Eastern European Baptist History: New Perspectives, 2007

y for historians to meet, exchange ideas and learn more about recent research in Eastern European Baptist history. It is certainly impossible for one conference sufficiently to cover the wide range of Baptist “stories” in Eastern Europe. The majority of papers at the May 2005 conference dealt with issues related to Baptist history and identity in Russia or Ukraine, which reflects where the focus of Baptist historical research in Eastern Europe can be found today. However, it also reminds researchers that more can be done regarding other regions, such as Romania, Hungary, or other areas of the former socialist bloc. It is often the case that research has been done in the local language and is not yet available for a wider audience in English, Russian or German. Hopefully this volume will encourage Baptist historians in Eastern Europe to “go the extra mile” and continue publishing their valuable research results for an international audience. I would like to express my gratitude to the Cooperative Baptist Fellow- ship for their help in providing travel scholarships for several participants from Eastern Europe. Without the participation of these colleagues, the conference would have lacked an important contribution. Warm words of thankfulness should also be given to IBTS for providing both financial and human resources which made this conference and the present volume possible. Toivo Pilli Introduction: In Search of an East European Baptist Identity Sharyl Corrado hat does it mean to be Baptist? How do Baptists differ from those of other confessions or faiths? How does the Baptist tradition in Eastern and Central Europe relate to what is called by that name in other parts of the world? How have Baptists historically understood themselves as part of the state and society in which they lived? The fall of Commu- nism and subsequent dramatic growth of religions and religiosity in what had been officially atheist lands left long-time Baptists as well as new converts struggling with their identity. Ambiguity ensued as Baptists of the formerly Communist lands strove to claim their place in the community of Baptists worldwide, while maintaining a historical and cultural distinc- tiveness. Both secular institutions and seminaries, within and outside the post-Soviet lands, have begun to support research into such crucial ques- tions, which the opening of state and private archives has made possible at a deeper level than previously undertaken. Yet such opportunities leave historians, guardians of the collective memory of generations past, with a deep responsibility before God and the communities of faith. The May 2005 conference, “Baptist Histories in Eastern Europe’, hosted by the International Baptist Theological Seminary in Prague, Czech Republic, provided a place in which junior and senior scholars working on Baptist and evangelical history could meet, share ideas and resources, and discuss the imp