Yuri Kirillovich Sipko ( rus, Ю́рий Кири́ллович Сипко́; born 28 February 1952) is a Russian

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compete ...

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 ...

who was vice president of the

World Baptist 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 ...

and president of the

Russian Union of Evangelical Christians-Baptists The Russian Union of Evangelical Christians-Baptists, RUECB (russian: Росси́йский сою́з ева́нгельских христиа́н-бапти́стов, РСЕХБ) is a Baptist Christian denomination in Russia. It is affiliate ...

(UECB) from 2002 to 2010. A criminal case against Sipko was opened on 8 August 2023. He is accused of discrediting the Russian military.

Early life

Sipko was born on 28 February 1952 in the town of Tara in the

Omsk Oblast Omsk Oblast (russian: О́мская о́бласть, ''Omskaya oblast'') is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast), located in southwestern Siberia. The oblast has an area of . Its population is 1,977,665 ( 2010 Census) with the majority, 1.12 ...

. At age 16 he entered college in

Omsk Omsk (; rus, Омск, p=omsk) is the administrative center and largest city of Omsk Oblast, Russia. It is situated in southwestern Siberia, and has a population of over 1.1 million. Omsk is the third largest city in Siberia after Novosibirsk ...

. After graduating four years later, he served in the army and then married and settled in the village of Tabaga in

Yakutia Sakha, officially the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia),, is the largest republic of Russia, located in the Russian Far East, along the Arctic Ocean, with a population of roughly 1 million. Sakha comprises half of the area of its governing Far Eas ...

. In 1978 his family returned to

and became Baptist. In 1984 he was ordained as a

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Churc ...

, and in 1985 became a pastor. From 1987 Sipko was the senior pastor of the Omsk and

Tyumen Tyumen ( ; rus, Тюмень, p=tʲʉˈmʲenʲ, a=Ru-Tyumen.ogg) is the administrative center and largest city of Tyumen Oblast, Russia. It is situated just east of the Ural Mountains, along the Tura River. Fueled by the Russian oil and gas indu ...

regions.

Senior positions

In 1993 Sipko was elected deputy chairman/president of the Russian Union of Evangelical Christians-Baptists, and moved with his family to

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

. He served for two four-year terms. On 20 March 2002 Sipko was elected chairman of the Russian Union of Evangelical Christians-Baptists, serving for two four-year terms. Since the late 1990s, faced with declining church membership, Sipko actively supported inter-church social projects where Baptists and Pentecostals worked together. In 2007 his organization sponsored an event where evangelists toured by bicycle throughout Russia spreading the word of Christ. In October 2008, during the conflict between Russia and Georgia, he met with his Georgian counterpart to discuss reconciliation. In a joint statement the participants condemned the war between the two countries as "pointless and brutal". He left office on 25 March 2010, replaced by Pastor Alexei Smirnov.

Official hostility

Baptists in Russia face official hostility. In February 2009 Sipko's name was used in fake stories in a

Smolensk Smolensk ( rus, Смоленск, p=smɐˈlʲensk, a=smolensk_ru.ogg) is a city and the administrative center of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Dnieper River, west-southwest of Moscow. First mentioned in 863, it is one of the oldest c ...

newspaper claiming to be Baptist but in fact designed to smear the reputation of Baptists. The publishers apparently had links with the government. In April 2009, reacting to appointment of a man known to be hostile to Protestant groups such as the Baptists to the official "Commission for the Implementation of State Expertise on Religious Science", Sipko stated that the government had been involved in a concerted, long-term effort to greatly restrict the freedom of religion in Russia. In November 2009, commenting on proposed legislation to restrict missionary activity in Russia, he said "Practically all believers will become susceptible to penal sanction".

References

1952 births Living people 20th-century Baptist ministers 21st-century Baptist ministers Presidents of religious organizations Russian Baptist ministers People from Omsk Oblast Russian people of Ukrainian descent {{Christian-clergy-stub