The Baptist Church in Ukraine ( uk, Баптизм в Україні; ) is one of the oldest and most widespread

Evangelical Christian Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being " born again", in which an individual expe ...

denominations in the country. Before the fall of the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

, over half the 1.5 million acknowledged Baptists and Pentecostals in the

USSR The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

lived in

Soviet Ukraine The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic ( uk, Украї́нська Радя́нська Соціалісти́чна Респу́бліка, ; russian: Украи́нская Сове́тская Социалисти́ческая Респ ...

. Prior to its independence in 1991,

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

was home to the second largest Baptist community in the world, after the United States, and was called the "

Bible Belt The Bible Belt is a region of the Southern United States in which socially conservative Protestant Christianity plays a strong role in society and politics, and church attendance across the denominations is generally higher than the nation's aver ...

" of the Soviet Union.

History

The predecessors of today's Baptists, the

Anabaptists Anabaptism (from New Latin language, Neo-Latin , from the Greek language, Greek : 're-' and 'baptism', german: Täufer, earlier also )Since the middle of the 20th century, the German-speaking world no longer uses the term (translation: "Re- ...

, came to Ukraine in the 16th century, seeking refuge from their persecution by state churches in the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a Polity, political entity in Western Europe, Western, Central Europe, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, dissolution i ...

(mostly Germany today) and other European states. They were later followed by the

German Mennonites German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

and Baptists. They sought to spread their faith to the native Ruthenian/Ukrainian population, so Slavs were invited to Anabaptist prayer meetings and Bible studies. The first Baptist

baptism Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost inv ...

(or " baptism by faith" of adult people) in Ukraine took place in 1864 on the river

Inhul The Inhul ( uk, Інгул) is a left tributary of the Southern Bug (Boh) and is the 14th longest river of Ukraine. It flows through the Kirovohrad and Mykolaiv regions. It starts near the village of Rodnykivka, Oleksandriia Raion in Kirovohra ...

in the Yelizavetgrad region (now

Kropyvnytskyi Kropyvnytskyi ( uk, Кропивницький, Kropyvnytskyi ) is a city in central Ukraine on the Inhul river with a population of . It is an administrative center of the Kirovohrad Oblast. Over its history, Kropyvnytskyi has changed its name ...

region), in a German settlement. In 1867, the first Ukrainian-speaking Baptist communities were organized in that area. From there, the denomination spread to the south of Ukraine and then to other regions as well. One of the first Baptist communities was registered in

Kyiv Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...

in 1907, and in 1908 the First All-

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

Convention of Baptists was held there, gathering believers from all over the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

. The All-Russian Union of Baptists was established in the town of Yekaterinoslav (now

Dnipro Dnipro, previously called Dnipropetrovsk from 1926 until May 2016, is Ukraine's fourth-largest city, with about one million inhabitants. It is located in the eastern part of Ukraine, southeast of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on the Dnieper Rive ...

). At the end of the 19th century, it was estimated that there were from 100,000 to 300,000 Baptists in Ukraine.

Persecution

During the 1920s, Evangelical Christians and Baptists were prohibited in the

Ukrainian SSR The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic ( uk, Украї́нська Радя́нська Соціалісти́чна Респу́бліка, ; russian: Украи́нская Сове́тская Социалисти́ческая Респ ...

; they were, to some extent, revived during and after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

in a

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

effort to weaken the cultural influence of the

Russian Orthodox Church , native_name_lang = ru , image = Moscow July 2011-7a.jpg , imagewidth = , alt = , caption = Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow, Russia , abbreviation = ROC , type ...

. In 1944, Baptists and Evangelical Christians united in the Church of Evangelical Christian Baptists (ECB). They were later joined by other smaller Baptist and Evangelical groups. At the end of the 1950s, 75% of the believers of the All-USSR Council of ECB lived in Ukraine. Baptists in Ukraine experienced a revival in the 1970s, and are now among the most active Christian denominations in the country. Under the 1996

Constitution of Ukraine The Constitution of Ukraine ( uk, Конституція України, translit=Konstytutsiia Ukrainy) is the fundamental law of Ukraine. The constitution was adopted and ratified at the 5th session of the ''Verkhovna Rada'', the parliament ...

, Ukrainians were given the right to free practice of religion. However, as a minority and non-traditional religion the Baptists have been subject to persecution and discrimination, including being arrested. The Government of Ukraine facilitates the building of houses of worship, and Baptists have difficulties with the local authorities in Kyiv and other large cities while attempting to obtain land and building permits.

USDOS The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other nati ...

br>International Religious Freedom Report 2005 - Ukraine
/ref> Baptist leaders have criticized the

Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate) The Ukrainian Orthodox Church ( uk, Українська православна церква, Ukrainska pravoslavna tserkva; russian: Украинская православная церковь, Ukrainskaya pravoslavnaya tserkov', UOC), common ...

