The forerunners of this group came to Manitoba from Russia in 1874. They were first known as Bergthalers, but eventually became known as the Chortitzer Church because their bishop, Gerhard Wiebe (1827-1900), lived near the village of Chortitz. This group was very conservative. They sang without harmony (parts), restricting the singing to a melody only. They allowed neither Sunday schools nor evening services. The German language was used exclusively in church services. The bishop and ministers possessed most of the authority in the conference, allowing for little local autonomy.
The departure in 1948 of the more conservative families to Paraguay, left the more progressive families remaining in Canada. This opened the way for a number of changes in the Chortitzer conference. A new emphasis was placed on Christian education, with the addition of Bible studies, Sunday school, Sunday evening services, and young people's programs. Exclusive use of the German language made way for the adoption of English - first in Sunday School, and then in the Sunday morning services. A mission board was formed to conduct the mission outreach of the conference, and now a number of Chortitzer conference members serve in different parts of the world.
The Chortitzer Mennonite Conference had approximately 2,400 baptized members in 11 congregations in 1990. 18 preachers and one bishop were serving the congregations. Each congregation has a considerable amount of local autonomy under the bishop, who is the spiritual leader of the conference, presides over the ministerial meetings, performs or authorizes the baptisms, and serves communion in all of the congregations. The bishop is also responsible for the ordination of ministers and deacons. The pastors serve without salaries, and have a job or farm to provide their families. The conference prints the CMC Chronicle as the official publication of the church.
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