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Christianity in Russia is the most widely professed religion in the country. The largest tradition is the
Russian Orthodox Church , native_name_lang = ru , image = Moscow July 2011-7a.jpg , imagewidth = , alt = , caption = Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow, Russia , abbreviation = ROC , type ...
. According to official sources, there are 170
eparchies Eparchy ( gr, ἐπαρχία, la, eparchía / ''overlordship'') is an ecclesiastical unit in Eastern Christianity, that is equivalent to a diocese in Western Christianity. Eparchy is governed by an ''eparch'', who is a bishop. Depending on the ...
of the Russian Orthodox Church, 145 of which are grouped in metropolitanates. There are from 500,000 to one million
Old Believers Old Believers or Old Ritualists, ''starovery'' or ''staroobryadtsy'' are Eastern Orthodox Christians who maintain the liturgical and ritual practices of the Russian Orthodox Church as they were before the reforms of Patriarch Nikon of Moscow b ...
, who represents an older form of Russian Orthodox Christianity, and who separated from the Orthodox Church in the 17th century as a protest against
Patriarch Nikon Nikon ( ru , Ни́кон, Old Russian: ''Нїконъ''), born Nikita Minin (''Никита Минин''; 7 May 1605 – 17 August 1681) was the seventh Patriarch of Moscow and all Rus' of the Russian Orthodox Church, serving officially fro ...
's church reforms. The
Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...
estimates that there are from 600,000 to 1.5 million Catholics in the country, exceeding government estimates of about 140,000. There is one Catholic Archdiocese, Mother of God at Moscow, with three suffragan dioceses (Saint Clement at Saratov, Saint Joseph at Irkutsk, Transfiguration at Novosibirsk) and the Apostolic Prefecture of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. According to the Slavic Center for Law and Justice,
Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...
s make up the second or third largest group of Christians in Russia, with approximately 3,500 organizations and more than 1 million followers. A large number of missionaries operating in the country are from Protestant denominations.''US State Department Religious Freedom Report on Russia, 2006'' Christianity was the religious self-identification of 47.1% of the Russian population in 2012.Arena - Atlas of Religions and Nationalities in Russia
2012 National Survey of Religions in Russia. Sreda.org
Other polls give different results: In the same year 2020 the
Levada Center The Levada Center is a Russian independent, nongovernmental polling and sociological research organization. It is named after its founder, the first Russian professor of sociology Yuri Levada (1930–2006). The center traces back its history to 1 ...
estimated that 63% of Russians were Christians; in 2020 the Public Opinion Foundation estimated that 63% of the population was Christian; in 2011 the
Pew Research Center The Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan American think tank (referring to itself as a "fact tank") based in Washington, D.C. It provides information on social issues, public opinion, and demographic trends shaping the United States and th ...
estimated that 71% of Russians were Christians; in 2011
Ipsos MORI Ipsos MORI was the name of a market research company based in London, England which is now known as Ipsos and still continues as the UK arm of the global Ipsos group. It was formed by a merger of Ipsos UK and MORI in October 2005. The company ...
estimated that 69% of Russians were Christians; and in 2021 the Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VCIOM) estimated that ~67% of Russians were Christians. The Russian "law on non-governmental organizations" that took effect in April 2007 requires
non-governmental organization A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in ...
s (NGOs), including Christian
church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * Chri ...
es, to register with state agencies, list their funding sources, and provide records of all meetings. In June 2016, Russia passed an anti-terrorism law that bans proselytizing and missionary activities. On July 8, 2016 the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) strongly condemned these measures stating, "Under the guise of confronting terrorism, they would grant authorities sweeping powers to curtail civil liberties, including setting broad restrictions on religious practices that would make it very difficult for religious groups to operate." An article in ''
The Christian Post ''The Christian Post'' is an American non-denominational, conservative, evangelical Christian online newspaper. Based in Washington, D.C., it was founded in March 2004. News topics include the Church, ministries, missions, education, Christ ...
'', discussing the ban on proselytizing stated, "Human rights and religious freedom advocates argue that the law 'doesn't do that much to defend from terrorism and only prevents Christians and others who are not Orthodox from preaching and proselytizing.'" In 2017, the USCIRF reclassified Russia as one of the world's worst violators of religious liberty, recommending that the US government deem Russia a "country of particular concern" under the International Religious Freedom Act. Since 2016, Russian Christians face increased restrictions on public and private evangelism as a result of the Yarovaya law.


