The Baptist faith: how and where it appeared. Who are Baptists and what do they do?

Of course it was written there that this is not a cult . From a legal point of view. However, there is a lot more on the Internet. For example, you can often find headlines: “Baptists are sectarians”, “Caution! Sect!" And so on. Agree, it sounds scary...

I, then still a young girl, was very scared. This word stuck in my head and did not give me peace. But I had no idea where I could find out the truth about who Baptists are. Therefore, today, when I have been called a “Baptist” for 11 years, but in fact, I believe in the crucified and risen Christ, I want to talk about who they are, what kind of faith they are, what Baptists believe in, how they treat the Orthodox, how they differ from Orthodox believers.

Baptists - these are adherents of one of the branches Protestant Church . The name itself comes from the word βάπτισμα and is translated from Greek as “to dip”, “to baptize by immersing in water.” Baptists believe that Baptism must be taken not in infancy, but at a conscious age. Baptism is immersion in consecrated water. In a word, a Baptist is a Christian who consciously accepts faith. He sincerely believes that human salvation lies in wholehearted faith in Christ. Christianity, as you know, is divided into three branches: Protestantism, Catholicism and Orthodoxy. What unites them is that they believe in God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Baptist communities first began to form in the earlyXVIIcentury in Holland. However, their founders were not the Dutch, but English Congregationalists. They were forced to flee to the mainland because they were oppressed by the Anglican Church. In 1611, the English in Holland formed a new Christian doctrine, and a year later the Baptist Church was created in England. Protestantism became widespread in the New World, especially in the United States. Evangelical Christians - Baptists today are found all over the world: in Asia, Europe, Africa, Australia, America.

Often Russians, when encountering Protestants for the first time, think that they are "American Faith". And if they come across an American in the church, it is almost impossible to convince them that the church is Russian and not at all American. Yes, indeed, if in Russia most of its citizens are Orthodox, then in America every second one is Protestant. There are no Orthodox churches in American films. But there are often Protestant ones there.

However, this does not mean that the Baptist church is “American.” It’s just that in Russia the Baptist movement began to spread quite late, in the 70s XIX century. For many Russian people who were baptized in childhood and consider themselves Orthodox, it is not clear why people like Baptists are needed. However, a person is not saved from the fact that he was baptized in childhood. He is not saved by wearing a cross. And he is not saved from the fact that he celebrates Christmas and Easter. For most Russian people, Orthodoxy is more of a tradition rather than a sincere belief in the living God. Baptists are baptized at a conscious age. That is, when in the life of a person there was a meeting with God, repentance. A person consciously accepts faith.

What do Baptists believe?

Baptists believe into One God and Trinity confess the Apostles' Creed and celebrate Communion. The main motive of a Christian's life is God and His Glory . The only source of revelation of God's will on earth is God's Word - Bible . Baptists believe that its author is God Himself - the Holy Spirit. Therefore, the Bible is the criterion and rule for any decision in life. (2 Tim. 3:16-17), Col. 2:8). To be a Christian, according to Baptists, means acknowledge Christ as your Savior and accept Him as Lord of all life . Faith, according to Baptists, is manifested in a changed life (2 Cor. 5:17, Eph. 2:10, Philip. 2:9-11)

At the same time, Baptists do not reject the Holy Tradition, the experience of the Holy Fathers of the Orthodox Church and the spiritual experience of world Christianity. Baptists pray as if they were talking to God, in their own words. However, they can also pray with words from the Bible or use as a model wonderful prayers from the spiritual heritage of all Christians in the world. Baptists believe in a universal priesthood. This means that every member of the church is a priest of God, that is, a leader in prayers for other people, a minister of goodness and truth in the world. This does not mean that there is no structure in the church. The church is led by an ordained priest - a presbyter, who is also assisted by ordained deacons. The dominant features of church services are the reading of Holy Scripture, preaching and prayer. Baptists love to sing. Therefore, every divine service is necessarily accompanied by the singing of the choir or all those gathered for the service. A church building can be either large and beautiful or a very simple rural house. This is due to the fact that for Baptists a building is a place of worship of God, a place of prayer, and the Church is the people (community) who make this building a place of worship. Of course, if there is no other possibility, then you can worship God anywhere, but like all Christians, Baptists prefer to use special buildings for this. The building becomes such only after the consecration service. Thus, the community of believers dedicates it to God. Inside, a cross is usually used as decoration, as a symbol of God and his sacrifice.

Baptists believe that every person is a sinner, but God saves man. Therefore, there are no worse or better people, everyone is equally sinful before God, He died and rose again, so that everyone would have the opportunity to come to Him, so that everyone would have the opportunity to be saved. However, not everyone is saved. But only those who accept this sacrifice are saved. Who believes in Christ who came in the flesh, died and rose again.

How do Baptists relate to Orthodox Christians?

