True and Free Seventh-day Adventists
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The True and Free Seventh-day Adventists (TFSDA) are a splinter group formed as the result of a
schism A schism ( , , or, less commonly, ) is a division between people, usually belonging to an organization, movement, or religious denomination. The word is most frequently applied to a split in what had previously been a single religious body, suc ...
within the
Seventh-day Adventist Church The Seventh-day Adventist Church is an Adventist Protestant Christian denomination which is distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the seventh day of the week in the Christian (Gregorian) and the Hebrew calendar, as the Sabbath, and ...
in
Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
during
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
over the position its European church leaders took, whose most well known leader was Vladimir Shelkov. TFSDA members are part of the
Sabbatarian Sabbatarianism advocates the observation of the Sabbath in Christianity, in keeping with the Ten Commandments. The observance of Sunday as a day of worship and rest is a form of first-day Sabbatarianism, a view which was historically heralded ...
adventist Adventism is a branch of Protestant Christianity that believes in the imminent Second Coming (or the "Second Advent") of Jesus Christ. It originated in the 1830s in the United States during the Second Great Awakening when Baptist preacher Wil ...
movement, and believe that as a result of the decisions the European church leaders took, the Seventh-day Adventist Church had apostasized and had become "
Babylon ''Bābili(m)'' * sux, 𒆍𒀭𒊏𒆠 * arc, 𐡁𐡁𐡋 ''Bāḇel'' * syc, ܒܒܠ ''Bāḇel'' * grc-gre, Βαβυλών ''Babylṓn'' * he, בָּבֶל ''Bāvel'' * peo, 𐎲𐎠𐎲𐎡𐎽𐎢 ''Bābiru'' * elx, 𒀸𒁀𒉿𒇷 ''Babi ...
".


Overview

The group related its origins to the
Seventh Day Adventist Reform Movement The Seventh Day Adventist Reform Movement is a Protestant Christian denomination in the Sabbatarian Adventist movement that formed from a schism in the European Seventh-day Adventist Church during World War I over the position its European church l ...
which formed in Germany during the period of
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, when its European church leaders determined it was permissible for Adventists to
bear arms The right to keep and bear arms (often referred to as the right to bear arms) is a right for people to possess weapons (arms) for the preservation of life, liberty, and property. The purpose of gun rights is for self-defense, including securi ...
and serve in the military, and to disregard the
Sabbath In Abrahamic religions, the Sabbath () or Shabbat (from Hebrew ) is a day set aside for rest and worship. According to the Book of Exodus, the Sabbath is a day of rest on the seventh day, commanded by God to be kept as a holy day of rest, as G ...
during the war, which went against what the church believed. The Seventh Day Adventist Reform Movement was formerly organised on an international level in 1925 at
Gotha Gotha () is the fifth-largest city in Thuringia, Germany, west of Erfurt and east of Eisenach with a population of 44,000. The city is the capital of the district of Gotha and was also a residence of the Ernestine Wettins from 1640 until the ...
, Germany and appears to have been the catalyst for the formation of the TFSDA and both held to the core beliefs of a
Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...
Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
denomination, part of the
Sabbatarian Sabbatarianism advocates the observation of the Sabbath in Christianity, in keeping with the Ten Commandments. The observance of Sunday as a day of worship and rest is a form of first-day Sabbatarianism, a view which was historically heralded ...
adventist Adventism is a branch of Protestant Christianity that believes in the imminent Second Coming (or the "Second Advent") of Jesus Christ. It originated in the 1830s in the United States during the Second Great Awakening when Baptist preacher Wil ...
movement. The movement group in Germany adopted the name "Seventh Day Adventist Reform Movement" while that in Russian appears to have adopted the similar "True and Free Seventh-day Adventists". While the Seventh Day Adventist Reform Movement in Germany registered as a
General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists The General Conference Corporation of Seventh-day Adventists is the governing organization of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Its headquarters is located in Silver Spring, Maryland and oversees the church in directing its various divisions and ...
association in 1929, the TFSDA was organized but did not do the same. Much like in Russian, the crackdown on the Reform Movement in Germany began with the General Conference association's dissolution by the
Gestapo The (), abbreviated Gestapo (; ), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of Prussia into one organi ...
in 1936 but it was re-registered in
Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...
,
California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
, United States in 1949 so was more familiar and became better known in America than the TFSDA. Both the TFSDA and the Seventh Day Adventist Reform movement's beliefs largely reflect its distinctive Seventh-day Adventist Church heritage, with some small divergences.