Demographics

According to a 2012 survey held in Russia by Sreda Arena, 66,840,000 people in the country (47.4% of the total population) identify as Christians. This includes: * 41.1%—58,800,000 members of the
Russian Orthodox Church , native_name_lang = ru , image = Moscow July 2011-7a.jpg , imagewidth = , alt = , caption = Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow, Russia , abbreviation = ROC , type ...
; * 4.1%—5,900,000 people identifying as
Christians Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρ� ...
without belonging to any church; * 1.5%—2,100,000 people believing in
Orthodox Christianity Orthodoxy (from Greek: ) is adherence to correct or accepted creeds, especially in religion. Orthodoxy within Christianity refers to acceptance of the doctrines defined by various creeds and ecumenical councils in Antiquity, but different Chu ...
without belonging to any Orthodox church or belonging to non-Russian churches; * 0.3%—400,000
Old Believers Old Believers or Old Ritualists, ''starovery'' or ''staroobryadtsy'' are Eastern Orthodox Christians who maintain the liturgical and ritual practices of the Russian Orthodox Church as they were before the reforms of Patriarch Nikon of Moscow b ...
; * 0.2%—300,000
Protestants Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...
; * 0.1%—140,000 members of the
Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...
; * 0.1%—140,000
Pentecostals Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a Protestant Charismatic Christian movement


Russian Orthodox Church

The Russian Orthodox Church is organized in a hierarchical structure. Each church and its attendees constitute a
parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or ...
(''prikhod''). All parishes in a geographical region belong to an
eparchy Eparchy ( gr, ἐπαρχία, la, eparchía / ''overlordship'') is an ecclesiastical unit in Eastern Christianity, that is equivalent to a diocese in Western Christianity. Eparchy is governed by an ''eparch'', who is a bishop. Depending on the ...
(''eparkhiya''—equivalent to a Western
diocese In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associ ...
). Eparchies are governed by
bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ...
s (''episkope'' or ''archierey''). There are around 130 Russian Orthodox eparchies worldwide. As of February 2, 2010, the Russian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate) has 160 dioceses including 30,142 parishes served by 207 bishops, 28,434 priests and 3,625 deacons. There are 788 monasteries, including 386 for men and 402 for women. Some eparchies are organized into
exarchate An exarchate is any territorial jurisdiction, either secular or ecclesiastical, whose ruler is called an exarch. The term originates from the Greek word ''arkhos'', meaning a leader, ruler, or chief. Byzantine Emperor Justinian I created the fir ...
s, or autonomous churches. These include the Belarusian, Latvian, Moldovan and Estonian Orthodox churches. The Chinese and
Japanese Orthodox Church The is an autonomous Eastern Orthodox church within the jurisdiction of the Moscow Patriarchate. History Early Orthodox Christianity The first purpose-built Orthodox Christian church to open in Japan was the wooden Russian Consulate chapel of t ...
es were granted full autonomy by the Moscow Patriarchate, but this autonomy is not universally recognized. Smaller eparchies are usually governed by a single bishop. Larger eparchies, exarchates, and autonomous churches are governed by
Metropolitan archbishop Metropolitan may refer to: * Metropolitan area, a region consisting of a densely populated urban core and its less-populated surrounding territories * Metropolitan borough, a form of local government district in England * Metropolitan county, a typ ...
s and sometimes have one or more bishops assigned to them. The highest level of authority in the Church is represented by the
Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia The Patriarch of Moscow and all Rus' (russian: Патриарх Московский и всея Руси, translit=Patriarkh Moskovskij i vseja Rusi), also known as the Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia, is the official title of the Bishop of Mo ...
, head of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church. The Holy Synod is the governing body of the Church between the Bishops' Councils. According to Saint Tikhon's Orthodox University and other researchers, up to several hundred thousands of Orthodox believers were repressed for their faith in the Soviet period.


