Johann Funk was a Mennonite

Mennonite

The Mennonites are a group of Christian Anabaptist denominations named after the Frisian Menno Simons , who, through his writings, articulated and thereby formalized the teachings of earlier Swiss founders...

 bishop in early Canadian history.

Funk was born on the Bergthal Colony

Bergthal Colony

The Bergthal Colony was a Mennonite settlement in the southern part of the former Russian Empire, now Ukraine that emigrated to Manitoba, Canada....

, a Mennonite settlement near Mariupol

Mariupol

Mariupol , formerly known as Zhdanov , is a port city in southeastern Ukraine. It is located on the coast of the Azov Sea, at the mouth of the Kalmius River. Mariupol is the largest city in Priazovye - a geographical region around Azov Sea, divided by Russia and Ukraine - and is also a popular sea...

, Ukraine

Ukraine

Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...

 in 1836. In 1874, bishop Gerhard Wiebe persuaded the colony to emigrate to Canada. Funk was ordained a bishop in Canada in 1892, and played a significant role in the development of Mennonite education and the formation of Mennonite Educational Institute

Mennonite Educational Institute

Mennonite Educational Institute is an independent school consisting of four day schools — a preschool, elementary, middle, and secondary school — in the city of Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada...

 in Gretna, Manitoba

Gretna, Manitoba

Gretna is a town in south-central Manitoba, Canada. It is located just north of the Canada - United States border on PTH 30. As of 2006, the population of Gretna was 574. It is bordered on the west, north, and east by the Rural Municipality of Rhineland. On the south it is bordered by Pembina...

.

Funk died in 1917 in Altbergthal, near Altona, Manitoba

Altona, Manitoba

Altona is a predominantly Mennonite town in southern Manitoba about 100 km south-west of Winnipeg and 133 km north of Grand Forks, North Dakota. It is surrounded by the Rural Municipality of Rhineland. Much of the surrounding area is devoted to farming and agriculture-based business. Its...

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