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Christomol

St. Petersburg youth group of evangelical Christians, 1907. Fourth left in the second row - I. S. Prokhanov

Hristomol is the common name for the youth movements of Protestant Christians in the USSR in the 1920s (short for Christian mall clothes). The term was also used in a narrower sense to refer to the youth movement of evangelical Christians (prokhanovtsy) , along with similar abbreviations as bapsomol (Baptist youth clothing store) and sober moth (youth movement of evangelical Christian teetotalers).

The religious education of the younger generation is one of the important components of the Christian ministry of Russian evangelical Protestants. Therefore, at different times in different churches "spontaneously" or with the approval of the leadership, various kinds of youth "circles", "ministries", "groups" arose [1] . In the years 1900-1920, centralized evangelical youth organizations began to be created on their basis. Similar movements took place in various Protestant denominations, the most numerous of which were movements among Baptists and evangelical Christians [2] .

Although evangelical Christians and Baptists had separate centralized youth organizations (the Union of Christian Youth and the All-Russian Union of Christian Youth Circles under the communities of evangelical Christians Baptists), their ideological opponents, the Bolsheviks, as well as some historians, actually spoke of the Christianity as one movement [1] .

During the heyday of the Protestant youth movement (after the October Revolution), the number of young people under the age of 30 was 20-30% of the total number of churches [3] . In the 1920s, the Christian youth movement became a noticeable phenomenon in the social and religious life of the USSR, representing serious (in the opinion of a number of party leaders and historians) rivalry to the Komsomol , which entailed repressive measures on the part of the Soviet government . Repressions intensified in the late 1920s amid a general tightening of the state’s religious policy . By the beginning of the 1930s, during the period of targeted Stalinist persecution of Protestants , the evangelical youth movement was virtually defeated, and leaders partially emigrated, partially repressed.

Content

  • 1 Context
    • 1.1 Creation of interfaith youth unions
    • 1.2 Relieving persecution and church building
  • 2 Creating youth unions
    • 2.1 Gospel Christians
    • 2.2 Baptists
  • 3 Youth press
  • 4 Motion Description
  • 5 scale
  • 6 Persecution by the Soviet government
  • 7 notes
  • 8 Literature

Context

The Creation of Interfaith Youth Unions

Confessional Protestant youth unions were preceded by attempts to create interfaith organizations. In 1899, after visiting Finland (which at that time was part of the Russian Empire), the Secretary General of the World Christian Student Union John Mott and his meetings with P. N. Nikolai arose the Russian student Christian movement [4] .

In 1900, the Russian YMCA was founded in St. Petersburg . Its members and patrons were, including: Scriabin , Rachmaninov , Stravinsky , Anna Pavlova , Bunin . At the beginning of the 20th century, the IMCA organized hobby groups for the study of the humanities and the exact sciences, sports sections, during the First World War - courses for the care of the wounded, assistance to refugees and Russian prisoners of war.

Relieving Harassment and Church Building

In 1905-1906, the state’s policy regarding the Gospel Protestants was substantially softened: in April 1905, the Tsar’s Decree on the principles of religious tolerance was issued, and in October the Manifesto on Freedom of Conscience, Speech, Assembly, and Union was published. Having received a respite between the waves of persecution (as it turns out later, the respite lasted only a few years), the Russian Protestants took up church building, organizing faith-based structures, publishing religious media and creating schools of preachers.

In 1904-1908, one of the leaders of the evangelical Christian movement, Ivan Prokhanov, together with a group of like-minded people, attempted to create a Russian Gospel Union that would unite believers of different faiths, “professing the basic gospel dogma” (similar to the World Evangelical Alliance ). Although formally the Russian Gospel Union was able to establish, it was not viable, uniting only a few dozen believers. One of the main reasons for this was the position of some Baptist leaders who pointed to the dogmatic vagueness of the Union [5] and the inevitable contradictions in the creation of an interfaith organization [6] .

Then Prokhanov began work on the creation of the All-Russian Union of Evangelical Christians - a confessional organization of evangelical Christians (Pashkovites) , which united not at the level of individual believers, but at the level of local churches and groups. In September 1909-1911, the confessional All-Russian Union of Evangelical Christians was established.