Old Believers

Old Believers are Russian Orthodox Christians who maintain the liturgical and ritual practices of the Eastern Orthodox Church as they were before the reforms of
Patriarch Nikon of Moscow Nikon ( ru , Ни́кон, Old Russian: ''Нїконъ''), born Nikita Minin (''Никита Минин''; 7 May 1605 – 17 August 1681) was the seventh Patriarch of Moscow and all Rus' of the Russian Orthodox Church, serving officially from ...
. They split from the mainstream Russian Orthodox Church in the 17th century. In 1971, the
Moscow Patriarchate , native_name_lang = ru , image = Moscow July 2011-7a.jpg , imagewidth = , alt = , caption = Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow, Russia , abbreviation = ROC , type ...
revoked the anathemas placed on the Old Believers in the 17th century, but most Old Believer communities have not returned to Communion with other Orthodox Christians. As of 2006, the total number of Old Believers is estimated from 500,000 to 1 million, some living in isolated communities to which they fled centuries ago to avoid persecution. An Old Believer parish in the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
has entered into communion with the
Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia The Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia (russian: Ру́сская Правосла́вная Це́рковь Заграни́цей, lit=Russian Orthodox Church Abroad, translit=Russkaya Pravoslavnaya Tserkov' Zagranitsey), also called Ru ...
. Old-Believer churches in Russia have begun the restoration of their property, although Old Believers face many difficulties in claiming
restitution The law of restitution is the law of gains-based recovery, in which a court orders the defendant to ''give up'' their gains to the claimant. It should be contrasted with the law of compensation, the law of loss-based recovery, in which a court ...
rights for their churches.
Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
has churches for the most important Old Believer branches:
Rogozhskaya Zastava Rogozhskoe cemetery ( rus, Рогожское кладбище, p=rɐˈɡoʂskəjɪ ˈkladbʲɪɕːɪ) in Moscow, Russia, is the spiritual and administrative center of the largest Old Believers denomination, called the Russian Orthodox Old-Rite Ch ...
(
Popovtsy The Popovtsy ( rus, поповцы, p=pɐˈpoft͡sɨ, "priested ones") or Popovschina (russian: поповщина) were from the 17th century one of the two main factions of Old Believers, along with the Bezpopovtsy ("priestless ones"). Historic ...
of the
Belokrinitskaya hierarchy {{Unreferenced, date=November 2021 Belokrinitskaya Hierarchy (russian: Белокриницкая иерархия) is the first full and stable church hierarchy created by the Old Believers. The Orthodox Old-Rite Church (in earlier times called ...
official center), a cathedral for the Novozybkovskaya hierarchy in Zamoskvorech'ye and Preobrazhenskaya Zastava where
Pomortsy The Pomorian Old Orthodox Church ( rus, Древлеправославная поморская церковь, Drevlepravoslavnaya pomorskaya tserkov), also known as the Pomorian Church, Danilovtsy, Danilov's confession, or simply as Pomorians, i ...
and Fedoseevtsy coexist.


Oriental Orthodoxy

Long historical ties with
Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''O ...
have resulted in a significant presence of
Armenian diaspora The Armenian diaspora refers to the communities of Armenians outside Armenia and other locations where Armenians are considered an indigenous population. Since antiquity, Armenians have established communities in many regions throughout the world. ...
in Russia. Most of ethnic
Armenians in Russia Armenians in Russia or Russian Armenians are one of the country's largest ethnic minorities and the largest Armenian diaspora community outside Armenia. The 2010 Russian census recorded 1,182,388 Armenians in the country. Various figures estimate ...
are adherents of the
Armenian Apostolic Church , native_name_lang = hy , icon = Armenian Apostolic Church logo.svg , icon_width = 100px , icon_alt = , image = Էջմիածնի_Մայր_Տաճար.jpg , imagewidth = 250px , a ...
, one of the main churches of the
Oriental Orthodoxy The Oriental Orthodox Churches are Eastern Christian churches adhering to Miaphysite Christology, with approximately 60 million members worldwide. The Oriental Orthodox Churches are part of the Nicene Christian tradition, and represent ...
, distinctive from
Eastern Orthodoxy Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism. Like the Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or " canonic ...
in terms of miaphysite christology. In spite of some theological differences, relations between Armenian Apostolic Church and the Russian Orthodox Church are very good. There are Armenian eparchies (dioceses), and many churches on the territory of Russia (see:
List of Armenian churches in Russia The following is a list of Armenian Apostolic churches in Russia. Southern Federal District Adygea * Saint John Church (Surb Hovhannes), Maykop Astrakhan Oblast * Saint Hripsime Church, Astrakhan Volgograd Oblast * Saint Gevorg Church, ...
).


