Unity of the Brethren Baptists in the Czech Republic (), is a

Baptist 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 ...

Christian denomination A Christian denomination is a distinct Religion, religious body within Christianity that comprises all Church (congregation), church congregations of the same kind, identifiable by traits such as a name, particular history, organization, leadersh ...

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

. It is affiliated with 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 ...

. The headquarters is in

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

History

Baptist work in the territory of the present Czech Republic began in the 1850s. The area was part of Austria-Hungary until the end of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, and was known as

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

from 1918 until 1992. In 1858 Magnus Knappe, a German minister, began to travel regularly to the Broumov area and preach to the German-speaking people there. The first Czech Baptist congregation was established on March 15, 1884 in the village of Hledsebe in Central Bohemia. This body called itself the ''Congregation of Christians Baptized in Faith''. This work moved to Prague and continued to grow, and other works were established. Meeting in Vavrišovo in 1919, 15 Baptist congregations formed an association with the name ''The Chelčicky Unity of the Brethren''. Later the name ''The Chelčicky Unity of the Brethren Baptists'' replaced the original, and in the early 1950s it was changed to ''The Unity of the Brethren Baptists''. Though in the 1960s two regional groups (Bohemian-Moravian and Slovak) were formed, the Unity included all Baptists in the territory of Czechoslovakia until 1993. After Czechoslovakia was split into two republics on January 1, 1993, the ''Unity of the Brethren Baptists'' was divided on January 1, 1994, forming the ''Unity of the Brethren Baptists in the Czech Republic'' and the ''Unity of the Brethren Baptists in the Slovak Republic''. These two bodies maintain fellowship, use the same hymn book, and publish a common magazine, the ''Rozsievač'' (meaning ''The Sower''). In 2019, some churches left the union for theological reasons and founded the '' Fellowship of Baptist Churches''. According to a census published by the association in 2023, it claimed 2,298 members and 43 churches.Baptist World Alliance
Members
baptistworld.org, USA, retrieved May 5, 2023

Beliefs

The ''Unity of the Brethren Baptists'' is a member of the European Baptist Federation, the

, and the ''Ecumenical Council of Churches in the Czech Republic''. The ''Unity of the Brethren Baptists'' is a Trinitarian body, holding a belief in one God - the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. The highest example, criteria and authority is

Jesus Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

. The Scriptures of the Old and the New Testaments are held to be the word of God - God's revelation of Jesus Christ. Salvation comes to persons who exercise faith in Jesus Christ as their Savior, which is prerequisite to becoming church members.

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 ...

of believers is performed by immersion in water. Since each person is believed to be responsible to God, the ''Unity of the Brethren Baptists'' practice and defend liberty of conscience of everyone. Local congregations should be independent and autonomous, but not isolated from other Baptist congregations.

Governance

The highest body in the ''Unity of the Brethren Baptists'' is a "convention of delegates", which generally holds sessions once a year. The Convention elects a five-member executive committee for a four-year term, which functions in matters of administration.

Schools

The college or Bible school in Olomouc (founded 1992) offers a three-year study, focusing on theological activities. Those who are interested in specific theological degrees often study at the ''Evangelic Theological Seminary'' in Prague.

References

External links

Unity of the Brethren Baptists
- official Web Site
NOTABENE - Hyde Park of Czech Baptists
- internet information server of Czech baptists {{Authority control Protestantism in the Czech Republic Christian organizations established in 1993 Baptist denominations in Europe Baptist denominations established in the 20th century