Creating Youth Unions

Evangelical Christians

Along with the work of organizing the Russian Gospel Union, I.S. Prokhanov set about creating the Union of Christian Youth, uniting youth circles under the gospel churches. According to the memoirs of I. S. Prokhanov, the first secret meeting on the establishment of a youth association at the St. Petersburg Church coincided with the " bloody Sunday " on January 9, 1905 [7] .

After preparatory work in April 1908, the First Congress of representatives of youth circles convened in Moscow, and in 1909 in St. Petersburg the Second Congress, which adopted the Charter of the "Gospel Union of Christian Youth". I. S. Prokhanov was elected Chairman of the Union, and Y. I. Zhidkov [8] was elected Secretary.

Baptists

 
Executive Committee of the World Baptist Youth Union. The representative of the Baptists of the USSR M.D. Timoshenko is on the left.

A delegation of Baptist youth leaders took part in the First Congress of Youth Groups in Moscow convened by I.S. Prokhanov in 1908. However, already in 1909, Baptist youth leaders held their own congress, separate from the youth of evangelical Christians. It took place simultaneously with the final part of the general congress of the Union of Russian Baptists . They did not begin to create a separate centralized union of Baptist youth, but later decided to discuss issues related to the youth movement in churches at general congresses of Baptists [9] [10] .

However, in 1920, the leaders of the Baptist youth gathered again for a congress, at which they created a centralized organization - the All-Russian Union of Christian Youth Circles under the Communities of Evangelical Christians Baptists and elected its leadership [11] [12] .

After the creation of the Youth Union, its leaders turned to the World Baptist Alliance with a proposal to hold the founding World Baptist Youth Congress at the same time as the Third World Baptist Congress in Stockholm in 1923. Representatives of 23 nations responded to this idea of ​​Soviet Baptists, and thus the World Baptist Youth Union was established. The USSR was represented by M. D. Timoshenko [13] .

Youth congresses of evangelical Christians (prokhanovtsy) and Baptists
No. p / pNameDate and placeExecutivesCommentsPhoto
oneThe first congress of representatives of Christian youth circles [14] [15] [16]1908, April 13-16, MoscowI. S. ProkhanovConfessional composition: evangelical Christians with the participation of a delegation from the Baptists. To unite Christian youth, a Council was created under the chairmanship of I. S. Prokhanov (fellow chairman - F. M. Trosnov), discussion of the draft Charter.
 
The first congress of representatives of Christian youth circles in Moscow, 1908.
2The First All-Russian Congress of Baptist Youth, Youth and Maidens [9] [10]1909, October 2-5, Rostov-on-DonV. A. Fetler , V. P. Stepanov, M. D. Timoshenko , I. A. Golyaev , T. E. KirshConfessional composition: Baptists. The congress was held simultaneously with the final part of the general congress of the Union of Russian Baptists . Participants' thematic essays on youth clubs and Sunday schools, organization of clubs, questions of writing letters to representatives of youth movements in Bulgaria, England and America, as well as the upcoming World Congress of Sunday School Teachers in America were discussed. On the proposal of D.I. Mazaev (who incurred the upcoming expenses), it was decided to send N.V. Odintsov and V.P. Stepanov to Siberia to organize youth groups. It was decided to further resolve the organizational issues of youth ministry as part of the general congresses of the Baptist Union .
3Second Congress of the Gospel Union of Christian Youth [17] [18]1909, May 17-19, St. PetersburgI. S. ProkhanovConfessional composition: evangelical Christians. The Charter of the Youth Union and the model charter of the youth circle at the church have been adopted. It was decided to legalize the Union under the name "Gospel Union of Christian Youth". I.S. Prokhanov was elected Chairman of the Union; Y. I. Zhidkov was elected Secretary.
 
Second Congress of the Union of Christian Youth in St. Petersburg, 1909
fourThird Congress of the Union of Christian Youth [19]1910, April 18-20, St. PetersburgI.S. Prokhanov , F.M. Trosnov, A.A. PersianovConfessional composition: evangelical Christians. The name of the Union is abbreviated to “Union of Christian Youth”. Discussion of current affairs, report of the Union Evangelist F. M. Trosnov on youth work. Election of 6 candidates for union evangelizers in order to send them to work after raising funds. Approval by F. M. Trosnov as an All-Union Evangelist for the Next Year. Election of additional members of the Union Council.
 
Third Congress of the Union of Christian Youth in St. Petersburg, 1910. In the center I.S. Prokhanov.
5Fourth CongressNo information found.
6Fifth Congress of Christian Youth [20]1918, PetrogradConfessional composition: evangelical Christians. It was decided to expand the evangelism by the youth in the framework of the program. It was supposed to raise significant funds for these purposes. But because of the Civil War, these plans were not fully implemented. The Charter of the Union of Christian Youth was also revised and supplemented.
7Young Workers Meeting [21]October 1919Confessional composition: evangelical Christians. It was supposed to convene the Sixth Congress, but a meeting was held instead (a rank lower, probably due to the insufficient number of delegates from local communities). Various aspects of Christian youth ministry were examined. A.I. Mitskevich , who was at that time the leader of the youth circle in the evangelical church of Vyatka, was put forward as an allied evangelist.
8The All-Russian Congress of Christian Youth Groups at the Communities of Evangelical Christians Baptists [11] [12] [22] [23]1920, October 10-17, SamaraM. D. Timoshenko , N. A. Levindanto, V. I. KolesnikovConfessional composition: Baptists. A centralized organization was formed - the All-Russian Union of Christian Youth Circles under the Communities of Evangelical Christians Baptists. The Council of the Union (12 people) and the board of members of the Council (4 people, as well as M.D. Timoshenko as the coordinator of the work of the Youth Union with the common Baptist Union) were elected. Recommendations were made on the organization of youth clubs and Sunday schools in the communities.
9Sixth All-Russian Congress of Christian Youth [21] [24]1921, May 3-6, TverConfessional composition: evangelical Christians. The congress began to consider the program, but on May 5, at the denunciation of the Orthodox priest Vinogradov, 42 participants were arrested. On May 10, 30 people were released, 12 (including I. S. Prokhanov and the Christian composer and regent of the choir N. I. Vysotsky) were transferred to the Tver forced labor camp for a term of one to three years. Released after about three months by a decision of the central government at the request of believers. The perpetrators of the unjustified arrest were punished. According to the historian Vladimir Popov, the widespread international publicity and petitions received from foreign believers addressed to V. I. Lenin and to the representative offices of the RSFSR abroad [1] contributed to the speedy release and sparing conditions of detention in the camp.
 
Believers on the day of liberation from the Tver forced labor camp. I. S. Prokhanov in the second row, in the center. To his right L. L. Shenderovsky, who was busting around about their release

Youth Press

 
The cover of the magazine "Young Vineyard" (a free supplement to the magazine " Christian "), 1909

Specialized youth Christian publications of the 1900s - 1920s:

  • “Young Vineyard” (a free supplement to the magazine “ Christian ”) - evangelical Christians;
  • “Friend of Youth” (first a separate magazine, then a section in the magazine “ Word of Truth ”); youth sections in other Baptist publications are Baptists;
  • The Voice of Christian Youth Magazine ( Blagoveshchensk-on-Amur ) - Baptists.

Motion Description

Central youth unions existed quite formally (without a developed organizational and managerial structure), representing a network of youth circles at local communities and several leaders at the central level ( I.S. Prokhanov , Ya. I. Zhidkov , F.M. Trosnov and others - among evangelical Christians; M. D. Timoshenko , V. A. Fetler, and others - among the Baptists). However, "on the ground" it was a fairly active movement. The leadership of the communities considered the organization of church youth into circles their duty [1] .

The “exhortation” and “invitation” sections of the movements were engaged in persuading the hesitant and organized various actions, “hospital” visiting patients, “economic” looking for solutions to youth economic problems, “print” - engaged in the release of youth media [3] .

I. Prokhanov, he recalled them: “These circles were also independent, people elected their ministers, approved their programs, etc. On this path they took possession of the experience, knowledge that made them prepared for future work in churches and in the Union . At the same time, they conducted missionary work appropriate to their age. Each circle was divided into several groups: prayer, missions, visits to the poor, sick and prisoners, literary and musical groups. Young people in these groups were engaged in spiritual work. In all these events, good missionary workers were trained in our churches. Until now, many outstanding Christian workers in Russia owe their first education and training to youth circles ” [7] .

As noted by the Marxist propagandist Alexander Klibanov in the pamphlet The Class Face of Modern Sectarianism (1928), evangelical believers "polls teach their children literacy, singing, and music. And they teach not just somehow, but seriously, truly ” [25] . He emphasized that the training is conducted under the guidance of experienced teachers, often with special musical education. “The training was delivered pedagogically quite scientifically and goes according to a strict program, ” Klibanov wrote. “The choristers work out at least 50 hymns in the course of six months . ” Obtaining a musical education and, in general, musical ministry is very popular among young believers, wrote Klibanov [26] .

Scale

In the 1920s, there was a noticeable increase in youth associations, groups and circles. Thus, the Baptist youth club on Vasilievsky Island in Leningrad from 1923-1926 grew from 38 to more than 400 members [1] .In the Melitopol district (the area where there were compact settlements of Protestants), under the influence of bapsomol, by the mid-1920s, 90% of all young people were, and in the Samara province Christomol covered 50% of young people [26] .

According to the information of the Siberian branch of the RKSM, at the end of 1922, 28 circles of Baptist youth with 897 members functioned in the Omsk province, which amounted to about half the size of the Komsomol union in the province [1] .

В Благовещенске-на-Амуре баптисты издавали журнал «Голос христианской молодежи», который сообщал, что в 1922 году баптисты на дальнем Востоке имели 38 воскресных школ, в которых 209 учителей обучали 1770 учеников. Юношеские кружки региона насчитывали более 700 членов [1] . В докладе Окружкома ВЛКСМ Владивостокского округа за 1927 год приводится такой пример: «в Сучанском районе в результате усиленной деятельности баптистов в одной из деревень и слабой работы комсомольской ячейки — рассыпался пионеротряд и некоторые комсомольцы вышли из союза» [27] .

Если верить материалам местных комсомольских организаций, в конце 1920-х из старшеклассников протестантами якобы были созданы нелегальные организации с устрашающими названиями «Красные смертники» (Кострома), «Стальная гвардия Христа» и «Белые пионеры Христа» (Саратов). А в Сибири и Татарстане молодежь переходила в баптистские организации целыми комсомольскими ячейками [28] .

Преследования со стороны советской власти

В середине 1920-х годов протестантские молодёжные организации существовали чуть ли не в каждой губернии и единственным реальным сдерживающим фактором для них выступало ОГПУ [29] . «Мы должны повести решительную борьбу с сектантством за нашу молодёжь, за детей. Для этого надо сорвать внешне привлекательную сектантскую маску и разоблачить беспощадно и до конца контр-революционную сущность сектантства. Комсомол в этом деле должен быть в авангарде» , — призывал Александр Клибанов [30] .

На Всесоюзном совещании по антирелигиозной пропаганде при АПО ЦК ВКП(б) 27—30 апреля 1926 года протестантские молодёжные движения были однозначно охарактеризованы как попытка подменить советские и партийно-комсомольские молодёжные организации, что повлекло их запрет, хотя в форме нелегальных объединений некоторые просуществовали до 1931 года [31] .

