A peasant who had been much in Rohrbach was
I. Onislienko. He lived in Osnova, a Russian village in the
neighbourhood, not very far from the port of Nicolaieff.
He had been in the employ of various German farmers, and
was one of the most devoted of those who attended the
German Stunden, and one of the most diligent of the
students of the New Testament. At this time he was thirty
years old, a tall, meagre man, with childlike blue eyes, a
pleasant mouth, and a ready gift of facile speech. Early in
1858 he declared himself converted, and was admitted to
membership with the German brethren. Onislienko was,
therefore, the first Stundist. Shortly after his conversion
he returned to Osnova, and at once began evangelistic work
among his fellow villagers. They met in his cottage in
crowds, and to them he declared all that he himself knew,
all that had worked so complete a reformation in his own
heart. His preaching caught on. The state of
preparedness was already there; the seed had been already sown.
Onishenko had long singled out for special instruction a
remarkable young man, whose gifts both of mind and heart
were well known to him. He felt that if he could win
young Michael Ratushni to the cause, he would gain one
who would devote every energy he possessed to the
spreading of the Gospel message. Ratushni was convinced and
converted, and together with his teacher he went to
Rohrbach to visit Bonekemper, and be received by the
German brethren. As far as we can learn Ratushni's visits to
Rohrbach were frequent, and there can be no doubt that he
here obtained the instruction that was so indispensable in
the prominent part he has since occupied as one of the
foremost leaders of the Stundist revolt against the Orthodox
Church of his country. In the meantime other evangelists,
men who did useful and enduring work, but whose names
have not been recorded, had been prepared in Rohrbach,
Page:Stundists.pdf/17
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BEGINNINGS.
5