Baptists are Protestants. Protestants, just like Orthodox and Catholics, are Christians. Christians believe in One God. Christians believe in Christ. Yes, all three branches of Christianity worship Him in different ways. Some people are closer to the Orthodox Church, some find solace in the Catholic Church, others like Protestants. Man is a unique Creation and each person has his own path to God. And true believers have one thing in common - love for God and love for people, reverent attitude towards the Holy Scriptures. If you don’t have this love, then no matter what you call it, what’s the use of the so-called "faith" there won't be enough. And those who know the Love of God - the Father, who gave His Son, so that everyone who believes in him would not perish, but have eternal life, have love.

BAPTISTS: evil sect or recognized church?

Recently, a number of publications have been observed in the Tver press, the authors of which expressed their biased opinions about Baptists. This prompted me to prepare this article, which attempts to objectively address this issue.

Who are they?

Here is what the Great Soviet Encyclopedia says about Baptist Christians: “Baptists (from the Greek baptizo - I dip, baptize by immersion in water). Adherents of one of the varieties of Protestantism. According to the doctrine of Baptistism, a person’s salvation is possible only through personal faith in Christ, and not through the mediation of the church; the only source of faith is the Holy Scriptures."

Formally, Baptistism arose during the Reformation at the beginning of the 17th century. However, to claim that Baptistism as a doctrine originates at this time is fundamentally incorrect. Baptist Christians did not come up with anything new, but only returned to the principles of the Christian faith, clearly set out in the Holy Scriptures. In religious teaching and preaching, the main place is occupied by moral and edifying issues. The main attention at divine services is paid to the sermon, which is delivered not only by the elders, but also by preachers from among ordinary believers. Great importance is attached to singing in worship: choral, general, solo. An important part of the liturgical meeting is general and individual prayers. The main acts of sacred rites are water baptism by faith and the breaking of bread (communion). Baptists perform baptism by immersing the person being baptized in water. This act is given a spiritual meaning: upon receiving baptism, a believer “dies with Christ,” and, emerging from the waters of baptism, “resurrects with Christ” for new life. In addition, marriages, prayers for blessing children, and burials of the dead are carried out. All this is done free of charge.

Baptists in Russia

The beginning of the Evangelical Baptist movement in Russia is considered to be 1867, when N.I. Voronin, who later became one of the famous and active preachers of the Gospel, was baptized in the Kura River in Tiflis (Tbilisi). In the 60-70s, Baptistism spread to Ukraine, the Caucasus, and the Volga region. In 1884, the Union of Russian Baptists was created. In 1874, the English Lord G. Redstock and retired colonel Prince V.A. Pashkov began preaching the Gospel in St. Petersburg. Through their efforts, the ideas of evangelical Christians spread among the St. Petersburg nobility. By 1912, there were 115 thousand Baptists and 31 thousand Evangelical Christians in Russia. By 1927, the number of Evangelical Christians and Baptists reached 500 thousand. However, in 1928 repressions began, which subsided only by the mid-40s. In 1944, the Union of Evangelical Christian Baptists was formed.

Russian Union of Evangelical Christian Baptists today

The Russian Union of Evangelical Christian Baptists (ECB) today is the largest Protestant Christian association in Russia, both in terms of the number of communities and followers, and in terms of distribution throughout the country. It is built on the principle of autonomy of local churches and coordination of the goals of joint ministry. Coordination is carried out by 45 regional ECB associations, headed by senior presbyters (bishops) and the existing presbyteral councils, which include elders of all local churches in the region. The union unites over 1,100 local churches.

The ECB Union has a system of spiritual and educational institutions. Among them are the Moscow Theological Seminary, the Moscow Theological Institute, and a number of full-time and correspondence Bible schools in many regional centers of Russia. Almost every local church has Sunday schools for children.

The ECB Union and many regional associations have their own publishing base, and also carry out work on the air (for example, the “Back to square one” program on the Radio 1 channel).

The spiritual, educational and charitable work of Evangelical Christian Baptists is highly appreciated by the President of the Russian Federation. In March 2002, the senior presbyter for the Samara region, Viktor Semenovich Ryaguzov, was awarded the Order of Friendship of Peoples. Previously, senior elders Romanenko N.A. were awarded government awards. and Abramov G.I.

The Church of Evangelical Christian Baptists in the city of Tver is preparing to celebrate its 120th anniversary. So the Baptists in Tver are not a product of the “era of perestroika” or the “expansion of Western preachers”, but a historical reality. Tver Evangelical Christian Baptists hold services in two houses of worship: on Griboyedov Street, 35/68 and on 1st Zheltikovskaya Street, 14.

Relations between the Russian ECB Union and the Russian Orthodox Church

There were different periods in the relationship between Baptists and Orthodox Christians. Since the emergence of Baptists in Russia, the Russian Orthodox Church, relying on the help of the state, has been fighting the Baptists. Some relief came after the Manifesto of October 17, 1905, which proclaimed the principle of religious tolerance. In the 30s of the 20th century, ministers of Baptist churches were with Orthodox ministers in the same prison cells and camp barracks and together they glorified God in prayers and chants, to which there are still living witnesses.