Catholic Church

As of 2008, the
Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...
in Russia had one Archdiocese of Mother of God at Moscow (headed by Archbishop Pavel Pezzi), three dioceses (Saint Clement at
Saratov Saratov (, ; rus, Сара́тов, a=Ru-Saratov.ogg, p=sɐˈratəf) is the largest city and administrative center of Saratov Oblast, Russia, and a major port on the Volga River upstream (north) of Volgograd. Saratov had a population of 901, ...
, Saint Joseph at
Irkutsk Irkutsk ( ; rus, Иркутск, p=ɪrˈkutsk; Buryat and mn, Эрхүү, ''Erhüü'', ) is the largest city and administrative center of Irkutsk Oblast, Russia. With a population of 617,473 as of the 2010 Census, Irkutsk is the 25th-larges ...
, Transfiguration at
Novosibirsk Novosibirsk (, also ; rus, Новосиби́рск, p=nəvəsʲɪˈbʲirsk, a=ru-Новосибирск.ogg) is the largest city and administrative centre of Novosibirsk Oblast and Siberian Federal District in Russia. As of the 2021 Censu ...
), one
Apostolic Exarchate An exarch (; from Ancient Greek ἔξαρχος ''exarchos'', meaning “leader”) was the holder of any of various historical offices, some of them being political or military and others being ecclesiastical. In the late Roman Empire and e ...
and one
Apostolic Prefecture An apostolic prefect or prefect apostolic is a priest who heads what is known as an apostolic prefecture, a 'pre-diocesan' missionary jurisdiction where the Catholic Church is not yet sufficiently developed to have it made a diocese. Although it ...
in Yuzhno Sakhalinsk. The Catholic Archbishop of Moscow has voiced his support for religious education in state sponsored schools, citing the examples of other countries. Relations with the Russian Orthodox church have been difficult for nearly a millennium, and attempts at re-establishing Catholicism have met with opposition.
Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...
expressed a desire to visit Russia, but the Russian Orthodox Church resisted. In April 2002, Bishop Jerry Mazur of Eastern Siberia was stripped of his visa, forcing the appointment of a new bishop for that diocese. In 2002, five foreign Catholic priests were denied visas to return to Russia, construction of a new cathedral was blocked in
Pskov Pskov ( rus, Псков, a=pskov-ru.ogg, p=pskof; see also names in other languages) is a city in northwestern Russia and the administrative center of Pskov Oblast, located about east of the Estonian border, on the Velikaya River. Population ...
, and a church in southern Russia was shot at. On December 25, 2005, Russian Orthodox activists planned to picket outside of Moscow's Catholic Cathedral, but the picket was cancelled. Despite easing of relations with the election of
Pope Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the sovereig ...
, there remain issues such as the readiness of the police to protect Catholics and other minorities from persecution. One thousand Russian Catholics gathered in the Virgin Mary's Immaculate Conception Cathedral in Moscow to watch the funeral of
Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...
in 2005. He had previously given an 18th-century copy of the famous
Our Lady of Kazan ''Our Lady of Kazan'', also called ''Mother-of-God of Kazan'' (russian: Казанская Богоматерь, translit=Kazanskaya Bogomater'), is a holy icon of the highest stature within the Russian Orthodox Church, representing the Virgin Ma ...
icon to the Russian Orthodox Church.


Russian Byzantine-Catholic Church

There are also
Byzantine Rite The Byzantine Rite, also known as the Greek Rite or the Rite of Constantinople, identifies the wide range of cultural, liturgical, and canonical practices that developed in the Eastern Christian Church of Constantinople. The canonical hours a ...
Catholic Church communes in Russia (in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Omsk and Nizhnevartovsk), which are in full communion with, and subject to, the authority of the Pope as defined by Eastern canon law. That tradition is closely connected with the ideas of philosopher and poet Vladimir Sergeyevich Solovyov.


