Baptistic Theologies, 2009

ical Seminary, Prague), 2008, 295 pp. This study explores the formation of a communal identity under an intense test which has affected many aspects of the life of the Union of Evangelical Christians-Baptists in Estonia (UECBE). Part One of the book presents an historical overview of the church-state dynamics and the impact of the political currents upon UECBE from 1945, when Estonia came under the firm and long-lasting grip of the Soviet powers, until 1991 when Estonia again became an independent Republic. Part Two deals with the theological aspects of the UECBE’s identity molded during those years, covering themes such as the tension between unity and diversity, Word and Spirit, approaches towards evangelism and mission, and ethical expressions of the UECBE’s identity. As in all of the Soviet Union, Baptists in Estonia had to find the way of a conjoined life with Evangelical Christians and Pentecostals, to whom the Soviet authorities denied a separate existence. In the case of Estonia, the Revivalist Free Churches were also brought into this new body of the UECBE (which, in its own turn, became part of the All-Union Council of Evangelical Christians-Baptists of the Soviet Union). The reality of tension in finding a common way forward was a key concern of those times and has formed a leitmotif of this study. As Pilli argues, the churches (a great majority of which were often women, though commonly led by male preachers and pastors) had to learn ‘a new dance’ if they were to survive the ‘new times’. The dance had to be danced together by all four traditions and had to be performed subtly if it was to enable the carrying on of the ministries officially prohibited by the authorities, such as opportunities for theological education, evangelism, or work with children and youth. One striking example explored in this book of how such prohibitions had been subverted is the role of singing in making way for such activities. The author, currently the Rector of Tartu Theological Seminary in Estonia, speaks as an ‘insider’, relating his personal experience with an impressive amount of primary sources including archival data, samizdat (illegally produced and circulated materials) and bits of oral history, now made more widely known outside the Estonian-speaking world. This is an excellent contribution to a limited body of historical studies of churches under Communism. For those who know little about life with the Soviets, this work can be a helpful window into a powerful and authentic testimony of how the church can struggle, leam, survive and grow. For those who Book Reviews 125 themselves recall the times under Communist pressure, this can be a stimulus to reflect on what that testimony has to say into the here and now, which, though without political oppression of the Soviet style, presents another challenging test to Baptists across post-Communist Europe as they learn a new dance once again. Lina An