Baptistic Theologies, 2009

Baptists 1917- 1935. Evangelical Awakening in Russia. Part 1 (Ann Arbor: University Microfilm International, 1980), pp. 20-21; see also G. Keith Parker, Baptists in Europe: History and Confessions of Faith (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1982), p. 151. 37 Corrado, The Philosophy of Ministry of Colonel Vasiliy Pashkov, pp. 75-82. 38 Karetnikova, ‘Pashkov ee Pashkovtsi’, n.p. 35 Corrado, The Philosophy of Ministry of Colonel Vasiliy Pashkov, p. 85. 40 Such involvement of Pashkovites in various charity projects reflects their belonging to the Russian- Orthodox culture. Charity work was a necessary element of Orthodox theology. Poor people were considered as special people marked by God - whose poverty was a reflection of their personal unhappiness but not a result of unwillingness to work. Charity work in the Orthodox Church was considered as a symbol of personal contact with people marked by God. E.g. Adele Lindenmeyr, Poverty Is Not a Vice: Charity, Society, and the State in Imperial Russia (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1996), pp. 67-68. Relationships between Evangelicals and the Orthodox Church in Russia 79 In 1876 Pashkov and his followers received the consent of the Holy Synod to establish the Society for the Encouragement of Spiritual and Ethical Reading, which published and distributed spiritual literature including Bibles, books for spiritual reading translated from English and German, and writings of some Orthodox authors. One of their most popular volumes was the magazine Russian Workman edited by M. Peuker. This magazine for workers existed from 1875 until 1886; its circulation reached 3,000 per month. Russian Workman was appreciated by many Orthodox priests, but in 1886 it was prohibited and publication ceased. 41 It is clear that this movement was bringing positive results for Russian society. Moreover, it had many features which were culturally Orthodox. Crucially, Pashkov never planned to leave the Orthodox Church. The whole movement was supported by many Orthodox believers. The question that needs to be answered is - why was a good, obviously Christian movement doing much charity work, ultimately banned? There are several reasons, and as we will see, Konstantin Pobedonostsev himself was one of the major ones. However, he was not the only reason. The fate of Pashkovism, its rise and fall so to speak, was connected to the relationships between four people - Pashkov himself, Pobedonostsev, and two Tsars - Alexander II and Alexander III. Here I look at the personality of Pashkov, as this will help to find the answer. Pashkov’s social status and wealth, coupled with his love for God and Russia, gave him almost unlimited opportunities to preach the Gospel and develop different ministries. His plain sermons, full of personal experience, preached from the heart, were very attractive to people. The spirit of unity among people of different classes and denominations was appreciate