Protestants

Baptists Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul com ...
,
Evangelical Christian Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being " born again", in which an individual expe ...
s,
Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched ...
s,
Pentecostal Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a Protestantism, Protestant Charismatic Christianity, Charismatic Christian movementAdventist Adventism is a branch of Protestant Christianity that believes in the imminent Second Coming (or the "Second Advent") of Jesus Christ. It originated in the 1830s in the United States during the Second Great Awakening when Baptist preacher W ...
s,
Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's ...
s,
Quaker Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belief in each human's abili ...
s and many other Protestant denominations are present in Russia, and some observers believe Russia will experience a Protestant revival in the future. There is particular growth among the Korean and German minorities.
Baptists Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul com ...
have been historically the largest Protestant group in Russia. Some Protestants, especially at the provincial level, report government restrictions and obstruction of their activities by local authorities. In April 2007, the
European Court of Human Rights The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR or ECtHR), also known as the Strasbourg Court, is an international court of the Council of Europe which interprets the European Convention on Human Rights. The court hears applications alleging that ...
obliged Russia to pay €10,000 as non-pecuniary damages for the refusal to register the Moscow branch of the
Salvation Army Salvation (from Latin: ''salvatio'', from ''salva'', 'safe, saved') is the state of being saved or protected from harm or a dire situation. In religion and theology, ''salvation'' generally refers to the deliverance of the soul from sin and its ...
. One
Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only ( believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul c ...
missionary and the minister said, "every religion outside Russian Orthodoxy is considered a cult, including Protestantism." According to Evangelical Christians Baptists who conducted a bicycle
missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Tho ...
expedition in July – August 2007, they faced serious obstacles and suspicious attitude from local authorities in several regions of Russia. Their services were banned several times in public parks. According to Yuri Sipko, president of the
Union of Evangelical Christians-Baptists of Russia The Russian Union of Evangelical Christians-Baptists, RUECB (russian: Росси́йский сою́з ева́нгельских христиа́н-бапти́стов, РСЕХБ) is a Baptist Christian denomination in Russia. It is affiliate ...
, the goal of the tour was to, "fight their way through on foot or on bicycles to reach even the most remote village and the most despairing person in order to convert them." These words are what caused most hostility towards Protestants.


Restorationism

Certain Christian denominations consider themselves to have restored primitive Christianity and do not consider themselves part of Protestantism. Some Orthodox scholars view these denominations as 'totalitarian sects'. The largest of these denominations are
Jehovah's Witnesses Jehovah's Witnesses is a millenarian restorationist Christian denomination with nontrinitarian beliefs distinct from mainstream Christianity. The group reports a worldwide membership of approximately 8.7 million adherents involved in ...
and
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian church that considers itself to be the Restorationism, restoration of the ...
.