Are Baptists heretics from the position of Orthodox Christians? What do the official documents of the Russian Orthodox Church say about this? In the book “Orthodoxy and Ecumenism. Documents and Materials 1902-1997” (Moscow: MIPT Publishing House, 1998) it is written: “Anglicans and Protestants were a product of the Reformation; never in communion with the Orthodox Church were they condemned by either the Ecumenical or Local Councils ... the Church did not collectively and officially declare them heretics. Officially and canonically, they are our brothers in Christ who have erred in the faith, brothers by unity in baptism and by their participation in the Body of Christ (i.e. the Church as the Body of Christ) due to baptism, the validity of which is with them. as the Sacraments we acknowledge" (pp. 19-20).

Perhaps the most striking event that sheds light on the modern level of relations was the Anniversary International Interfaith Conference dedicated to the 2000th anniversary of Christianity, which took place on November 23-25, 1999 in Moscow. It was organized by the Christian Interfaith Advisory Committee (CIAC), the co-chairs of which are: from the Russian Orthodox Church - Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad; from Roman Catholics - Archbishop Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz; from Protestants - Chairman of the Russian ECB Union Konovalchik P.B.

In his welcoming speech, Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' Alexy II said: “The current conference, organized by the KhMCK, serves as a striking example of the fact that Christians clearly understand the need to jointly contribute to the establishment of Christian values ​​and guidelines in the public consciousness.”

In his plenary report, Metropolitan Kirill noted several important aspects of interfaith relations:
“Cooperation in peacemaking and social service between representatives of various Christian denominations seems to me extremely important in this regard. We, followers of Christ, must set a good example for our politicians.”
“Despite the well-known historical difficulties in interfaith relations, in general we can talk more about cooperation and peaceful coexistence than about hostility.”
“Of course, I am far from presenting the relations of Christian denominations in pre-revolutionary times in rosy tones. Of course, the state status of the Orthodox Church in Russia and the fact that the absolute majority of citizens belonged to Orthodoxy led to a certain marginalization of other Christian denominations.”
“As we enter the 21st century, all Christians are called to testify to this to the world, preparing, like John the Baptist, “the way of the Lord” into the hearts of people. We need to unite our efforts so that the concepts of goodness, justice and holiness have a decisive meaning in people’s lives, that we and our children may live (Genesis 43:8).”

And here is what was written down, in particular, in the final document of the Anniversary Conference:
“The anniversary should become an occasion for even more fruitful inter-Christian and inter-religious cooperation, helping to create a basis for their further development. Our Churches and church communities should set an example to society and the world in the matter of mutual understanding and cooperation.”
“In order to successfully fulfill their duty to God and people, Christian Churches themselves must demonstrate to society the experience of reconciled cooperation.”

How are these good intentions practically put into practice? One of the most significant joint programs was the celebration of the 2000th anniversary of Christianity and the meeting of the third millennium. Secular authorities also took part in organizing the celebration of this anniversary; in particular, a Decree of the President of the Russian Federation was issued (No. 1468 of December 4, 1998). The committee preparing for the celebration of the anniversary included, along with the leaders of the Orthodox Church, representatives of other Christian denominations, including the chairman of the Russian ECB Union P.B. Konovalchik.

The mistakes of the past are also being corrected. One of the practical steps was a letter from the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate to the Chairman of the Russian Union of ECB, P.B. Konovalchik. (out. No. 3551 of September 11, 1996), in which they expressed regret about the publication of the brochure “Baptists are the most harmful sect” and said that “a warning was given to the publishers, the courtyard of the monastery of St. Panteleimon for the unauthorized publication of a reference to the blessing of the Patriarch.”

As for Tver, the celebration here turned out to be separate. First, the Tver Diocese and the city Administration held joint events. And only in 2002 did a group of Christian non-Orthodox churches (two Tver ECB churches and eight churches of other Christian denominations) hold a festive screening of the film “Jesus”, although the organizing committee submitted an appeal to the city Administration back in 2001. In this joint work, both pastors and ordinary believers of these churches became noticeably closer and became friends.

During the period of the film "Jesus" publications appeared in the press in which Baptists were accused of pursuing "hidden" goals. We, like all Christians, have one goal, and it is commanded by the Lord Himself: “Go therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything that I have commanded you.” In fulfillment of this commandment, we not only participated in the screening of the film “Jesus,” but also conduct spiritual and educational conversations with those who show interest in the Holy Scriptures. For example, in the Tver House of Officers (Garrison) on Sundays from 16:00. We do not “attract” Orthodox Christians, since they go to churches on Sundays and have spiritual shepherds; but we want to serve those people who, in the words of the Lord Jesus Christ, are “like sheep without a shepherd.”