History of the schism


1914–1918 Seventh-day Adventist Church Schism (Europe)

The Seventh Day Adventist Reform Movement came about as a result of the actions of
L. R. Conradi Ludwig R. Conradi (or Louis R. Conradi; 20 March 1856 – 16 September 1939) was one of the leaders of European Adventism known for the controversy causing schism in the church, a Seventh-day Adventist evangelist and missionary, and in his last y ...
and certain European church leaders during the war, who decided that it was acceptable for Adventists to take part in war, which was in clear opposition to the historical position of the church that had always upheld the non-combative position. Since the American Civil War, Adventists were known as
non-combatant Non-combatant is a term of art in the law of war and international humanitarian law to refer to civilians who are not taking a direct part in hostilities; persons, such as combat medics and military chaplains, who are members of the belligerent ...
s, and had done work in hospitals or to give medical care rather than combat roles. The General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists sent
Seventh-day Adventist The Seventh-day Adventist Church is an Adventism, Adventist Protestantism, Protestant Christian denomination which is distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the Names of the days of the week#Numbered days of the week, seventh day of the ...
minister and General Conference Secretary William Ambrose Spicer to investigate the changes, but was unable to change what L. R. Conradi and the others had done during the war. After the war, the Seventh-day Adventist Church sent a delegation of four brethren from the General Conference ( Arthur Daniells, L. H. Christian, F. M. Wilcox, M. E. Kern) in July 1920, who came to a Ministerial Meeting in Friedensau with the hope of a reconciliation. Before the 200 pastors and the brethren from the General Conference present at this meeting, its European church leaders G. Dail, L. R. Conradi, H. F. Schuberth, and P. Drinhaus withdrew their statement about military service and apologized for what they had done. The Reformers were informed of this and the next day saw a meeting by the Adventist brethren with the Reform-Adventists. Daniells urged them to return to the Seventh-day Adventist Church, but the Reform-Adventists maintained that the European church leaders had forsaken the truth in their changes during the war and the reconciliation failed.


TFSDA in the Soviet Union

Leaders of the TFSDA movement were vigorously hunted by the
KGB The KGB (russian: links=no, lit=Committee for State Security, Комитет государственной безопасности (КГБ), a=ru-KGB.ogg, p=kəmʲɪˈtʲet ɡəsʊˈdarstvʲɪn(ː)əj bʲɪzɐˈpasnəsʲtʲɪ, Komitet gosud ...
(national security agency) and almost without exception,
pastor A pastor (abbreviated as "Pr" or "Ptr" , or "Ps" ) is the leader of a Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutheranism, Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy and ...
s and leaders of this church spent many years in prison, their children were taken from them and forced into exile. Three prominent leaders of the TFSDA in the USSR were V. A. ShelkovSapiets, Marite
V. A. Shelkov and the true and free Adventists of the USSR
" ''Religion, State and Society'' 8:3 (1980), p.201–217
and two brothers named Murkin. The True and Free Seventh-day Adventists continue today in small numbers. The group focuses its outreach on members of the regular Seventh-day Adventist Church and expects to see an imminent return of religious persecution.{{Citation needed, date=April 2010


See also

*
History of the Seventh-day Adventist Church The Seventh-day Adventist Church had its roots in the Millerite movement of the 1830s to the 1840s, during the period of the Second Great Awakening, and was officially founded in 1863. Prominent figures in the early church included Hiram Edson, ...


References


Bibliography

* Ludmilla Alexeyeva,
Human Rights and the True and Free Adventists
. ''
Spectrum A spectrum (plural ''spectra'' or ''spectrums'') is a condition that is not limited to a specific set of values but can vary, without gaps, across a continuum. The word was first used scientifically in optics to describe the rainbow of colors i ...
'' 19:2 (November 1988), pp. 25–32. * Gary Land, ''Historical Dictionary of Seventh-day Adventists'', 2005, p. 254 Adventism Christianity in the Soviet Union