Church Without Walls: Post-Soviet Baptists after the Ukrainian Revolution, 2013-14, Joshua T. Searle, 2016

e, is merely a pragmatic political construct and something human, even “all too human.” For Baptists the archetypes of a “God-—bearing people,” “Holy Russia,” and “Orthodox people” are devoid of their customary magical hold. Throughout their history, Baptists have learned that the alliance of church and state is without biblical justification and is morally bankrupt. The recent history of Russia demonstrates that the hegemony of the (Russian) Orthodox Church in post-Soviet society does not lead to spiritual revival, but merely creates a thin veneer of Christianity among a people who live in fear of the all- powerful church-state. Neither Orthodox monarchism nor atheistic communism, along with their prevailing authoritarianism, is compatible with the freedom of the gospel. History affords numerous examples of the fatal consequences that can ensue when political and religious institutions are united into the totality of a single authority. Under such conditions, Christianity can become conscripted by imperialistic ideologies, resulting in a demonic hybrid of pseudo-Christian dogma and xenophobic nationalism. This kind of fake patriotic religion leads to the blasphemous deification of the state. Moreover, “national churches” can invoke the name of “God” as an idol who has bestowed a special blessing and favour on a particular nation, which then allegedly gives this “special” nation the right to invade and conquer neighbouring territories and subdue their peoples — as we are currently witnessing in Ukraine. Such a sham Christianity, which is a denial of Christ and the gospel, will always refuse to accept any higher power and will ruthlessly destroy any forms of genuine Christian faith that go beyond cultural or national identity. This kind of idolatrous, nationalistic “official Christianity”, which encourages war and hatred towards other nations, is a demonic distortion of the gospel and is under the control not of Christ, but of the dark “powers and principalities” which Paul alluded to in his Epistle to the Ephesians. Baptists are thus right to be cautious of such alliances between the church and state, especially in the present context of post-Soviet Eurasia. The church is responsible not only to the political authorities (the state), but also to the people (society). Since the fall of the USSR, the witness of post-Soviet Christians has been enervated by a dangerous imbalance in the relationship between the church and the state, on the one hand, and between the church and society on the other. The church has tended to build a separate relationship with the state, promising it its loyalty in exchange for benefits, patronage, and preferential treatment. As the church and state grew closer, society began to lose respect both for the state and the church. In Ukraine and other nations of the former USSR, society became alienated from both the church and the state. The political system of a society includ