Yuri Zaika, deacon of the Church of Evangelical Christian Baptists in Tver

Each religion has its own characteristics and fans. One of the directions of Protestant Christianity, Baptistism, is the most popular all over the world. According to his rules, many famous politicians and show business figures were baptized. However, when interested in Baptistism, it is important to remember that it is a sect. We suggest finding out who Baptists are.

Baptists - who are they?

The word "Baptist" comes from "baptizo", which is Greek for "immersion". Thus, Baptism means baptism, which must occur in adulthood by immersion of the body in water. Baptists are followers of one of the directions of Protestant Christianity. Baptistism takes its roots from English Puritanism. It is based on the voluntary baptism of a person with strong convictions and who does not accept sinfulness.

Baptist symbol

All directions of Protestantism have their own symbolism. Supporters of one of the popular beliefs are no exception. The sign of the Baptists is a fish, symbolizing united Christianity. In addition, for representatives of this faith, complete immersion of a person in water is important. Even in ancient times, fish personified Christ. The same image for believers was a lamb.

Baptists - signs

You can understand that a person is a supporter of this belief by knowing that:

1. Baptists are sectarians. Such people always unite in a community and invite others to come to their meetings and.
2. For them, the Bible is the only truth where they can find answers to all their questions, both in everyday life and in religion.
3. The invisible (universe) church is one for all Protestants.
4. All members of the local community have equal rights.
5. Only reborn (baptized) people can receive knowledge about Baptism.
6. There is freedom of conscience for believers and non-believers.
7. Baptists believe that church and state should be separate.

Baptists - pros and cons

If for an Orthodox Christian the teachings of the Baptists may seem incorrect and completely contrary to the Bible, then there may be those who will be interested in Baptists. The only thing a sect can attract is the unification of people who are not indifferent to you and your problems. That is, having learned who Baptists are, a person may feel that he has found himself in a place where he is truly welcome and is always welcome. Can such good-natured people wish evil and guide you on the wrong path? However, thinking like this, a person moves more and more away from the Orthodox religion.

Baptists and Orthodox - differences

Baptists and Orthodox Christians have much in common. For example, the way Baptists are buried is reminiscent of the funeral of an Orthodox Christian. However, it is important to understand how Baptists differ from Orthodox Christians, because both consider themselves followers of Christ. The following differences are called:

1. Baptists completely reject Holy Tradition (written documents). They interpret the books of the New and Old Testaments in their own way.
2. Orthodox believe that a person can be saved if he keeps God's Commandments, cleanses the soul through church sacraments, and certainly lives piously. Baptists are confident that salvation happened earlier - on Calvary and there is no need to do anything additional. At the same time, it is not so important how righteously a person lives.
3. Baptists reject the cross, icons and other Christian symbols. For Orthodox Christians, all this is an absolute value.
4. Baptist supporters reject the Mother of God and do not recognize saints. For the Orthodox, the Mother of God and the saints are protectors and intercessors for the soul before God.
5. Baptists, unlike Orthodox Christians, do not have a priesthood.
6. Supporters of the Baptist movement do not have an organized worship service and therefore they pray in their own words. Orthodox Christians consistently serve the Liturgy.
7. During baptism, Baptists immerse a person in water once, and Orthodox - three times.

How are Baptists different from Jehovah's Witnesses?

Some believe that Baptists are . However, in reality these two directions have differences:

1. Baptists believe in God the Father, God the Son and the Holy Spirit, and Jehovah's Witnesses consider Jesus Christ to be the first creation of God, and the Holy Spirit to be the power of Jehovah.
2. Supporters of Baptistism do not believe that it is necessary to use the name of God Jehovah, but Jehovah's Witnesses believe that the name of God must be mentioned.
3. Jehovah's Witnesses prohibit their followers from using weapons and serving in the army. Baptists are loyal to this.
4. Jehovah's Witnesses deny the existence of hell, but Baptists are sure that it exists.

What do Baptists believe?

To distinguish a Baptist from a representative of another denomination, it is important to understand what Baptists preach. For Baptists, the main thing is God's word. They, being Christians, recognize the Bible, although they interpret it in their own way. For Baptists, Easter is the main holiday of the year. However, unlike the Orthodox, on this day they do not go to church services, but gather as a community. Representatives of this movement profess the trinity of God - Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Baptists believe that Jesus is the only mediator between people and God.

In their own way they understand the Church of Christ. For them, it is like a kind of community consisting of spiritually reborn people. Anyone whose life has been changed by the gospel can join a local church. For supporters of Baptistism, what is important is not churching, but spiritual birth. They believe that a person must be baptized as an adult. That is, such an act is very important and must be conscious.

What should Baptists not do?

