The Baptist Church in Ukraine (; ) is one of the oldest and most widespread

Evangelical Christian Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of th ...

denominations in the country. Before the fall of the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

, over half the 1.5 million acknowledged

Baptists Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...

and Pentecostals in the

USSR The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

lived in

Soviet Ukraine The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, abbreviated as the Ukrainian SSR, UkrSSR, and also known as Soviet Ukraine or just Ukraine, was one of the constituent republics of the Soviet Union from 1922 until 1991. Under the Soviet one-party m ...

. Prior to its independence in 1991,

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

was home to the second largest Baptist community in the world, after the United States, and was called the "

Bible Belt The Bible Belt is a region of the Southern United States and the Midwestern state of Missouri (which also has significant Southern influence), where evangelical Protestantism exerts a strong social and cultural influence. The region has been de ...

" of the Soviet Union.

History

The predecessors of today's Baptists, the

Anabaptists Anabaptism (from Neo-Latin , from the Greek : 're-' and 'baptism'; , earlier also )Since the middle of the 20th century, the German-speaking world no longer uses the term (translation: "Re-baptizers"), considering it biased. The term (tra ...

, came to Ukraine in the 16th century, seeking refuge from their persecution by state churches in the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...

(mostly Germany today) and other European states. They were later followed by the

German Mennonites German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ger ...

and Baptists. They sought to spread their faith to the native Ruthenian/Ukrainian population, so Slavs were invited to Anabaptist prayer meetings and Bible studies. The first Baptist

baptism Baptism (from ) is a Christians, Christian sacrament of initiation almost invariably with the use of water. It may be performed by aspersion, sprinkling or affusion, pouring water on the head, or by immersion baptism, immersing in water eit ...

(or " baptism by faith" of adult people) in Ukraine took place in 1864 on the river

Inhul The Inhul () is a left tributary of the Southern Bug (Boh) and is the 14th longest river of Ukraine. It flows through the Kirovohrad and Mykolaiv regions. It starts near the village of Rodnykivka, Oleksandriia Raion in Kirovohrad Oblast (Ce ...

in the Yelizavetgrad region (now

Kropyvnytskyi Kropyvnytskyi (, ) is a city in central Ukraine, situated on the Inhul, Inhul River. It serves as the administrative center of Kirovohrad Oblast. Population: Over its history, Kropyvnytskyi has changed its name several times. The settlement ...

region), in a German settlement. In 1867, the first Ukrainian-speaking Baptist communities were organized in that area. From there, the denomination spread to the south of Ukraine and then to other regions as well. One of the first Baptist communities was registered in

Kyiv Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

in 1907, and in 1908 the First All-

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

Convention of Baptists was held there, gathering believers from all over the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

. The All-Russian Union of Baptists was established in the town of Yekaterinoslav (now

Dnipro Dnipro is Ukraine's fourth-largest city, with about one million inhabitants. It is located in the eastern part of Ukraine, southeast of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on the Dnieper River, Dnipro River, from which it takes its name. Dnipro is t ...

). At the end of the 19th century, it was estimated that there were from 100,000 to 300,000 Baptists in Ukraine.

Persecution

During the 1920s, Evangelical Christians and Baptists were prohibited in the

Ukrainian SSR The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, abbreviated as the Ukrainian SSR, UkrSSR, and also known as Soviet Ukraine or just Ukraine, was one of the Republics of the Soviet Union, constituent republics of the Soviet Union from 1922 until 1991. ...

; they were, to some extent, revived during and after

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

in a

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

effort to weaken the cultural influence of the

Russian Orthodox Church The Russian Orthodox Church (ROC; ;), also officially known as the Moscow Patriarchate (), is an autocephaly, autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox Christian church. It has 194 dioceses inside Russia. The Primate (bishop), p ...

. In 1944, Baptists and Evangelical Christians united in the Church of Evangelical Christian Baptists (ECB). They were later joined by other smaller Baptist and Evangelical groups. At the end of the 1950s, 75% of the believers of the All-USSR Council of ECB lived in Ukraine. Baptists in Ukraine experienced a revival in the 1970s, and are now among the most active Christian denominations in the country. Under the 1996

Constitution of Ukraine The Constitution of Ukraine (, ) is the fundamental law of Ukraine. The constitution was adopted and ratified at the 5th session of the ''Verkhovna Rada'', the parliament of Ukraine, on 28 June 1996. The constitution was passed with 315 ayes o ...

