Towards Understanding of the Practice of Proclamation: The Core Element of Russian Baptist Worship, Timofey Cheprasov, 2015

volution. Russian Evangelical Awakening (Abilene, Abilene Christian University Press, 1996), p 141; Savinskii, Istoriia Evangelskikh Khristian — Baptistov, Vol.1, p 251. °° Latimer, Dr Braedek and His Apostolic Work in Russia, p 42. For more detailed explanation of the implication of the new legislation and baptists’ reaction to it, see Coleman, Russian Baptists and Spiritual Revolution, Chapter 2. °° Vv. V. Ivanov, “Polozheniie baptistov” [“The Situation Baptists are in”], in Baptist, No. 9 (23 February 1911), p 69, quoted after Coleman, Russian Baptists and Spiritual Revolution, p 27. 67 1905 baptistic communities held only a small number of conferences where some organisational and theological issues were addressed, hence individual congregations (and preachers) had ultimate authority in interpretation and application of the Scripture, which with the numerical growth of the movement resulted in a great ‘interpretive entropy.’”” The leadership of the movement adopted a number of strategies to cope with such theological diversity of its members, which started to cause various problems in local churches. | have already mentioned that at the meeting that formed the Baptist Union, a conscious decision to allow difference of opinions was made. Congregations were given the right to decide ‘as they see fit to do before God.’ Puzinin notes there always was ‘a willingness to drop one’s own interpretation in order to protect the spirit 758 of mutual love that reflects Trinitarian unity in diversity.””” However, several steps were also used ‘to resist unrestricted subjectivism and the threatening danger of interpretive °° Among them were the use of the Apostolic Creed, conferences” where various chaos. theological and practical issues were discussed and debated,°’ and perhaps the most important one, educational use of the publications. The Christian printed media In the 19" and early 20" centuries books, journals and newspapers played a very important role in Russian society. Education became more accessible for poor people only in the second half of the 19" century. Thus, for the majority of Russia’s population, published materials were first of all associated with sacred texts (prayer books, etc.) of °7 Puzynin, “The Tradition of the Gospel Christians...”, p 36. °8 Ibid., p 36. °° Ibid. ®° Both Baptists and Evangelical Christians achieved significant results in bringing structural coherence to the movements. Two Unions were formed — The Congress of Evangelical Christians-Baptists (1905) (CECB) and the All-Russia Union of Evangelical Christians (1909) (ARUEC). Eventually, every region of the country had a local association of churches that coordinated its missionary activity, publications and spiritual education. (Prokhanov, V Kotle Rossii, pp 134-150) °! These conferences addressed questions of divorce, laying of hands, women in ministry, youth work and worship (singing in ch