Anyone who is interested in who Baptists are should know what Baptists are afraid of. Such people cannot:

1. Drinking alcohol. Baptists do not accept alcohol and consider drunkenness to be one of the sins.
2. Be baptized in infancy or baptize your children and grandchildren. In their opinion, baptism should be a conscious step of an adult.
3. Take up arms and serve in the army.
4. Be baptized, wear a cross and venerate icons.
5. Using too much makeup.
6. Use protective equipment during intimacy.

How to become a Baptist?

Anyone can become a Baptist. To do this, you need to have a desire and find the same believers who will help you start your path in Baptistism. In this case, you need to know the basic rules of Baptists:

1. Be baptized as an adult.
2. Visit the community and receive communion exclusively there.
3. Do not recognize the divinity of the Mother of God.
4. Interpret the Bible in your own way.

Why are Baptists dangerous?

Baptistism is dangerous for an Orthodox person for the very reason that Baptists are a sect. That is, they represent a group of people who have their own views on religion and their own beliefs in their correctness. Often, sects use hypnosis or other methods in order to convince a person that they, being with them, are on the right path of salvation. There are frequent cases when sectarians, through fraudulent means, take possession of not only a person’s consciousness, but also his material means. In addition, Baptistism is dangerous because a person will follow the wrong path and move away from the true Orthodox religion.

Baptists - interesting facts

Orthodox and representatives of other religious beliefs are sometimes surprised by certain things, such as, for example, why Baptists have a sauna in their church. Supporters of Baptistism respond that here believers cleanse their bodies of accumulated chemicals that do not allow further spiritual progress. There are many other interesting facts:

1. There are 42 million Baptists worldwide. Most of them live in America.
2. There are many well-known political figures among the Baptists.
3. Baptists recognize two positions in the church hierarchy.
4. Baptists are great philanthropists.
5. Baptists do not baptize children.
6. Some Baptists believe that Jesus atoned for sins only for the elect, and not for all people.
7. Many famous singers and actors were baptized by Baptist supporters.

Famous Baptists

This belief was and is of interest not only to ordinary people, but even to famous personalities. Many popular people were able to find out who Baptists were through personal experience. There are such celebrity Baptists:

1. John Bunyan- English writer, author of the book "Pilgrim's Progress".
2. John Milton- English poet, human rights activist, public figure also became a supporter of the world-famous movement in Protestantism.
3. Daniel Defoe- is the author of one of the most popular works of world literature, the novel “Robinson Crusoe”.
4. Martin Luther King- Nobel Peace Prize laureate, an ardent fighter for the rights of black slaves in the United States.

They are called Baptists. The name comes from the word baptize, which is translated from Greek as “to dip”, “to baptize by immersing in water.” According to this teaching, one must be baptized not in infancy, but at a conscious age by immersion in consecrated water. In a word, a Baptist is a Christian who consciously accepts his faith. He believes that a person's salvation lies in wholehearted faith in Christ.

History of origin

Baptist communities began to form in the early seventeenth century in Holland, but their founders were not Dutch, but English Congregationalists who were forced to flee to the mainland to avoid persecution by the Church of England. And so, in the second decade of the 17th century, namely in 1611, a new Christian teaching was formulated for the English, who, by the will of fate, lived in the capital of the Netherlands - Amsterdam. A year later, the Baptist Church was founded in England. At the same time, the first community professing this faith arose. Later, in 1639, the first Baptists appeared in North America. This sect became widespread in the New World, especially in the USA. Every year the number of its adherents grew with incredible speed. Over time, evangelical Baptists also spread throughout the world: to the countries of Asia and Europe, Africa and Australia, well, and both Americas. By the way, during the American Civil War, most black slaves accepted this faith and became its ardent followers.

Spread of Baptistism in Russia

Until the 70s of the 19th century, people in Russia practically did not know who Baptists were. What kind of faith unites people who call themselves this way? The first community of adherents of this faith appeared in St. Petersburg, its members called themselves Evangelical Christians. Baptistism came here from Germany along with foreign masters, architects and scientists invited by the Russian Tsars Alexei Mikhailovich and Peter Alekseevich. This movement was most widespread in the Tauride, Kherson, Kyiv, and Ekaterinoslav provinces. Later it reached Kuban and Transcaucasia.

The first Baptist in Russia was Nikita Isaevich Voronin. He was baptized in 1867. Baptistism and evangelicalism are very close to each other, but they are nevertheless considered two separate directions in Protestantism, and in 1905, in the Northern capital, their adherents created the Union of Evangelists and the Union of Baptists. In the first years of Soviet power, attitudes towards any religious movements became prejudiced, and Baptists had to go underground. However, during the Patriotic War, both Baptists and evangelicals again became more active and united, creating the Union of Evangelical Christian Baptists of the USSR. After the war, they were joined by the Pentecostal sect.

