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

that early attempt and continuous struggle with the authorities, the permission to open a school was only received in 1913. Prokhanov wrote, ‘In that year we have opened a regular Bible school, which became the first Protestant Bible school in ’8© 49 students were enrolled in the first Russia with education in the Russian language. year. Among them were Lithuanians, German Mennonites, Georgians, Ossetians, Belorussians, and Russians. Such diversity came from the need ‘to bring God’s Word to all the nations,’ which required the training of people from different ethnic groups. °®” The 83 A. Nagirniak, “Bibleiskiie Kursi Baptistov v Moskve v 1927-1929 Godakh” [“Bible Courses in Moscow in 1927-1929”], in Traditsiia Podgotovki Sluzhitelei V Bratstve Evangelskikh Khristian- Baptistov. Istoriia i Perspectivi: Sbornik Statei [Tradition of Preparation of Ministers in the Brotherhood of Evangelical Christians—Baptists. History and Prospects: Collection of Articles] (Moscow, RUECB, 2013), p 107. 84 Timoshenko, “Kafedra,” p 285. 85 Marina S. Karetnikova, “U Istokov Sovremennogo Religioznogo Obrazovaniia V Rossii” [“At the Roots of Contemporary Religious Education in Russia”], in Traditsiia Podgotovki Sluzhitelei V Bratstve Evangelskikh Khristian-Baptistov, p 68. 8° V Kotle Rossii, p 136. 87 Ibid., pp 164-165. 74 work of the school was interrupted during the World War I, yet it was restarted in 1922 and operated until 1929. During this period over 450 people were trained for ministry.®® There were others who also contributed to the formation of Russian theological education and ministerial training apart from the above mentioned attempts by Prokhanov. The first Baptist training centre was in Lodz, Poland (at that time part of the Russian Empire). The school was opened by German Baptists and, for a long time, remained the only Baptist school in Russia. In 1922-1924 Pavlov together with V. Stephanov led short theology and preaching courses in different areas of the country. After a number of appeals, the authorities allowed the Baptist Union to open a Bible school in Moscow. This took place in 1927 and only operated for 2 years, being closed at the beginning of a new wave of atheistic persecutions of the church.®’ On the other side of Russia, in its Far Eastern region, Christian education was first of all connected with such names as Yakov Vince, Robert Fetler, Nikolai Peisti, Eric Olson and August Lindstedt. All of these people received theological training in England, USA, Germany, Sweden or Finland.” They started a number of training programmes for Baptist missionaries and pastors in 1919-1922. The skills related to preaching were given particular attention, since preaching was seen as a key ability, necessary for missionary and pastoral work. Whilst there is no record left regarding the content of the above mentioned educational programmes, the existence of numerous links to various western (an