Baptists in Ukraine
The beginnings of Baptists in Ukraine are in the second half of the 19th century. One of the starting points of their creation were German Baptists, who settled about 1859 as settlers in Volhynia and five years later in Horst Schick and solo Chin founded two communities.
The Baptists are the largest Protestant denomination family within the Ukraine. At about 90 percent of them belong to the Pan -Ukrainian Union of Evangelical Christian Baptists communities. Ukrainian Your name is: Всеукраїнський союз церков євангельських християн - баптистів (abbreviated ВСЦ ЕХБ ), her Russian: Всеукраинский союз церквей евангельских христиан - баптистов (abbreviated ВСЦ ЕХБ ) (English: All- Ukrainian Union of Associations of Evangelical Christian Baptists, abbreviated: AUU AECB ). Another Baptist group has been in the Society of Independent Baptist churches and ministries in Ukraine (English: Brotherhood of Independent Baptist Churches and Ministries of Ukraine ) together. There are also a number of non-aligned local churches, among them those that go back to a Korean missionary Baptists.
History
Three interconnected movements are regarded today as the historical starting points of the Ukrainian Baptist. From 1859 onwards German Baptists, who came from Poland, settled, in Volhynia and founded in May 1864, first two communities. The one located in Horst Schick, the other in solo Chin. A third also German -speaking Baptist church was constituted in 1866 in Neudorf (now Karma Nova ). A substantial part in the founding and development work were the missionaries Gottfried F. Alf (1831-1898) and later Charles K. Ondra (1839-1887)
A second starting point was a collection started by the Lutheran Pietists Eduard Wüst revival movement within the Mennonite colonies that led to the formation of so-called Mennonite Brethren Churches. Baptist literature from the Onckenschen Book and Tract trade in Hamburg, studying some Mennonite preacher at the Baptist Mission Seminar in Hamburg and last but not least a 1869 by Johann Gerhard Oncken undertaken to southern Russia mission trip led to the Brethren a number of Baptist principles took over, so among other things, immersion baptism. During his trip Oncken was formed with 41 members of a Baptist church in Old Gdansk, which grew to 144 church members still within the same year.
The third starting point for the development of the Ukrainian Baptist was also pietistic embossed Stundism who found his supporters from 1860 under Ukrainian peasants. 1869 took a member of the Mennonite Brethren church in one of these farm workers believers' baptism. This baptism was the beginning of the so-called Stundo - Baptist, which soon developed into a significant movement in Southern Russia and beyond.
Already in October 1874, came in the " spacious schoolhouse " in Old Gdansk establishing an independent regional organization, which initially was called South - West Russian and Bulgarian Association and later, after the Bulgarian communities had the Baptists connected in Austria, South Russian Federation has been renamed. The first chairman was the artisan missionary August Liebig.
With the Great Patriotic War was changing church policy in the Soviet Union. Under state pressure united in October 1944, all Soviet Baptists and the Gospel - Christian to Union of Evangelical Christians and Baptists ( ECHB ). Headquarters of the Federal was Moscow. A year later were joined also parts of the Russian Pentecostal movement, prompting the federal government changed its name to All-Union Council of Evangelical Christians- Baptists (AUR the ECHB ). The Ukrainian Baptists understood, however, to obtain a certain degree of independence in spite of the centralization. So they had their own country's elders and other responsible employees in different national workspaces.
Before 1991, Ukraine gained its national independence, there was the Ukrainian Baptist efforts to build a own national Baptist Union. Therefore, in 1989 a Christian magazine was founded, published both in Ukrainian and in Russian. 1992 saw the establishment of the Pan -Ukrainian Baptist Union in which merged the vast majority of the Ukrainian Baptist churches. In the years after the founding of the Baptists experienced a rapid growth. Alone in 1993, more than 100 new churches were planted. In Kiev, the seat of the Union, can be found today 10 communities.
In 1993 was formed under the name Brotherhood of independent Baptist churches and ministries in Ukraine, another considerably smaller Baptist Association. Between the two frets but there is now good contacts and regular consultations.
Organization and statistics
While the Brotherhood of Ukrainian independent Baptist churches not belong to any international church organization, the Pan - Ukrainian Union member church of the European Baptist Federation and this also a member of the Baptist World Alliance. Within the European Baptist Federation, it forms the largest membership of any church.
Seat of the Pan -Ukrainian Baptist Union, the Ukrainian capital Kiev. The spiritual leadership of the Association of Municipalities in the hands of a council, composed of the senior elders of the regional associations. It is headed by a president, his deputy and an executive secretary. Every four years, convenes a synod. Its members are pastors and other senior staff from the regional associations and institutions. The object of the Synod is to accompany, among other things, the work of the Council and to decide on commitment and policy issues.
The more than 2,800 congregations and branch churches working together in 25 regional associations. Among them - and thus also in the Union - are also five diaspora associations of Ukrainian Baptist Churches in the USA, Canada, Australia, South America (Argentina / Paraguay) and Portugal. For the Union of Ukrainian Baptists are around 150,000 believers baptized members. Computes the (still) not baptized family members and friends added to this number must be doubled.
The Brotherhood of Ukrainian independent Baptist churches was established in 1993. It includes more than 100 local communities with approximately 11,000 members. Also since 1993, there has also initiated by the Baptist Union of South Korea missionary work, which has led to a number of church planting among the living in Ukraine Koreans. There are also several independent or " non-aligned " Baptist churches. The Brotherhood, the Korean mission and the Independents were organized into a total of 250 municipalities in 2009. For more detailed statistical information, the sources are missing.
Facilities
The Baptists in Ukraine operate two universities (Kiev, Donetsk), three theological seminars as well as 15 regional Bible schools.