SPLIT IN THE NATIONAL UNION OF EVANGELICAL BAPTIST CHRISTIANS IN 1961 AND LEGALIZATION OF EVANGELICAL BAPTIST COMMUNITIES IN THE TULA REGION
Abstract
The purpose of this article is to study the events that took place at the time of the split in the communities of evangelical Baptist Christians in the Tula region in 1961. A distinguishing fact about these events was that the originators of the split were all residents of the Tula Region. Because of this religious communities of the Tula Region fell under their direct influence. Declassified documents of the State Archive of the Tula Region provide an insight into the events in question not only from the viewpoint of evangelical Baptist Christians but also from the perspective of the state officials. Bringing these varying points of view into correlation allows to form a more objective opinion regarding the events that occurred, propriety of the decisions that were taken, and provides ground for a critical evaluation of activities of the believers. Following the split the issue of registering religious communities and legalization of their activities in front of the state, became especially acute. The authorities efficiently used internal tensions among evangelical Baptist Christians to destabilize their communities. The mechanism of registration of religious communities helped state authorities to control such communities and to escalate tensions between community leaders and average believers. The state managed to succeed in retarding the growth of the communities. Despite the increase in the number of communities because of the split the number of believers in the evangelical Baptist communities over the subsequent 30-year period across the Tula region did not change, remaining at the same level of around 1,100 people. The consequences of contradictions planted by the split between evangelical Baptist Christians can still be felt in the spiritual and daily life of evangelical Baptist communities.
Key words
Evangelical Baptist Christians, split, Initiative group, Organizing Committee, Council of Churches, registration of religious communities, commissioner of the Council, Tula region.
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Bibliography link to this article:
Bartov V. P. Split in the National Union of Evangelical Baptist Christians in 1961 and legalization of Evangelical Baptist Communities in the Tula Region. Vestnik of Orenburg State Pedagogical University. Electronic Scientific Journal, 2018, no. 1 (25), pp. 65—80. DOI: https://doi.org/10.32516/2303-9922.2018.25.7.