Jehovah's Witnesses

''Zion's Watch Tower'' (now called ''
The Watchtower ''The Watchtower Announcing Jehovah's Kingdom'' is an illustrated religious magazine, published by the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania. Jehovah's Witnesses distribute ''The Watchtower—Public Edition'', along with its compa ...
'', the primary journal of the Watch Tower Society) had subscribers in Russia as early as 1887. In 1935, the Watch Tower Society unsuccessfully attempted to establish a branch office in the
Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...
to support members already there. By 1939, thousands of Jehovah's Witnesses were residing in the
Baltic states The Baltic states, et, Balti riigid or the Baltic countries is a geopolitical term, which currently is used to group three countries: Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. All three countries are members of NATO, the European Union, the Eurozone ...
when the Soviet Union absorbed those formerly independent countries. In the 1940s, the Soviet government forcibly dispersed thousands of Witnesses, in a program named
Operation North Operation North (russian: Операция "Север") was the code name which was assigned by the USSR Ministry of State Security to the massive deportation of Jehovah's Witnesses and their families to Siberia in the Soviet Union on 1 and 8 A ...
, later described by Dr. N. S. Gordienko, a professor at
Herzen University Herzen University, or formally the Russian State Pedagogical University in the name of A. I. Herzen (russian: Российский государственный педагогический университет имени А. И. Герце� ...
as having "just the opposite of what was expected; they wanted to weaken the organization of Jehovah's Witnesses in the USSR, but in fact, they only strengthened it". In the 1950s and 1960s, Jehovah's Witnesses were tracked, infiltrated, harassed, and persecuted by the Soviet government. By 1971, there were more than 4,500 Witnesses in the Soviet Union. When the denomination was formally recognized in March 1991, the organization reported 15,987 members in Russia. Beginning in 1993, Witness missionaries from Germany were assigned to Russia to support the local members. By 2014, Jehovah's Witnesses reported over 170,000 members in Russia. On March 23, 2017, the Russian News Agency TASS reported that Russia's Justice Ministry had suspended the activities of the Administrative Center of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia due to extremist activities. On April 4, 2017 UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Opinion and Expression David Kaye, UN Special Rapporteur on Freedoms of Peaceful Assembly and Association Maina Kiai, and UN Special Rapporteur on
Freedom of Religion Freedom of religion or religious liberty is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or community, in public or private, to manifest religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship, and observance. It also includes the freedo ...
and Belief Ahmed Shaheed condemned Russia's desire to ban Jehovah's Witnesses. However, on April 20, 2017, the
Supreme Court of Russia The Supreme Court of the Russian Federation (russian: links=no, Верховный суд Российской Федерации, Verkhovny sud Rossiyskoy Federatsii) is a court within the judiciary of Russia and the court of last resort in ...
issued a verdict upholding the claim from the country's Justice Ministry that Jehovah's Witnesses' activity violated laws on "extremism". The ruling liquidates the group's Russian headquarters in St. Petersburg and all of its 395 local religious organizations, ordering their property to be seized by the state. According to
Forum 18 Forum 18 is a Norwegian human rights organization that promotes religious freedom. The organization's name is based on Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Forum 18 summarizes the article as: *The right to believe, to worship a ...
, this is the first time that a court has ruled that a registered national centralized religious organization is "extremist" and banned. Various countries and international organizations have spoken out against Russia's religious abuses of Jehovah's Witnesses. An article in Newsweek stated, "Russia's decision to ban Jehovah's Witnesses in the country shows the 'paranoia' of Vladimir Putin's government, according to the chair of the
United States Commission on International Religious Freedom The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) is a U.S. federal government commission created by the International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA) of 1998. USCIRF Commissioners are appointed by the President and the lead ...
(USCIRF)." The
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM) is the United States' official memorial to the Holocaust. Adjacent to the National Mall in Washington, D.C., the USHMM provides for the documentation, study, and interpretation of Holocaust h ...
also expressed deep concern over Russia's treatment of Jehovah's Witnesses.


"Russian Mormons"

In 1855 in the
Novouzensk Novouzensk ( rus, Новоузе́нск, p=nəvəʊˈzʲɛnsk) is a town and the administrative center of Novouzensky District of Saratov Oblast, Russia, located on the left bank of the Bolshoy Uzen River at its confluence with the Chertanly Ri ...
region, Ivan Grigorev Kanygin founded religious communities involving untraditional marriage and communal practices based on their interpretations of the
New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Chris ...
. Although they called themselves Communists or Methodists (due to a claimed association with
Methodism Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...
), an Orthodox
priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in partic ...
named Khrisanf Rozhdestvenskiy labeled them "Mormons" in 1869 after the contemporaneous American movement, and the term was thereafter applied pejoratively to such adherents. In the 1870s, a separate community developed near the
Volga The Volga (; russian: Во́лга, a=Ru-Волга.ogg, p=ˈvoɫɡə) is the longest river in Europe. Situated in Russia, it flows through Central Russia to Southern Russia and into the Caspian Sea. The Volga has a length of , and a catch ...
city of
Samara Samara ( rus, Сама́ра, p=sɐˈmarə), known from 1935 to 1991 as Kuybyshev (; ), is the largest city and administrative centre of Samara Oblast. The city is located at the confluence of the Volga and the Samara rivers, with a population ...
whose members avoided alcohol, tobacco and swearing, cooperated in commercial enterprises, and were governed by "
apostle An apostle (), in its literal sense, is an emissary, from Ancient Greek ἀπόστολος (''apóstolos''), literally "one who is sent off", from the verb ἀποστέλλειν (''apostéllein''), "to send off". The purpose of such sending ...
s" and "
prophet In religion, a prophet or prophetess is an individual who is regarded as being in contact with a divine being and is said to speak on behalf of that being, serving as an intermediary with humanity by delivering messages or teachings from the ...
s". Adherents refused to discuss their theological beliefs with outsiders, and their beliefs were mistakenly identified with
Mormonism Mormonism is the religious tradition and theology of the Latter Day Saint movement of Restorationist Christianity started by Joseph Smith in Western New York in the 1820s and 1830s. As a label, Mormonism has been applied to various aspects o ...
. The "Samara Mormons" came to tolerate the name into the 20th century, though they were not aware of the actual
Latter Day Saint movement The Latter Day Saint movement (also called the LDS movement, LDS restorationist movement, or Smith–Rigdon movement) is the collection of independent church groups that trace their origins to a Christian Restorationist movement founded by Jo ...
.


