Baptistic Theologies, 2009

g German settlers was tolerated by their dominant churches, the converted Russians were sharply rejected by the Russian Orthodox Church. When their informal meetings became structured after the Baptist pattern and they became well organised congregations, a confessional perspective was opened for the persecuted believers but it took time until the main parts of the revival developed a common Baptist identity in its Russian shape. The beginnings of revival in Russia did not necessarily lead to believer’s baptism. For a long time, there were parallel streams where other bodies have been at work. Presbyterian influence and especially the contribution of the Evangelical Alliance ideas are a good example of this. Pastor Johannes Dyck, Germany. Ivan Kargel and the Fulfilment of Revival 23 3 Ivan Kargel and the Fulfilment of Revival: The fullness of salvation which leads to sanctification Gregory Nichols Revivalism in St. Petersburg, Pashkov One of the most significant individuals to bring revivalistic ideals from Britain to St Petersburg was a member of the Brethren and the Evangelical Alliance. 1 2 3 Granville Augustus William Waldegrave, otherwise known as Lord Radstock, arrived in St. Petersburg in the spring of 1874 after receiving an invitation from several Russian noble families whom he had met in Paris the previous year. Radstock moved his meetings to the salons or drawing rooms of his friends among the Russian nobility. These luxurious residences gave stimulus to his activity. Within a short period of time these meetings were attended by an ‘enormous mass of listeners’. Most of these listeners were Russian aristocrats, many of whom opened their residences to the British evangelist for the meetings. Several wealthy and influential figures became devout evangelicals, including Count Aleksei P. Bobrinskii (Russian Minister of Transportation), Count Modest M. Korff and Colonel Vasilii A. Pashkov. The immediate success to Lord Radstock’s ministry in Russia may be attributed to the fact that he was exclusively centred in scripture and had no hidden political or ecclesiological agendas. He was attempting to bring revival amongst the church goers and not to start a church. In 1878, Radstock was banished from Russia. Vasilii Pashkov, with his vast wealth, continued the revivalistic work. He organised revival meetings, opened soup kitchens, provided scholarships for needy students, and used his influence to protect the evangelical group. During this time, Ivan Kargel (Ivan Venyaminovich or Johann G.) was serving as pastor to the German Baptist congregation in St. Petersburg. This congregation had grown to thirty-four members in 1876 and, during 1 John W. Ewing, Goodly Fellowship, a Centenary Tribute to the Life and Work of the World’s Evangelical Alliance (London: Marshall, Morgan, and Scott, 1946) p. 140. 2 Robert Sloan Latimer, Under Three Tsars: Liberty of Conscience in Russia (New York: