Today there is a return to spirituality. More and more people are thinking about the intangible component of our lives. In the article we will talk about who the Protestants are. This is a separate branch of Christianity, or a sect, as some believe.
We will also touch upon the issue of different currents in Protestantism. Information about the position of supporters of this trend in modern Russia will be interesting. Read on and you will find out the answers to these and many other questions.
Who are Protestants
In the sixteenth century in Western Europe there was a separation of a significant part of the faithful from the Roman Catholic Church. This event in historiography is called the "Reformation". Thus, Protestants are part of Christians who do not agree with Catholic principles of worship and some issues of theology.
Next, we will look at the difference between Protestantism and directions such as Orthodoxyand Catholicism. In the meantime, it's worth delving a little into the history of this movement.
The Middle Ages in Western Europe turned out to be a period when society became totally dependent not so much on secular rulers as on the church.
Practically not a single issue was resolved without the participation of a priest, whether it was a wedding or domestic problems.
Weaving more and more into social life, the Catholic holy fathers accumulated untold we alth. The flashy luxury and double standards practiced by the monks turned society away from them. Dissatisfaction was growing due to the fact that many issues were forbidden or resolved with the forced intervention of priests.
It was in this situation that the opportunity arose for Martin Luther to be heard. This is a German theologian and priest. As a member of the Augustinian order, he constantly observed the depravity of the Catholic clergy. One day, according to him, an insight came about the true path of an orthodox Christian.
The result was the "Ninety-five Theses" that Luther nailed to the door of the church in Wittenberg in 1517, as well as a speech against the sale of indulgences.
The basis of Protestantism is the principle of "sola fide" (only with the help of faith). It says that no one in the world can help a person to be saved, except for himself. Thus, the institution of priests, the sale of indulgences, the desire for enrichment and power on the part of the ministers of the church are swept aside.
Let's further dwell on the theological differences between the three branches of Christianity.
Difference from Catholics and Orthodox
Orthodox, Catholics and Protestants belong to one religion - Christianity. However, several splits occurred in the process of historical and social development. The first was in 1054, when the Orthodox Church separated from the Roman Catholic Church. Later, in the sixteenth century, during the Reformation, a completely separate movement appeared - Protestantism.
Let's see how different the principles are in these churches. And also why former Protestants are more likely to convert to Orthodoxy.
So, as two rather ancient currents, Catholics and Orthodox consider their church to be true. Protestants have a variety of views. Some schools even deny the need to belong to any denomination.
Among Orthodox priests, it is allowed to marry once, monks are forbidden to marry. Catholics of the Latin tradition all take a vow of celibacy. Protestants are allowed to marry, they do not recognize celibacy at all.
Also, the latter do not have the institution of monasticism at all, unlike the first two directions.
For Catholics, the highest authority is the Pope, for Orthodox - the works of the Holy Fathers and the Holy Scriptures, for Protestants - only the Bible.
Besides, Protestants do not touch on the issue of "filioque", which is the cornerstone in the dispute between Catholics and Orthodox. They also do not have purgatory, and the Virgin Mary is perceived as the standard of a perfect woman.
Of the seven generally accepted sacraments, Protestants recognize only baptism andcommunion. There is no confession and the veneration of icons is not accepted.
Protestantism in Russia
Although the Russian Federation is an Orthodox country, other faiths are also widespread here. In particular, there are Catholics and Protestants, Jews and Buddhists, supporters of various spiritual movements and philosophical worldview.
According to statistics, there are about three million Protestants in Russia who attend more than ten thousand parishes. Of these communities, less than half are officially registered with the Ministry of Justice.
Pentecostals are considered the largest movement in Russian Protestantism. They and their reformed offshoot (Neo-Pentecostals) have over a million and a half followers.
However, over time, some pass into the traditional Russian faith. Protestants are told about Orthodoxy by friends, acquaintances, sometimes they read special literature. Judging by the feedback from those who “returned to the bosom” of their native church, they feel relieved, having ceased to be mistaken.
Other currents spread throughout the Russian Federation include Seventh-day Adventists, Baptists, Minnonites, Lutherans, Evangelical Christians, Methodists and many others.
Next, we will talk in more detail about the most common areas of Protestantism in Russia. We will also touch on some confessions that, by definition, are on the verge between a sect and the Protestant church.
Calvinists
The most rational Protestants are Calvinists. This directionformed in the middle of the sixteenth century in Switzerland. A young French preacher and theologian, John Calvin, decided to continue and deepen the reform ideas of Martin Luther.
He declared that not only should things be removed from churches that are contrary to Scripture, but also those things that are not even mentioned in the Bible. That is, according to Calvinism, in the house of prayer there should be only what is prescribed in the holy book.
Thus, there are some differences in teaching between Protestants and Orthodox. The first consider any gathering of people in the name of the Lord to be a church, they deny the majority of saints, Christian symbols and the Mother of God.
Besides, they believe that a person accepts faith personally and according to a sober judgment. Therefore, the rite of baptism occurs only in adulthood.
Orthodox are the exact opposite of Protestants in the above points. In addition, they hold the belief that only a specially trained person can interpret the Bible. Protestants, on the other hand, believe that everyone does this to the best of their abilities and spiritual development.
Lutherans
In fact, the Lutherans are the followers of the true aspirations of Martin Luther. It was after their performance in the city of Speyer that the movement began to be called the "Church of the Protestants."
The term "Lutherans" appeared in the sixteenth century during the controversy of Catholic theologians and priests with Luther. So they called the followers of the father of the Reformation in a pejorative manner. Lutherans call themselvesEvangelical Christians.
Thus, Catholics, Protestants, Orthodox strive to gain the salvation of the soul, but the methods are different for everyone. Differences, in principle, are based only on the interpretation of the Holy Scriptures.
With his "Ninety-five Theses" Martin Luther proved the failure of the entire institution of priests and many of the traditions that Catholics adhere to. According to him, these innovations concern more the material and secular spheres of life than the spiritual. So, they should be abandoned.
Besides, Lutheranism is based on the belief that Jesus Christ, by his death on Golgotha, atoned for all the sins of mankind, including the original. All it takes to live a happy life is to believe in this good news.
Also, Lutherans are of the opinion that any priest is the same layman, but more professional in terms of preaching. Therefore, a chalice is used to give communion to all people.
Today, more than eighty-five million people are classified as Lutherans. But they do not represent unity. There are separate associations and denominations according to historical and geographical principles.
In the Russian Federation, the most popular in this environment is the Lutheran Hour Ministry.
Baptists
It is often jokingly said that Baptists are English Protestants. But there is also a grain of truth in this statement. After all, this trend stood out precisely from the environment of the Puritans of Great Britain.
In fact, Baptism is the next stage of development (according tosome) or just an offshoot of Calvinism. The term itself comes from the ancient Greek word for baptism. It is in the title that the main idea of this direction is expressed.
Baptists believe that only such a person can be considered a true believer who, in adulthood, came to the idea of abandoning sinful deeds and sincerely accepted faith in his heart.
Many Protestants in Russia agree with similar thoughts. Despite the fact that the majority belong to the Pentecostals, which we will talk about later, some of their views are completely the same.
To summarize the fundamentals of the practice of church life, Protestant Baptists are confident in the infallibility of the authority of the Bible in all situations. They adhere to the ideas of the universal priesthood and congregation, that is, each community is independent and independent.
The Elder has no real power, he just preaches and preaches. All issues are resolved at general meetings and church councils. The service includes a sermon, hymn singing to the accompaniment of instrumental music, and impromptu prayers.
Today in Russia, Baptists, like Adventists, call themselves Evangelical Christians, and call their churches houses of prayer.
Pentecostals
The most numerous Protestants in Russia are Pentecostals. This current entered our country from Western Europe through Finland at the beginning of the twentieth century.
The first Pentecostal, or "oneness" as he was then called, was Thomas Barratt. He arrived in 1911year from Norway to St. Petersburg. Here the preacher declared himself a follower of evangelical Christians in the spirit of the apostles, and began to rebaptize everyone.
The basis of the Pentecostal faith and ritual is the baptism in the Holy Spirit. They also recognize the rite of passage with the help of water. But the experiences that a person experiences when the Spirit descends on him are considered by this Protestant movement to be the most correct. They say that the state experienced by the person being baptized is equivalent to the feelings of the apostles, who received initiation from Jesus Christ himself on the fiftieth day after his resurrection.
That's why they call their church in honor of the day of the Descent of the Holy Spirit, or the Trinity (Pentecost). Followers believe that the initiate thus receives one of the Divine gifts. He gains the word of wisdom, healing, miracles, prophecy, the ability to speak in foreign languages or discern spirits.
In the Russian Federation, today the most influential Protestant associations are considered to be three of the Pentecostals. They are members of the Assembly of God.
Mennonites
Mennoniteism is one of the most interesting offshoots of Protestantism. These Protestant Christians were the first to proclaim pacifism as part of the creed. The denomination originated in the 1630s in the Netherlands.
The founder is Menno Simons. Initially, he departed from Catholicism and adopted the principles of Anabaptism. But after a while, he significantly deepened certain features of this dogma.
So Mennonitesbelieve that the kingdom of God on earth will come only with the assistance of all people, when they establish a common true church. The Bible is the unquestioned authority, and the Trinity is the only thing that has holiness. Only adults can be baptized after they have made a firm and sincere decision.
But the most important distinguishing feature of the Mennonites is the refusal of military service, the army oath and litigation. In this way, the supporters of this trend bring to humanity the desire for peace and non-violence.
The Protestant denomination came to the Russian Empire during the reign of Catherine the Great. Then she invited part of the community to move from the B altic states to Novorossia, the Volga region and the Caucasus. This turn of events was just a gift for the Mennonites, as they were persecuted in Western Europe. Therefore, there were two waves of forced migration to the east.
Today in the Russian Federation this trend has actually united with the Baptists.
Adventists
Like any orthodox Christian, a Protestant believes in the second coming of the Messiah. It was on this event that the Adventist philosophy was originally built (from the Latin word for “coming”).
In 1831, former United States Army Captain Miller became a Baptist and later published a book on the imminent coming of Jesus Christ on March 21, 1843. But it turned out that no one showed up. Then an amendment was made for the inaccuracy of the translation, and the Messiah was expected in the spring of 1844. When the second time was not justified, there came a perioddepression among believers, which in historiography is called "The Great Disappointment".
After that, the Millerite current breaks up into a number of separate denominations. The most organized and popular are Seventh-day Adventists. They are centrally managed and strategically developed in several countries.
In the Russian Empire, this trend appeared through the Mennonites. The first communities formed on the Crimean peninsula and the Volga region.
Because of their refusal to take up arms and take an oath, they were persecuted in the Soviet Union. But in the late seventies of the twentieth century there was a restoration of the movement. And in 1990, at the first congress of Adventists, the Russian Union was adopted.
Protestants, or sectarians
Today there is no doubt that Protestants are one of the equal offshoots of Christianity, with their own doctrine, principles, basics of behavior and worship.
However, there are some churches that are very similar in organization to Protestant ones, but they, in fact, are not. The latter, for example, include Jehovah's Witnesses.
But in view of the confusion and uncertainty of their teaching, as well as the contradiction of earlier statements with later ones, this movement cannot be unambiguously attributed to any direction.
Jehovists do not accept Christ, the Trinity, the cross, icons. They consider the main and only God, who is called Jehovah, like the medieval mystics. Some of their provisions have something in common with Protestant ones. But such a coincidence is notmakes them supporters of this Christian movement.
Thus, in this article we figured out who the Protestants are, and also talked about the situation of different branches in Russia.
Good luck, dear readers!