Latter-day Saints

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian church that considers itself to be the Restorationism, restoration of the ...
had primitive beginnings in the
Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War ...
.
Joseph Smith Joseph Smith Jr. (December 23, 1805June 27, 1844) was an American religious leader and founder of Mormonism and the Latter Day Saint movement. When he was 24, Smith published the Book of Mormon. By the time of his death, 14 years later, h ...
called George J. Adams and
Orson Hyde Orson Hyde (January 8, 1805 – November 28, 1878) was a leader in the early Latter Day Saint movement and a member of the first Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. He was the President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus ...
as missionaries to Russia in 1843, 13 years after the Church's creation. However, the death of Smith occurred, and Adams and Hyde never traveled to Russia. The first Russian converts were baptized in the nation in 1895. They were then imprisoned after the
October Revolution The October Revolution,. officially known as the Great October Socialist Revolution. in the Soviet Union, also known as the Bolshevik Revolution, was a revolution in Russia led by the Bolshevik Party of Vladimir Lenin that was a key mom ...
in 1918. The Church had some contact with the
Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...
, such as Ezra Taft Benson visiting Moscow in 1959 and
Yuri Dubinin Yuri Vladimirovich Dubinin (russian: Юрий Владимирович Дубинин, 7 October 1930 – 20 December 2013) was a Soviet and Russian diplomat. Biography Dubinin was born in Nalchik, the capital of the Kabardino-Balkarian Aut ...
visiting
Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to its ...
and the
Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-d ...
campus in April 1990. The
Book of Mormon The Book of Mormon is a religious text of the Latter Day Saint movement, which, according to Latter Day Saint theology, contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on the American continent from 600 BC to AD 421 and during an interlude ...
was translated into Russian and published in 1981. The Church was able to reestablish its presence in Russia in 1990, and the Russian government officially recognized the Church in May 1991. Membership grew in the 1990s and early 2000s,Friedlander, Emma
"Russian Mormons Search for Identity and Acceptance in an American Church"
''
The Moscow Times ''The Moscow Times'' is an independent English-language and Russian-language online newspaper. It was in print in Russia from 1992 until 2017 and was distributed free of charge at places frequented by English-speaking tourists and expatriates s ...
'', 26 February 2019. Retrieved on 3 April 2020.
and by 2009, the Church reported membership of 19,946 in 129 congregations in Russia. According to the Church's website, no membership statistics are currently available. The Church's proselyting efforts were impacted by the 2019 Yarovaya law; missionaries are now referred to as "volunteers" and cannot speak openly about the Church outside of official Church sites. In 2018,
Russell M. Nelson Russell Marion Nelson Sr. (born September 9, 1924) is an American religious leader and retired surgeon who is the 17th and current president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). Nelson was a member of the LDS Church ...
announced at the April General Conference of the Church that a
temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...
would be constructed in a major city in Russia.


Bible translation

Translation of the Bible into Russian began in the 16th and 17th centuries. However, the works (by deacon of Posolsky Prikaz Avraamiy Firsov, pastor E. Gluk, and archbishop Methodiy (Smirnov)) were lost during political turbulence and wars.