, Ukrainians were given the right to free practice of religion. However, as a minority and non-traditional religion the Baptists have been subject to persecution and discrimination, including being arrested. The Government of Ukraine facilitates the building of houses of worship, and Baptists have difficulties with the local authorities in Kyiv and other large cities while attempting to obtain land and building permits.

USDOS The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of ...

br>International Religious Freedom Report 2005 - Ukraine
/ref> Baptist leaders have criticized the

Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate) The Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC), commonly referred to by the exonym Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP), is an Eastern Orthodox church in Ukraine. The Ukrainian Orthodox Church was officially formed in 1990 in pla ...

(UOC-MP) for continuing to refer publicly to Baptists with the pejorative Ukrainian word ('sectarians'), and for the activities of the group Dialogue, which Baptists and human rights groups characterized as a front for the UOC-MP promoting hostility toward non-Orthodox Christians.

Migration to North America

In the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, some Baptists (as well as other Protestant groups from Ukraine) emigrated to the United States and Canada. After the collapse of the USSR, migration and interaction with Western churches increased. At present, there are large Ukrainian Baptist communities in

Sacramento Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the seat of Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento and American Rivers in Northern California's Sacramento Valley, Sacramento's 2020 p ...

and

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

.All Ukrainian Evangelical Baptist Fellowship Leaders meet with Ukrainian World Congress President, ''Maidan News'', July 2007 Many Baptist churches in Ukraine have sister churches in the United States or Canada, with whom they cooperate in ministry and evangelism.

Organization

Baptists in Ukraine are organized and active in building churches and seminary education. It is estimated that there are more Baptists in Ukraine than in all the CIS countries (including

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

) combined. Baptists organized the first International Christian Theater Festival in

Rivne Rivne ( ; , ) is a city in western Ukraine. The city is the administrative center of Rivne Oblast (province), as well as the Rivne Raion (district) within the oblast.

, which took place in July 2007. The Baptist church in Ukraine has attracted many young people, and there are now over 20,000 young people enrolled in Baptist universities. Many of these youths are taking part in evangelism and ministry. A spokesperson for the Southern Baptist International Mission Board has said that " n Ukrainethe new generation is what God will have to use to evangelize, disciple and train leaders." The Evangelical Baptists also publish a magazine called ''The Evangelical Field'' and the newspaper ''Resurrection''. There is also a newspaper for the deaf, entitled ''Voice in the Wilderness''.

All-Ukrainian Union of Churches of Evangelical Christian Baptists

Nearly 90% of Baptists in Ukraine are united in the All-Ukrainian Union of Churches of Evangelical Christian-Baptists (AUС EСB), established in 1994 at the 22nd Convention of the ECB of Ukraine. According to a denomination census released in 2023, it claimed 2,192 churches and 105,189 members. It has 7 affiliated theological institutes. Union
Комітети
baptyst.com, Ukraine, retrieved October 22, 2022 The union is engaged in publishing activity and has an extended mass media network. The AUС EСB is governed by a council composed of senior presbyters (bishops) of regional associations headed by the president of the council. From 1990–2006 the council was headed by Hryhorii Komendant. From May 2006 it has been headed by Vyacheslav Nesteruk. The union closely cooperates with Ukrainian Baptists in the

diaspora A diaspora ( ) is a population that is scattered across regions which are separate from its geographic place of birth, place of origin. The word is used in reference to people who identify with a specific geographic location, but currently resi ...

. The AUС EСB is a member of the

European Baptist Federation The European Baptist Federation (EBF) is a federation of 59 Baptist associations and is one of six regional fellowships in the Baptist World Alliance. The headquarters is in Amsterdam, Netherlands. History The EBF was founded in Ruschlikon, Swi ...

and the

Baptist World Alliance The Baptist World Alliance (BWA) is an international communion of Baptists, with an estimated 51 million people from 266 member bodies in 134 countries and territories as of 2024. A voluntary association of Baptist churches, the BWA accounts f ...

Korean Baptists

Beginning in 1993, the Korean Baptist Church has existed in Ukraine. As a religious organization, its focus is towards the

Korean diaspora The Korean diaspora consists of around 7.3 million people, both descendants of early emigrants from the Korea, Korean Peninsula, as well as more recent emigrants from Korea. Around 84.5% of overseas Koreans live in just five countries: the Unit ...

in Ukraine. Generally the preachers are Americans of Korean descent.

References

External links

Official website of the Baptist Union
{{DEFAULTSORT:Baptists In Ukraine Baptist denominations in Europe History of Christianity in Ukraine *