The essays included in this volume edited by Abraham Friesen were originally written for and presented at the P.M. Friesen Symposium held in Fresno, California, on May 4–6, 1978, under the auspices of the Center for Mennonite Brethren Studies and the Mennonite Brethren Biblical Seminary to mark the publication of the translation of P.M. Friesen's history (The Mennonite Brotherhood in Russia, 1789-1910 [Fresno, 1978], originally published as Alt-Evangelische Mennonitische Bruederschaft in Russland (1789-1910) im Rahmen der mennonitischen Gesamtgeschichte [Halbstadt, Raduga, 1911]).

The essays are arranged into four sections: (1) The intellectual setting from which the Mennonite Brethren Church and P.M. Friesen both emerged, (2) The kinship patterns and key leaders among the founders of the Mennonite Brethren Church, (3) The man, P.M. Friesen, his presuppositions, his writing style, and the problems he confronted while narrating the origins of the Mennonite Brethren Church, and (4) An attempt at constructing a Mennonite Brethren theological self-understanding for a contemporary setting.