Journal of European Baptist Studies, Volume 9, Number 2, January 2009

oland and also for Mennonites, German stundists, Ukrainian stundists, and Molokans. They were at the right place at the right time. 5. Indigenous Elements Today Russian Evangelical Christians-Baptists exhibit their indigenous character today. This is seen particularly in their worship, whose tenor and pulsation significantly differ from the West. The intensity of worship, paralleling the reverence in the Orthodox Church, is serious and personal. Services last at least two hours, which include, besides the singing of hymns, sermons from three or four preachers and a number of choir anthems if not also special musical numbers. Stundists and Baptists adopted hymns from western evangelical sources, but they also compose hymns of their own. The services are also punctuated with periods of prayer. Worshippers kneel or, if no seats, stand. Men or women lead out in extemporaneous prayer with all joining in with a whispered undertone. Some worshippers observe the kiss of peace, confined to members of their own sex. Scriptures adorn the walls of the church, frequently including the phrase, ‘God is Love’. As in the Orthodox tradition, Easter is the most important Christian holy day. Baptists in Russia were never known for the strict Calvinism of many Regular Baptists in the West. Unlike their Southern Baptist brethren, many Russian Baptists tend to accept the prospect of falling from grace rather than belief in the security of the believer. How indigenous are Russian Baptists? There is no easy answer. In origin or development they are simply not an implantation from another How Indigenous was the Baptist Movement in the Russian Empire? 37 nation or culture. On the other hand, Protestant as well as Baptist impulses from abroad have influenced them. As other religious movements, they too may be a hybrid. How much they incorporate foreign elements and how much they incorporate indigenous elements may simply be in the eye of the beholder. Dr Albert W Wardin, Jr, is a renowned Baptist historian. 38 Journal of European Baptist Studies Is the Sermon on the Mount too unrealistic to Serve as a Resource for Christian Discipleship and Spiritual Formation? 1. Introduction From the earliest origins of the Church to the present day, the Sermon on the Mount has continually challenged and inspired generations of Christ’s followers to live out the kind of life which Jesus sets forth. As well as being ‘one of the most lofty and powerful expressions of the essence of moral life’ 1 2 , the Sermon is a challenging call to follow Jesus by participating in the vision of the kingdom of God, which, as Christ declares, is now a present reality and accessible to all who receive his message (Matt. 4:17). Such are the ethical standards demanded by Christ in the Sermon, however, that it is hardly surprising that the history of its interpretation has been dominated by attempts to downplay its significance or to undermine