Notes

  1. ↑ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Попов, 2012 .
  2. ↑ Крапивин, 2003 , с. 48.
  3. ↑ 1 2 Крапивин, 2003 , с. 47—48.
  4. ↑ Кале, 1978 , с. 81.
  5. ↑ Мазаев А. М. — О Петербургской «свободе». «Баптист», № 11 за 1909 год, С. 14-15
  6. ↑ Балихин Ф. П. — Моя поездка заграницу, «Баптист», № 1 за 1907 год, С.19-20
  7. ↑ 1 2 Проханов, 1992 .
  8. ↑ Савинский, 1999 , с. 286-287.
  9. ↑ 1 2 Брошюра .
  10. ↑ 1 2 Баптист , 1909, №22, С.8-9
  11. ↑ 1 2 Слово Истины , 1920, №3, С.24
  12. ↑ 1 2 Слово Истины , 1920, №5-6, С.43-44, 49-52
  13. ↑ Баптист , 1926, №3-4, С.18
  14. ↑ Братский листок , 1908, №4, С.1-23
  15. ↑ Баптист , 1908, №10, С.12
  16. ↑ История, 1989 , с. 150.
  17. ↑ «Молодой виноградник» (бесплатное приложение к журналу « Христианин »), 1909, №6
  18. ↑ История, 1989 , с. 150-151.
  19. ↑ «Молодой виноградник» (бесплатное приложение к журналу « Христианин »), 1910, №6
  20. ↑ История, 1989 , с. 190-191.
  21. ↑ 1 2 История, 1989 , с. 191.
  22. ↑ Отчет Всероссийского съезда евангельских христиан баптистов, состоявшегося в г. Москве с 26 мая по 6 июня 1920 г., С.24-25
  23. ↑ Крапивин, 2003 , с. 143-144.
  24. ↑ Утренняя звезда , 1922, №1-2, С.18
  25. ↑ Клибанов, 1928 , с. 55.
  26. ↑ 1 2 Клибанов, 1928 , с. 55-58.
  27. ↑ Дементьев, 2011 , с. 77.
  28. ↑ Крапивин, 2003 , с. 136-137.
  29. ↑ Крапивин, 2003 , с. 106.
  30. ↑ Клибанов, 1928 , с. 68.
  31. ↑ Крапивин, 2003 , с. 104—108.

Literature

  • Клибанов А. И. Классовое лицо современного сектантства . — Л. : Прибой, 1928. — 104 с. (недоступная ссылка)
  • Крапивин М. Ю., Лейкин А. Я., Далгатов А. Г. Судьбы христианского сектантства в Советской России (1917 — конец 1930-х годов) / Рецензенты д. и. н. В. С. Измозик, д. и. н. В. В. Молзинский. - SPb. : С-Петербургского университета , 2003. — 308 с. — ISBN 5-288-02851-6 .
  • Савинский С. Н. История евангельских христиан баптистов Украины, России, Белоруссии (1867 - 1917). - SPb. : Библия для всех, 1999. — ISBN 5-7454-0376-4 .
  • Савинский С. Н. История евангельских христиан баптистов Украины, России, Белоруссии. II (1917 - 1967). - SPb. : Библия для всех, 2001. — 10 000 экз. — ISBN 5-7454-0594-5 .
  • Марцинковский В. Ф. Записки верующего. Из истории Религиозного движения в России (1917-1923) . — Прага: Tiskem «Legiografie», 1929.
  • Кале В. Евангельские христиане в России и Советском Союзе. Иван Степанович Проханов (1869-1935) и путь евангельских христиан и баптистов. Перевод с нем. Скворцова П. И. = Evangelische Christen in Russland und der Sovetunion [Sowjetunion]. Ivan Stepanovich Prochanov (1869 - 1935) und der Weg der Evangeliumschristen und Baptisten. Von Wilhelm Kahle. — Онкен - Вуперталь и Кассель, 1978. — 627 с.
  • Попов В. А. Бапсомол шагает впереди // НГ -Религия. — 2012.
  • Проханов И. С. В котле России . — Чикаго: Всемирный Союз Евангельских христиан , 1992. — С. 111.
  • Коллектив авторов. История ЕХБ в СССР . — М. : издательство ВСЕХБ , 1989. — С. 624.
  • Dementiev A.A. Aven-Jezer: The Gospel Movement in Primorye 1898-1990 . - Vladivostok: Russian Island, 2011 .-- 272 p. - 1,500 copies - ISBN 978-5-93577-054-2 .
  • The First All-Russian Congress of Baptist Youth, Youth and Maidens Groups, in Rostov-on-Don, 1909. - Rostov-on-Don: Printing house of Pavlov and Slavgorodsky. - S. 78.
Источник — https://ru.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Христомол&oldid=100697372


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