Baptist ideas

The main aspiration in life for adherents of this faith is service to Christ. The Baptist Church teaches that one must live in harmony with the world, but be not of this world, that is, obey earthly laws, but honor only Jesus Christ with one’s heart. The basis of Baptistism, which emerged as a radical Protestant bourgeois movement, is the principle of individualism. Baptists believe that a person's salvation depends only on the individual himself, and that the church cannot be a mediator between him and God. The only true source of faith is the Gospel - the Holy Scripture, only in it can you find answers to all questions and, by following all the commandments, all the rules contained in this holy book, you can save your soul. Every Baptist is sure of this. This is an undeniable truth for him. All of them do not recognize church sacraments and holidays, and do not believe in the miraculous power of icons.

Baptism in Baptistism

Adherents of this faith undergo the rite of baptism not in infancy, but in adulthood, since a Baptist is a believer who is fully aware of why he needs baptism and treats it as a spiritual rebirth. In order to become a member of the community and be baptized, candidates must later go through repentance at a prayer meeting. The baptism process includes immersion in water, followed by the ceremony of breaking bread.

These two rituals symbolize faith in spiritual union with the Savior. Unlike the Orthodox and Catholic churches, which consider baptism a sacrament, that is, a means of salvation, for Baptists this step demonstrates conviction in the correctness of their religious views. Only after a person fully understands the depth of faith, only then will he have the right to go through the rite of baptism and become one of the members of the Baptist community. The spiritual leader performs this ritual, helping his ward to plunge into the water, only after he was able to go through all the tests and convince members of the community of the inviolability of his faith.

Baptist attitudes

According to this teaching, the sinfulness of the world outside the community is inevitable. Therefore, they advocate strict adherence to moral standards. The Evangelical Christian Baptist should completely abstain from the use of alcoholic beverages, the use of curses and curses, etc. Mutual support, modesty and responsiveness are encouraged. All members of the community must take care of each other and help those in need. One of the main responsibilities of every Baptist is to convert dissenters to their faith.

Baptist creed

In 1905, the First World Convention of Baptist Christians took place in London. On it, the Symbol of the Apostolic Faith was established as the basis of the doctrine. The following principles were also adopted:

1. Only people who have been baptized can be adherents of the Church, that is, an Evangelical Christian Baptist is a spiritually reborn person.

2. The Bible is the only truth, in it you can find answers to any questions, it is an infallible and unshakable authority both in matters of faith and in practical life.

3. The universal (invisible) church is one for all Protestants.

4. The knowledge of Baptism and the Lord's Vespers are taught only to baptized, that is, regenerated people.

5. Local communities are independent in practical and spiritual matters.

6. All members of the local community have equal rights. This means that even an ordinary Baptist is a member of the community who has the same rights as a preacher or spiritual leader. By the way, the early Baptists were against it, but today they themselves create something like ranks within their church.

7. For everyone - both believers and non-believers - there is freedom of conscience.

8. Church and state must be separated from each other.

Members of evangelical congregations gather several times a week to listen to a sermon on a particular topic. Here are some of them:

• About suffering.
• Heavenly mess.
• What is holiness?
• Life is in victory and abundance.
• Can you listen?
• Evidence of the Resurrection.
• The secret of family happiness.
• The first ever breaking of bread, etc.

Listening to the sermon, adherents of the faith try to find answers to the questions that tormented them. Anyone can read a sermon, but only after special preparation, acquiring sufficient knowledge and skills in order to speak publicly in front of a large group of fellow believers. The main worship service for Baptists is held weekly, on Sunday. The community sometimes meets on weekdays to pray, study, and discuss information found in the Bible. The service takes place in several stages: sermon, singing, instrumental music, reading of poems on spiritual themes, as well as retelling of biblical stories.

Baptist holidays

Followers of this church movement or sect, as it is commonly called in our country, have their own special calendar of holidays. Every Baptist reveres them sacredly. This is a list that consists of both general Christian holidays and solemn days unique to this church. Below is their complete list.

• Any Sunday is the day of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
• The first Sunday of each month according to the calendar is the day of breaking bread.
• Christmas.
• Baptism.
• Meeting of the Lord.
• Annunciation.
• Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem.
• Holy Thursday.
• Resurrection (Easter).
• Ascension.
• Pentecost (the descent of the Holy Spirit on the apostles).
• Transfiguration.
• Feast of the Harvest (exclusively Baptist holiday).
• Unity Day (celebrated since 1945 in memory of the unification of evangelists and Baptists).
• New Year.

World Famous Baptists

The followers of this religious movement, which has spread in more than 100 countries of the world, not only Christian, but also Muslim, and even Buddhist, are also world-famous writers, poets, public figures, etc.

For example, the Baptists were the English writer (Bunyan), who is the author of the book "The Pilgrim's Progress"; the great civil rights activist, John Milton; Daniel Defoe is the author of one of the most famous works of world literature - the adventure novel "Robinson Crusoe"; Martin Luther King, who was an ardent fighter for the rights of black slaves in the United States. In addition, major businessmen the Rockefeller brothers were Baptists.

