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Michael Kraus (minister)
Encyclopedia
For the American soccer player, see Michael Kraus
.
Michael Kraus (March 26, 1908 - November 16, 2003) was a Canadian entrepreneur
and minister in the New Apostolic Church
.
Saxons
in the Transylvania
region of Romania
. According to Canadian immigration records, in 1926, at age 18, he boarded the Canadian Pacific ship Minnedosa, and emigrated to Kitchener, Ontario
, Canada
. He often described his arrival saying, “I had only ten cents in my pocket, didn’t speak a word of English, didn’t know a soul; not even the dogs barked at me.” In the 1930s, he worked in a furniture factory by day. After hours he built apartments, beginning a life-long interest in real estate and construction. At some point his name was changed to Michael Kraus - it is not clear when this change occurred.
in 1959. A daring expansion into fibre extrusion, he founded Strudex Fibres in 1971. By his death in 2003, Kraus companies employed over 900 people at facilities across Canada, in the United States and in Australia.
in 1932 and was ordained into the ministry one year later. Like other ministers in the New Apostolic Church
, he served in a voluntary capacity, initially as an assistant local minister and later in various regional commissions. In 1955 he was ordained as an apostle and, in Zurich on June 21, 1958, he was ordained as a district apostle and national leader of the New Apostolic Church
Canada. He traveled extensively, and sent fellow missionaries to spread the Gospel of Jesus
Christ and establish the New Apostolic Church
in over 70 countries, where church membership grew to over 4 million by his retirement in 1994. He organized the construction of thousands of church buildings in developing countries. His impact on the worldwide growth of the New Apostolic Church
was so great, that at his funeral, Chief Apostle
Richard Fehr
compared it to the missionary work of Paul the Apostle of biblical times.
However, not every member of the New Apostolic Church thought so highly of Kraus. Some considered him a megalomaniac, a demanding and petty tyrant who insisted that his every edict should be obeyed without question, no matter how foolish or inconsequential. The following is an excerpt from a letter he sent to North American members in March 1989:
Note how Kraus confuses "autocracy" with "theocracy", the use of ALL CAPS in certain parts of the letter as if shouting, and how he refers to himself in the third person. Some took umbrage at being called "fools" simply for daring to disagree with Kraus, who considered himself one of the "Anointed of the Lord".
Michael Kraus
Michael Kraus is an American soccer player.-College and Amateur:Kraus played college soccer at Creighton University, where he was named the Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year in 2006, the same year he served as Creighton's team captain. He was named First-Team All-MVC in 2006 and...
.
Entrepreneur
An entrepreneur is an owner or manager of a business enterprise who makes money through risk and initiative.The term was originally a loanword from French and was first defined by the Irish-French economist Richard Cantillon. Entrepreneur in English is a term applied to a person who is willing to...
and minister in the New Apostolic Church
New Apostolic Church
The New Apostolic Church is a chiliastic church, converted to Protestantism as a free church from the Catholic Apostolic Church. The church has existed since 1879 in Germany and since 1897 in the Netherlands...
.
Immigrant
Mihail Krauss was the eldest son of a tavern-owning farmer in Meeburg, a village of 950 German-speaking LutheranLutheranism
Lutheranism is a major branch of Western Christianity that identifies with the theology of Martin Luther, a German reformer. Luther's efforts to reform the theology and practice of the church launched the Protestant Reformation...
Saxons
Saxons
The Saxons were a confederation of Germanic tribes originating on the North German plain. The Saxons earliest known area of settlement is Northern Albingia, an area approximately that of modern Holstein...
in the Transylvania
Transylvania
Transylvania is a historical region in the central part of Romania. Bounded on the east and south by the Carpathian mountain range, historical Transylvania extended in the west to the Apuseni Mountains; however, the term sometimes encompasses not only Transylvania proper, but also the historical...
region of Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
. According to Canadian immigration records, in 1926, at age 18, he boarded the Canadian Pacific ship Minnedosa, and emigrated to Kitchener, Ontario
Kitchener, Ontario
The City of Kitchener is a city in Southern Ontario, Canada. It was the Town of Berlin from 1854 until 1912 and the City of Berlin from 1912 until 1916. The city had a population of 204,668 in the Canada 2006 Census...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. He often described his arrival saying, “I had only ten cents in my pocket, didn’t speak a word of English, didn’t know a soul; not even the dogs barked at me.” In the 1930s, he worked in a furniture factory by day. After hours he built apartments, beginning a life-long interest in real estate and construction. At some point his name was changed to Michael Kraus - it is not clear when this change occurred.