(UOC-MP) for continuing to refer publicly to Baptists with the pejorative

Ukrainian Ukrainian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Ukraine * Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe * Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine * So ...

word ('sectarians'), and for the activities of the group Dialogue, which Baptists and human rights groups characterized as a front for the UOC-MP promoting hostility toward non-Orthodox Christians.

Migration to North America

In the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, some Baptists (as well as other Protestant groups from Ukraine) emigrated to the United States and Canada. After the collapse of the USSR, migration and interaction with Western churches increased. At present, there are large Ukrainian Baptist communities in

Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

and

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

.''All Ukrainian Evangelical Baptist Fellowship Leaders meet with Ukrainian World Congress President, Maidan News, July 2007'' Many Baptist churches in Ukraine have sister churches in the United States or Canada, with whom they cooperate in

ministry Ministry may refer to: Government * Ministry (collective executive), the complete body of government ministers under the leadership of a prime minister * Ministry (government department), a department of a government Religion * Christian ...

and evangelism.

Organization

Baptists in Ukraine are organized and active in building churches and seminary education. It is estimated that there are more Baptists in Ukraine than in all the

CIS Cis or cis- may refer to: Places * Cis, Trentino, in Italy * In Poland: ** Cis, Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, south-central ** Cis, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, north Math, science and biology * cis (mathematics) (cis(''θ'')), a trigonome ...

countries (including

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

) combined. Baptists organized the first International Christian Theater Festival in

Rivne Rivne (; uk, Рівне ),) also known as Rovno (Russian: Ровно; Polish: Równe; Yiddish: ראָוונע), is a city in western Ukraine. The city is the administrative center of Rivne Oblast (province), as well as the surrounding Rivne Raio ...

, which took place in July 2007. The Baptist church in Ukraine has attracted many young people, and there are now over 20,000 young people enrolled in Baptist universities. Many of these youths are taking part in evangelism and ministry. A spokesperson for the Southern Baptist International Mission Board has said that "

n Ukraine N, or n, is the fourteenth Letter (alphabet), letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the English alphabet, modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is English alphabet# ...

the new generation is what God will have to use to evangelize, disciple and train leaders." The Evangelical Baptists also publish a magazine called ''The Evangelical Field'' and the newspaper ''Resurrection''. There is also a newspaper for the deaf, entitled ''Voice in the Wilderness''.

All-Ukrainian Union of Churches of Evangelical Christian-Baptists

Nearly 90% of Baptists in Ukraine are united in the All-Ukrainian Union of Churches of Evangelical Christian-Baptists (AUС EСB), established in 1994 at the 22nd Convention of the ECB of Ukraine. Today, the union includes 3

seminaries A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy, ...

, 2 universities and 15 Bible colleges, and is estimated to have 150,000 conscious believers, and about 300,000 people that attend church services in more than 2,800 churches, with 3,160 clergy members.Structure of the Union
/ref> The union is engaged in publishing activity and has an extended mass media network. The AUС EСB is governed by a council composed of senior presbyters (bishops) of regional associations headed by the president of the council. From 1990–2006 the council was headed by Hryhorii Komendant. From May 2006 it has been headed by Vyacheslav Nesteruk. The union closely cooperates with Ukrainian Baptists in the

diaspora A diaspora ( ) is a population that is scattered across regions which are separate from its geographic place of origin. Historically, the word was used first in reference to the dispersion of Greeks in the Hellenic world, and later Jews after ...

. The AUС EСB is a member of the

European Baptist Federation The European Baptist Federation (EBF) is a federation of 59 Baptist associations and is one of six regional fellowships in the Baptist World Alliance. The headquarters is in Amsterdam, Netherlands. History The EBF was founded in Ruschlikon, Swit ...

and the

Baptist World Alliance The Baptist World Alliance (BWA) is the largest international Baptist organization with an estimated 51 million people in 2022 with 246 member bodies in 128 countries and territories. A voluntary association of Baptist churches, the BWA account ...

Korean Baptists

Beginning in 1993, the Korean Baptist Church has existed in Ukraine. As a religious organization, its focus is towards the

Korean diaspora The Korean diaspora (South Korea: or , North Korea: or ) consists of around 7.3 million people, both descendants of early emigrants from the Korean Peninsula, as well as more recent emigres from Korea. Around 84.5% of overseas Koreans live in ...

in Ukraine. Generally the preachers are Americans of Korean descent.

References

External links

Official website of the Baptist Union
{{DEFAULTSORT:Baptists In Ukraine Baptist denominations in Europe History of Christianity in Ukraine *