The Lord Jesus Christ appeared on earth two thousand years ago to save all humanity from the curse, sin and death that became his companions from the moment his ancestors Adam and Eve sinned. And now, in order to better understand who Baptists are from the point of view of Orthodoxy, it is necessary to turn to the moment of formation of the True Church, when God, with the help of his disciples-apostles, created the Church as His kind of mystical body, and through church sacraments communication with Him began to take place. Therefore, people who believed in Christ began to go to church and through the action of the Holy Spirit received healing of the body, peace and peace in the soul. But then who are the Baptists, where did they come from?

Dissenters, heretics and sectarians

To preserve the unity of faith, the Church limited and established laws and rules for its existence. Anyone who violated these laws was called schismatics or sectarians, and the teachings they preached were called heresy. The Church looked at schisms as one of the greatest sins committed against it.

The Holy Fathers equated this sin with the murder of a person and with idolatry; even the blood of a martyr could not atone for this sin. There are an infinite number of schisms in the history of the Church. Church rules begin to be violated - first one, then automatically another, and as a result, the True Orthodox Faith is distorted.

God's grace

All this will inevitably lead to destruction, like that barren vine of the vineyard about which the Lord spoke, which will be burned.

The worst thing here is that the Grace of God retreats from such schismatics. These people can no longer understand the Truth and think that they are doing God’s work by spreading lies about the Church, not knowing that in this way they are going against God Himself. All kinds of sects are created in large numbers, and just as many of them fall apart. Therefore, it is not possible to list them by name, date of creation and the leaders who lead them; we will focus only on the most important ones, but more on that a little later.

Who are Baptists from the point of view of Orthodoxy

In order to save his soul, each person must draw the necessary conclusions about the true Orthodox faith and not fall for the bait of schismatics and sectarians, but receive Grace and be in unity with the entire Orthodox world.

After all these facts that you definitely need to know, you can approach the topic of who Baptists are.

So, from the point of view of the Orthodox Church, Baptists are sectarians who are lost in their views and have nothing to do with the Church of Christ and the salvation of God. According to the Orthodox Church, they interpret the Bible incorrectly and falsely, like all other sectarians and heretics. Turning to them is a great sin for the human soul. Some do not have a clear idea of ​​who Baptists are; photographs of different sects give an approximate answer, but we will try and further consider this question more deeply.

The Holy Fathers of the Church are the true and only source of spiritual enlightenment, this also applies to the Holy Scriptures.

Who are Baptists? Sect?

In Eastern Europe, Baptistism is most widespread. Baptists are a Protestant sect that was founded in England in 1633. At first they called themselves "brothers", then - "Baptists", sometimes - "Catabaptists" or "baptized Christians".

The answer to questions about who Baptists are and why they are called that way can begin with the fact that the word “Baptisto” itself is translated from Greek as “I immerse.” This sect was led in its initial formation by John Smith, and when a significant part of its representatives moved to North America, it was led there by Roger Wiliam. These sects began to be divided first into two, and then into many more different factions. And this process still does not stop in any way, since communities, associations or communes do not have mandatory symbols, do not tolerate any symbolic books, and do not have administrative guardianship. All they acknowledge is the Apostles' Creed.

Baptist doctrine

The main thing on which Baptist teaching is based is the recognition of Holy Scripture as the only source of doctrine. They reject the baptism of children, only blessing them. According to Baptist rules, baptism should be performed only after the awakening of personal faith in a person, after 18 years of age and renunciation of a sinful life. Without this, this ritual has no force and is simply unacceptable. Baptists consider baptism to be an outward sign of confession, and thus they deny the participation of God in this main sacrament, which reduces the process to mere human actions.

Service and management

Having clarified a little about who Baptists are, let’s try to figure out how their services are held. They hold a weekly service on Sunday, with sermons and extemporaneous prayers, and singing with instrumental music. On weekdays, Baptists can also additionally gather for prayer and discussion of the Bible, reading spiritual poems and poems.

According to their structure and management, Baptists are divided into independent separate communities, or congregations. This is why they may be called Congregationalists. Continuing the topic “Evangelical Christians (Baptists) - who are they?”, it should be noted that no matter what name they bear, all Baptists place moral restraint and freedom of conscience above teaching. They do not consider marriage a sacrament, but they recognize the blessing as necessary, receiving it through community officials or elders (pastors). There are also some forms of disciplinary action - this is excommunication and public admonition.

When asking the question of who Baptists are and what their faith is based on, it is worth noting that the mysticism of the sect is revealed in the predominance of feelings over reason. The entire doctrine is built on extreme liberalism, which is based on the doctrine of Luther and Calvin about predestination.

The difference between Baptists and Lutheranism

Baptistism differs from Lutheranism by the unconditional and consistent implementation of the main provisions of Lutheranism about the Holy Scriptures, the Church and salvation. Baptistism is also distinguished by great hostility towards the Orthodox Church. Baptists are more prone to anarchy and Judaism than Lutherans. And in general, they do not have a doctrine about the Church as such; they reject it, like the entire church hierarchy.