Russian Bible Society

Full-scale translation of the Bible into Russian began in 1813, with the establishment of the Russian Bible Society. The complete Bible comprising the
Old Testament The Old Testament (often abbreviated OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew writings by the Israelites. The ...
and
New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Chris ...
was published in 1876. This work, called the
Russian Synodal Bible The Russian Synodal Bible (russian: Синодальный перевод, The Synodal Translation) is a Russian non-Church Slavonic translation of the Bible commonly used by the Russian Orthodox Church, Roman Catholic, as well as Russian Bapti ...
, is widely used by Protestant communities in Russia and former Soviet countries. From 1813 until 1826, the Russian Bible Society distributed more than 500,000 Bible-related books in 41 languages. During the 19th and 20th centuries, activities of the Society were stopped by reactionary policies of the Russian government, but were restored in 1990–1991 when Soviet regime restrictions eased. The opening ceremony of the Russian Bible Society in Moscow was visited by representatives of Orthodox,
Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
and Protestant churches, who combined their Bible translation and distribution efforts. The Russian Bible Society produces over 1,000,000 Bible-related books per year. The Society also translates the Bible into the languages and dialects of various ethnic groups throughout Russia.


Makarios Bible

Mikhail Iakovlevich Glukharev, known as
Archimandrite The title archimandrite ( gr, ἀρχιμανδρίτης, archimandritēs), used in Eastern Christianity, originally referred to a superior abbot (''hegumenos'', gr, ἡγούμενος, present participle of the verb meaning "to lead") whom ...
Makarios, was a Russian Orthodox missionary who translated most of the
Old Testament The Old Testament (often abbreviated OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew writings by the Israelites. The ...
between 1839 and 1847, while a contemporary associate named Gerasim Petrovich Pavsky translated
Psalms The Book of Psalms ( or ; he, תְּהִלִּים, , lit. "praises"), also known as the Psalms, or the Psalter, is the first book of the ("Writings"), the third section of the Tanakh, and a book of the Old Testament. The title is derived ...
. Makarios was unable to publish his translation, but a journal called ''Orthodox Review'' acquired and published the ''Makarios Bible'' in installments between 1860 and 1867, under the title ''An Experiment of Translation Into the Russian Language''. The magazines were rediscovered in 1993 in the rare-books section of the Russian National Library, which gave permission for the works to be published. In January 1997, the Watch Tower Society arranged for publication and distribution of the translation throughout Russia.


New World Translation

In 2002, the Watch Tower Society released the ''Holy Bible (with New World Translation of the Christian Greek Scriptures)'' in Russian. The complete ''
New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures The New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures (NWT) is a translation of the Bible published by the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society; it is used and distributed by Jehovah's Witnesses. The New Testament portion was released first, in 1950, ...
'' in Russian was released in 2007."Russia", ''2008 Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses'', ©2007 Watch Tower, page 237


See also

*
Russian Orthodox Church , native_name_lang = ru , image = Moscow July 2011-7a.jpg , imagewidth = , alt = , caption = Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow, Russia , abbreviation = ROC , type ...
*
Catholic Church in Russia , native_name_lang = , image = File:Moscow,_Catholic_Church_in_Presnya.jpg , imagewidth = 250px , alt = , caption = Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception , abbreviation = , type = ...
*
Protestants in Russia Protestants in Russia constitute 1–2% (i.e. 1.5 million – 3 million adherents) of the overall population of the country. Additionally there are around 15.000-20.000 Dukhobors and 40.000 Molokans in Russia, who have similarities to Protestan ...
*
Russian Synodal Bible The Russian Synodal Bible (russian: Синодальный перевод, The Synodal Translation) is a Russian non-Church Slavonic translation of the Bible commonly used by the Russian Orthodox Church, Roman Catholic, as well as Russian Bapti ...


References


External links


Department for External Church Relations of the Russian Orthodox Church official website
* Shubin, Daniel H. ''History of Russian Christianity'', in 4 volumes: ; ; ; . {{Christianity in Europe Religion in Russia ru:Религия в России#Христианство в России