Christ would return in 1889. | J̦ns Jakob Berzelius, discoverer of protein 1838 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... September 21 is the 264th day of the year (265th in leap years). ... 1913 (MCMXIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday. ... January 19 is the 19th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... This page is about the title or the Divine Person. For the Christian figure, see Jesus. ...

Epp was born in Fürstenwerder, Prussia. His family moved to the Trakt Mennonite settlement in the Russian province of Samara in 1853. He was married to Elisabeth Jantzen in 1862. Most of their twelve children died before reaching adulthood. One of four districts of East Prussia in 1920 - 1938. ...

The 1870s were a time of stress and transition in the Mennonite settlements of Russia. The population of the colonies was more than could be supported by available land. The Russian government announced in 1870 that it would end all special privileges granted to colonists by 1880, including the exemption from military service, which was so important to nonresistant Mennonites. Those most concerned with these changes were looking toward North America as a resettlement option. There was widespread distribution of chiliastic writings by prophetic authors such as Jung Stilling and others among the Mennonite colonies. Nonresistance (or non-resistance) discourages physical resistance to an enemy and is a subdivision of nonviolence. ...

It was in this uncertain environment that Epp distributed a self-published book in 1877 in which he put forth his own prophetic interpretation of the Bible. Epp predicted that Christ would return in 1889 and meet the faithful in central Asia. According to Epp, his own congregation was Philadelphia of the seven churches of the Book of Revelation, which would become a doorway into heaven. Alasehir, Turkey, began as perhaps one of the first ancient cities with the name Philadelphia. ... In the Book of Revelation, the angel sent to John the Evangelist tells him (Revelation 1:11, KJV): What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis...

As 1880 and the end of special privileges approached, a group of Epp's followers prepared for a trek east. A party traveled to Petersburg where they obtained permission to settle near Tashkent from Konstantin Petrovich Von Kaufman, the first Governor-General of Russian Turkestan. Over a hundred families in four groups set out in summer and fall of 1880, arriving in the vicinity of Tashkent after an arduous fifteen week journey. When they learned that the military exemption now no longer applied to Russia's Asiatic possessions, a disagreement arose among the group. The more liberal faction, those willing to accept non-combatant forestry service, separated from the main group and settled at Aulie-Ata some 240 km (150 miles) northeast of Tashkent. Several places in the United States of America have the name Petersburg: Petersburg, Alaska Petersburg, Illinois Petersburg, Indiana Petersburg, Iowa Petersburg, Michigan Petersburg, Nebraska Petersburg, Ohio Petersburg, Virginia Petersburg, West Virginia Slight variations appear in the names of: Petersburgh, New York Saint Petersburg, Russia Saint Petersburg, Florida Petersburg was the... Tashkent Tashkent (Toshkent or Тошкент in Uzbek, Ташкент in Russian; its name translates from Uzbek to Stone City in English. ... Konstantin Petrovich Von Kaufman, first Governor-General of Russian Turkestan Konstantin Petrovich Von Kaufman (Константин Петрович фон-Кауфман in Russian) Konstantin Petrovich Von Kaufman (1818 - 1882... Governor-General (or Governor General) is a term used both historically and currently to designate the appointed representative of a head of state or their government for a particular territory, historically in a colonial context, but no longer necessarily in that form. ... Russian Turkestan (Russian: Ру́сский Туркеста́н), also known as Turkestansky Krai (Туркеста́нский край), was a subdivision (Krai or Governor... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Taraz. ...

Epp took his group of some sixty families to Bukhara hoping to be out of the reach of Russian jurisdiction and the associated conscription requirements. The emir of Bukhara refused to accept the settlers, citing a food scarcity and sending Epp and his followers back into Turkestan. Epp, believing that the end of time was near, did not concern himself with complying with government orders, particularly with respect to conscription. After much traveling back and forth in the border area of Bukhara and Turkestan, the group was invited to settle on the private estate of Muhammad Rahim Bahadur, khan of Khiva. Bukhara (Bokhara in XIX century English, Buxoro or Бухоро in Uzbek (the Cyrillic alphabet was officially phased out for Uzbek after independence); بُخارا /Bukhârâ/ in Persian, Buhe/Puhe Tang Chinese, Бухара in Russian; also Boxara in Tatar) is the fifth-largest city in Uzbekistan, and capital of the Bukhara region (Bukhoro Wiloyati). ... Khiva (alternative names include Khorasam, Khoresm, Khwarezm, Khwarizm, Khwarazm, Chiwa and Chorezm) is the former capital of Khwarezmia, which lies in the present-day Khorezm Province of Uzbekistan. ...

Their journey was at its end, but new problems arose. When nearby bandits learned that the Mennonites would not defend themselves their thievery advanced from taking horses and livestock to boldly coming into homes and taking possessions at will. Mennonites pacifism was finally broken when attempts were made to take young women from their homes. The church leaders permitted the use of clubs and sticks for self-defense and then finally appealed to the khan for armed security guards. This helped somewhat, but the marauding resumed when the guards left. A permanent solution was found when the khan allowed them to relocate in a more secure place near Khiva.

Epp became ever more fanatical, claiming he met Elijah in the sky and ascended to heaven. He predicted Christ's return on 1898-03-08. When the date came and nothing happened, Epp readjusted his calculations—claiming the original date was based on a leaning clock—and corrected the year to 1891. That year passed and Epp, ever more eccentric, declared himself to be Christ's son. His congregation, which had dwindled over the decades, finally had enough of Epp's bizarre behavior disassociated from him. Epp died in 1913 in Ak Metchet, Khiva, Turkestan. Elijah (אֱלִיָּהוּ Whose/my God is the Lord, Standard Hebrew Eliyyáhu, Tiberian Hebrew ʾĔliyyāhû), also Elias (NT Greek Ἠλίας), is a prophet of the Hebrew Bible or Old Testament. ... 1898 (MDCCCXCVIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Monday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar). ... March 8 is the 67th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (68th in Leap years). ...

Notes

1. ^ A variant spelling, Claasz Epp, is used in some sources, including Smith.

References