But in order to get a complete answer to the question of who Christian Baptists are, let’s plunge a little into the times of the Soviet Union. It was there that they became most widespread.

Evangelical Christian Baptists

It should be noted that Baptist communities received their main development after the second half of the 19th century. This happened mainly in the Caucasus, in the south and east of Ukraine, as well as in St. Petersburg.

According to tsarist policy, because of active missionary activity, Baptists were sent into exile in Siberia, away from the centers of their education. Due to this, in 1896, Baptist migrants from the Caucasus formed the first community in Western Siberia, the center of which was Omsk.

To answer more precisely the question of who Evangelical Baptists are, we note that several decades passed before a denomination occurred - Evangelical Christian Baptists (ECB) appeared, who adhered to the Baptist faith in the territory of the former USSR. Their direction was formed from two movements that arose in the south of Russia from the Baptist communities of the 60s of the 19th century and the Evangelical Christians of the 70s of the 19th century. Their unification took place in the fall of 1944, and already in 1945 the All-Union Council of Evangelical Christians and Baptists was formed in Moscow.

Who are Separate Baptists?

As mentioned above, sects are constantly changing and further splitting into new formations, therefore Baptist communities that have left the Council of Churches of the ECB are called separated or autonomous. In the 70-80s they were registered as autonomous communities, of which by the 90s a huge number had appeared due to active missionary activity. And they never joined centralized associations.

As for the topic “Who are the separated Baptists in Sukhumi,” this is exactly how this community was formed. It, having separated from the main center, began to conduct its autonomous activities on the territory of Abkhazia with the main center in Sukhumi.

The same applies to the question of who the separated Baptists in Mukhumi are. All of these are separate Baptist societies that are not subordinate to anyone and lead an independent life in accordance with their own rules.

Newly formed Baptist congregations

Recently a new direction has emerged for the Tbilisi Baptist community. Interestingly, she went even further in her creed, practically changing everything beyond recognition. Its innovations are very, very surprising, since during the service all those present use five senses, the pastors wear black clothes, the ritual uses candles, bell ringing and music, and Baptists also make the sign of the cross. Almost everything is in the spirit of the Orthodox Church. These Baptists even organized a seminary and school of icon painting. This explains the joy of the schismatic and anathematized Philaret, the primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyiv Patriarchate, who once even presented the order to the leader of this community.

Baptists and Orthodox. Differences

Baptists, like Orthodox Christians, believe that they are followers of Christ and their faith is true. For both, the Holy Scripture is the only source of teaching, but Baptists completely reject the Holy Tradition (written documents and experience of the entire Church). Baptists interpret the books of the Old and New Testaments in their own way, as anyone understands. Among the Orthodox, an ordinary person is prohibited from doing this. The interpretation of the sacred books was written by the holy fathers under the special influence of the Holy Spirit.

Orthodox believers believe that salvation is achieved only through moral deeds, and there is no guaranteed salvation, since a person wastes this gift through his sins. The Orthodox brings his salvation closer through the purification of the soul through the sacraments of the Church, pious life and observance of the commandments.

Baptists claim that salvation has already been accomplished at Calvary, and now nothing is required for it, and it does not even matter how righteously a person lives. They also reject the cross, icons and other Christian symbols. For Orthodox Christians, these components are of absolute value.

Baptists reject the heavenly holiness of the Mother of God and do not recognize saints. For the Orthodox, the Mother of God and the righteous saints are protectors and intercessors for the soul before the Lord.

Baptists do not have a priesthood, while among Orthodox Christians, only a priest can perform services and all church sacraments.

Baptists do not have a special organization of worship; they pray in their own words. Orthodox Christians strictly follow the Liturgy.

At baptism, Baptists immerse the person being baptized once in water, Orthodox - three times. Baptists reject the ordeal of the soul after death and therefore do not perform funeral services for the deceased. With them, when he dies, he immediately goes to heaven. The Orthodox have a special funeral service and separate prayers for the dead.

Conclusion

I would like to remind you that the Holy Church is not a club of interests, but something that comes down to us from the Lord. The Church of Christ, created by his disciples-apostles, was united on earth for a whole thousand years. But in 1054, its western part fell away from the One Church of Christ, which changed the Creed and declared itself the Roman Catholic Church; it was she who provided fertile soil for everyone else to form their own churches and sects. Now, from the point of view of Orthodoxy, those who have fallen away from the True Orthodox Faith and preach faith in Christ differently from Orthodoxy do not belong to the One Holy and Apostolic Church, founded by the Savior himself. Unfortunately, this comes from the fact that many do not realize the greatness and height of their Christian calling, they do not know their duties and live in wickedness like pagans.

The Holy Apostle Paul wrote in his prayer: “Walk worthy of the calling to which you have been called, otherwise you will not be children of God, but of Satan, fulfilling his lusts.”