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Count Vladimir Michael Gelesnoff was born October 19, 1877 in Firenze, Florence, Italy, the son of Michael and Helen Mabel Gelesnoff. When he was two years of age, his mother returned to the family home in Moscow, Russia. Vladimir was the youngest of seven children.  ==Family==He had four sisters and two brothers. His mother came from aristocratic British and Italian ancestry, although many of her family lived in Russia. His ancestry on his father's side dates back to 1425, Tartar leaders who accepted Christianity, and baptized and received into the Greek Church at Moscow, under Grand Duke Basil II. Vladimir's father was a member of Russian nobility, and served in the Imperial Council, during the reign of Czar Alexander III.

Before being sent to school, he had learned to speak Italian, French, German and Russian. Vladimir was very young fifteen when he entered the University of St. Petersburg, Russia, in 1892, under the supervision of his father in spite of a busy career as a government official. The eldest brother was educated as a naval engineer, the second brother as a military engineer, and it was determined Vladimir would enter the diplomatic service. One of his professors, the "great Mendeleef" convinced Vladimir's father to do scientific work in addition to his government studies. He learned to speak eight languages, and read twenty-one. He also "showed considerable facility in the arts of poetry, music and painting.

He set out with just enough money to take him to Italy, and entered the Armyin 1897, serving in two of its departments, and served in the Cicilian Sicilian campaign. "While in this campaign, a machine gun exploded, killing men and officers around him, and inflicting a number of serious wounds on his body. For months after this he suffered agonies in a military hospital." After he recovered he was stationed in Rome, where he attended classes at the University of Rome, and was called to serve as an interpreter for the King of Italy for a high official of the Russian government who was ill. This incident led to opportunity to transfer from the normal army to special government work that involved greater foreign travel including what introduced him to America. In 1900, he was living in Naples, Italy, and emigrated to the United States from Genoa on the Cita di Torino.

He eventually In 1901, Vladimir resigned from his position and took one with a firm headquartered in New York City in the form of engineering work, which utilized his training in botany, physics and chemistry. Vladimir worked out the first viable solution for separating platinum and palladium from ores containing both without vitiating either one or the other. He also worked out and perfected formulas and apparatus for making nine precious stones without using the common commercial method of fusion, but instead using chemicals, devices with osmotic pressure, and an electric furnace.

Some years after moving to New YorkOn August 17, 1903, Vladimir met and married Miss Mary Ernestine Cesan, a devout Christian, who worked many years to persuade Vladimir to give up his research and engineering to focus on Bible teachingin Agawam, Massachusetts." Towards Mary was born about 1878 in Tane Pellice, Italy, the end daughter of his lifeDaniel and Marie (Savay) Cesan. She died on October 31, she passed away1916, in Los Angeles, at the age 38, having had health problems, and he later remarried Mary Cameron Bertrand.

A.E. Adolph Ernst Knoch , also associated with the Plymouth Brethren in his younger years, wrote a pamphlet "On Baptism" and it was sent to Dr. E.Ethelbert W. Bullinger, the editor of "Things To Come", a London publication, with the thought of publishing it, who announced it as part of a new series. This announcement was seen by Theo. B. Freeze, a friend of Vladimir's who obtained a copy of the manuscript, Dr. Bullinger made plates of the type, and Vladimir published it in pamphlet form.

"The Pathway of Faith" has a condensed report of a series of lectures given at Fulton Street in 1906. A review of this book by a Moody writer can be found at Volume 9 of [https://books.google.com/books?id=alcxAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA946&lpg=PA946&dq=Vladimir+Gelesnoff&source=bl&ots=ZeLFt_RF_f&sig=ACfU3U0jMlh70taYEP-_TS4oV687gDYh4w&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi-7o79h_XjAhUO2qwKHUg3DFM4ChDoATAEegQICBAB#v=onepage&q=Vladimir%20Gelesnoff&f=false The Institute Tie]

In February 1905 he spoke in Buffalo, in March he addressed the Park Street Church of Boston. In 1906 he lectured the Marble Collegiate Church in New York. In the summer of 1908 he gave lectures on the Old Testament at the Northfield Conference.  One of the Canadian towns Vladimir ministered in was in Galt, Ontario, according to the June 29, 1907 issue of [https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83030214/1907-06-29/ed-1/seq-15/ The New York Daily Tribune], in regard to his series of "Gospel exposition meetings" for the "last three weeks", and a general announcement that he was to "resume services tomorrow at Pennel Hall, Lenox avenue and 127th street, at 11 a.m. and 8 p.m. On Thursday evening he will give the usual Bible exposition at 8 o'clock".  The London "Christian" of September 24, 1908 said, "Among the is Mr. V. Gelesnoff, of New York. A Russian by birth, Mr. Gelesnoff is deeply versed in Holy Scripture, and for some years past has been in growing request for addresses on the teaching of God’s Word. It is understood that in the near future he will be more free to respond to requests to conduct meetings in series."

It's apparent that some of Bro. Gelesnoff's associates were read out of the Brethren meetings, and he received affliction in connection with his pamphlet "Where is the truth concerning the Church" that questioned some of the tenets of baptism, which brought various controversial articles in response. In 1909, he moved his headquarters to Hennepin, Minneapolis, Minnesota, and spent considerable time lecturing in that area, as well as Galt, Paris, Toronto, and a number of cities and towns in Illinois, Minnesota, and Wisconsin.  The July 3, 1909 issue of "The Standard" advertised the 15th Northwestern Bible Conference in the auditorium of the First Church, Minneapolis, Minn., Aug. 8-22. Dr. F.W. Farr, of Philadelphia, was to give thirteen addresses. Rev. A.N. Hall of Oklahoma was to give eight addresses on "Redemption as Illustrated in Exodus". Dr. A.J. Frost was to give ten lectures on Hebrews. And "Vladimir Gelesnoff of Russia" was to give seven addresses on "The Real Christ".

After moving there, around 1912, Prof. Melville Dozier (1849-1936), who served 22 years as vice-president of what is now known as UCLA, invited Vladimir to a Bible class he conducted on Sunday mornings of various speakers, and was promoted to the position of a permanent Bible teacher which he retained until he died.

Vladimir died on October 3, 1921, with a funeral service in San Francisco, and after cremation the ashes were taken to Los Angeles for burial. He was 43.  ==Also See==* [https://digitalcommons.fuller.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://www.google.com/&httpsredir=1&article=1092&context=findingaids Frank Neil Pohorlak collection at Fuller Theological Seminary archives] * [https://books.google.com/books?id=NDNKAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA1353&lpg=PA1353&dq=Vladimir+Gelesnoff&source=bl&ots=VW-ahpN6zb&sig=ACfU3U1cF6w9bvADYPMGPFLdF1cWuXAOew&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi-7o79h_XjAhUO2qwKHUg3DFM4ChDoATAJegQIBxAB#v=onepage&q=Vladimir%20Gelesnoff&f=false The Interior] report on September 29, 1910 of a fall meeting of Presbytery of Winnebago at Marshfield September 13, 1910, moderated by Rev. H.C. Postlethwaite, where twenty-three ministers and eight elders were enrolled. This conference included "three strong Bible studies" by "Count Vladimir Gelesnoff of Minneapolis", as well as the closing meeting.