CAUSES AND CONSEQUENCES OF THE BAPTIST MOVEMENT'S DIVISION IN UKRAINE

In: Ukrai͏̈noznavčyj alʹmanach, Heft 24, S. 108-113

Abstract

The article analyzes the causes and consequences of the split in the evangelical-Baptist environment in the 1960s; found that one of the main causes of the split in the bosom of evangelical Baptist Christians was the destructive influence of state authorities on religion in general, and Christian denominations in particular when initiated by state bodies of the union of Protestant religious communities under the auspices of the All-Union Baptist Council Church for organization under control of special services bodies; it has been proved that the conflicts between the leadership of the Verkhovna Rada and the Council of Churches were artificial. The confrontations among the believers were mainly provoked by SSC agents and secret services, and were only in the hands of the Communist Party regime, which helped him control events, pacify some and repress others; it is proved that under the influence of the movement for the independence of the church from the state headed by «initiators», the regime has been operating since the second half of the 1960s. gradually began to ease the pressure on officially registered communities of evangelical Baptist Christians. Prayer meetings began to be attended by teens, and ordinary members and members of other congregations were allowed to preach. As a result of these changes and some easing of tensions between the church and the government, many believers and congregations began to return to the official union governed by the ACEBC, without wishing further confrontation; it is shown that the internal church events of the 60's of the twentieth century, which were provoked by the SSC special services and led to the split of the EBC community, reflected on the position and activities of the EBC Church and in the period of independence of Ukraine, the higher leadership of the split community (the ACEBC and the Church Council) and could not reconcile and unite in a united union. This significantly weakens their spiritual position in today's globalized world, where cohesion and competitiveness play an important role.