Russian Protestants And American Evangelicals Since The Death Of Stalin

Traditional evangelical theology, with its emphasis on individual responsibility and the independence of faith communities, has often failed to offer a robust ecclesial vision for the unity of Christ’s church. Engaging this reality, Dr. Oleksandr Geychenko seeks to provide a theological framework for understanding the ecclesiological nature of Ukrainian Baptist church associations. He traces the history and development of Baptist unions in Eastern Europe, examining associational practices and organisational structure, along with the theological language used to describe the role and purpose of such unions. In dialogue with the covenant theology of Paul S. Fiddes, he demonstrates that church associations should be viewed as more than pragmatic entities. Rather, they are ecclesial bodies embodying covenantal unity, committed to mutual care and participation in Christ’s mission to the world. While drawing from primary sources and ecclesial practices to provide a unique and significant contribution to local theology, this study bears relevance for engaging ecumenical relations across traditions and encouraging the unity of the broader global church.

The Tradition of the Gospel Christians explores the post-Soviet tradition of evangelical Christians originating from the ministry of the Victorian revivalist preacher Lord Radstock in St. Petersburg in the 1870s. In an effort to resolve the current evangelical crises of theology and identity, this study provides an analysis of the tradition's history reflecting on its restorationist tradition, the contours and vectors of its theology, and its practice of biblical interpretation. The historical analysis reveals that the major causes of the crises of identity and theology pertain to the socio-political upheavals, which, in turn, led the tradition to develop strategies to maintain relevance in its changed contexts. The socio-political shifts were also responsible for the lack of emphasis on research and scholarship, which contributed to a difficulty in finding the necessary resources and intellectual virtues to deal with the collapse of the Soviet Union. Building on the discoveries of the historical analysis, Andrei P. Puzynin offers a new historical and theological paradigm by reconstructing the self-identifying narrative and theological framework in critical dialogue with recent developments in Anglo-American evangelicalism and postliberalism. Following the trajectory of the evangelical tradition in the post-Soviet context, a trajectory which relies on Western thought, the book adopts the narrative theological method of reading the world though the lens of Scripture. The self-identifying narrative of the community is reconstructed through a theological reading of the previous identity-constructions, in the light of recent discussions on Christ and the powers. The result of this study helpfully explains the dynamics of Eastern evangelicalism in a traditionally Russian Orthodox setting.

Traces the arrival of pietism in the Russian Empire, the development of Stundism and separate evangelical denominations in the nineteenth century, and the story of their experiences under Communist rule. ...particularly relevant for the study of Mennonite and related religious developments in these areas. --MENNONITE HISTORIAN

Guidebook for Prudent and effective look at the church in Russia. Complex history and current realities of believers in the Soviet Union.