Entrepreneur
In 1941, Michael Kraus began importing fabrics to Canada. In 1946 he formed a partnership to manufacture fabric. Initially adopting fabric looms to manufacture carpet, he founded Kraus Carpet MillsKraus Flooring
Kraus is a manufacturer of tufted broadloom carpet and distributor of other flooring products. The company was founded in 1959 by Michael Kraus. Headquartered in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, Kraus has manufacturing facilities in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, in Dalton, Georgia, USA and in Southport,...
in 1959. A daring expansion into fibre extrusion, he founded Strudex Fibres in 1971. By his death in 2003, Kraus companies employed over 900 people at facilities across Canada, in the United States and in Australia.
Minister
Michael Kraus joined the New Apostolic ChurchNew Apostolic Church
The New Apostolic Church is a chiliastic church, converted to Protestantism as a free church from the Catholic Apostolic Church. The church has existed since 1879 in Germany and since 1897 in the Netherlands...
in 1932 and was ordained into the ministry one year later. Like other ministers in the New Apostolic Church
New Apostolic Church
The New Apostolic Church is a chiliastic church, converted to Protestantism as a free church from the Catholic Apostolic Church. The church has existed since 1879 in Germany and since 1897 in the Netherlands...
, he served in a voluntary capacity, initially as an assistant local minister and later in various regional commissions. In 1955 he was ordained as an apostle and, in Zurich on June 21, 1958, he was ordained as a district apostle and national leader of the New Apostolic Church
New Apostolic Church
The New Apostolic Church is a chiliastic church, converted to Protestantism as a free church from the Catholic Apostolic Church. The church has existed since 1879 in Germany and since 1897 in the Netherlands...
Canada. He traveled extensively, and sent fellow missionaries to spread the Gospel of Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
Christ and establish the New Apostolic Church
New Apostolic Church
The New Apostolic Church is a chiliastic church, converted to Protestantism as a free church from the Catholic Apostolic Church. The church has existed since 1879 in Germany and since 1897 in the Netherlands...
in over 70 countries, where church membership grew to over 4 million by his retirement in 1994. He organized the construction of thousands of church buildings in developing countries. His impact on the worldwide growth of the New Apostolic Church
New Apostolic Church
The New Apostolic Church is a chiliastic church, converted to Protestantism as a free church from the Catholic Apostolic Church. The church has existed since 1879 in Germany and since 1897 in the Netherlands...
was so great, that at his funeral, Chief Apostle
Chief Apostle
The Chief Apostle is the highest minister in the New Apostolic Church, and has existed since 1896.-History:The term "Chief Apostle" was first used officially to describe Jesus Christ in the New Covenant Scriptures, Book of Hebrews, Chapter 3, verse 1, where he is also called the High Priest...
Richard Fehr
Richard Fehr
Richard Fehr was the seventh Chief Apostle of the New Apostolic Church from 22 May 1988 to 15 May 2005.-Life:...
compared it to the missionary work of Paul the Apostle of biblical times.
However, not every member of the New Apostolic Church thought so highly of Kraus. Some considered him a megalomaniac, a demanding and petty tyrant who insisted that his every edict should be obeyed without question, no matter how foolish or inconsequential. The following is an excerpt from a letter he sent to North American members in March 1989:
A New Apostolic member, a so-called scholar for the royal highness that waits for him, has only one thing to fulfill and that is: TO DO WHAT HE IS TOLD. HE HAS ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO SAY.
If God would permit His children, for whom the highest price is paid, to intervene with their own ideas, then the first step would be taken towards a mass confusion, as we have it in this world today. We pray: THY WILL BE DONE ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN. So all those in heaven have nothing to say: ONLY THE SPIRIT OF GOD DECIDES WHAT IS TO BE DONE.
The opposite of DEMOCRACY, which brought a mass confusion in our time, is AUTOCRACY. We looked it up in the dictionary and there the word AUTOCRACY is described as THE DIVINE WILL. This divine will reigns in the godly undertaking in our Church, and is protected by our Chief Apostle to the highest degree, which we support with all our life. The will of man is poison toward the will of God, and we have no room for poison in our Church.
To those who do not agree with the above, I can only say that the Lord Jesus congregated them into a group by themselves and He gave them a special name; He called them FOOLS.
Note how Kraus confuses "autocracy" with "theocracy", the use of ALL CAPS in certain parts of the letter as if shouting, and how he refers to himself in the third person. Some took umbrage at being called "fools" simply for daring to disagree with Kraus, who considered himself one of the "Anointed of the Lord".