Who are Baptists and how do they differ from other Christians?

Church of Evangelical Christian Baptists. History of origin

Baptist communities began to form in the early seventeenth century in Holland, but their founders were not Dutch, but English Congregationalists who were forced to flee to the mainland to avoid persecution by the Church of England. And so, in the second decade of the 17th century, namely in 1611, a new Christian teaching was formulated for the English, who, by the will of fate, lived in the capital of the Netherlands - Amsterdam. A year later, the Baptist Church was founded in England. At the same time, the first community professing this faith arose. Later, in 1639, the first Baptists appeared in North America. This sect became widespread in the New World, especially in the USA. Every year the number of its adherents grew with incredible speed. Over time, evangelical Baptists also spread throughout the world: to the countries of Asia and Europe, Africa and Australia, well, and both Americas. By the way, during the American Civil War, most black slaves accepted this faith and became its ardent followers.

Composition of MSC ECB

The union includes 2,964 churches and groups of believers, about 75,000 church members and 40,000 children[15].

Territorial structure

MSC ECB consists of 16 associations:

• Northern,
• Moscow-Privolzhsky,
• Kursk-Ryazan,
• Rostov-Donetsk,
• Uralsky,
• Siberian,
• Central Asian,
• Caucasian,
• Moldavsky,
• Belorussky,
• Kievsky,
• Kharkovsky,
• Odessa,
• Western Ukrainian,
• American.
• Germanic.

Members and staff of the International Council of Churches of the ECB

The International Council of Churches of the ECB consists of 25 members of the Council and 15 of its employees, who are responsible for the activities of the brotherhood during the inter-congress period[16].

Spread of Baptistism in Russia

Until the 70s of the 19th century, people in Russia practically did not know who Baptists were. What kind of faith unites people who call themselves this way? The first community of adherents of this faith appeared in St. Petersburg, its members called themselves Evangelical Christians. Baptistism came here from Germany along with foreign masters, architects and scientists invited by the Russian Tsars Alexei Mikhailovich and Peter Alekseevich. This movement was most widespread in the Tauride, Kherson, Kyiv, and Ekaterinoslav provinces. Later it reached Kuban and Transcaucasia.

The first Baptist in Russia was Nikita Isaevich Voronin. He was baptized in 1867. Baptistism and evangelicalism are very close to each other, but they are nevertheless considered two separate directions in Protestantism, and in 1905, in the Northern capital, their adherents created the Union of Evangelists and the Union of Baptists. In the first years of Soviet power, attitudes towards any religious movements became prejudiced, and Baptists had to go underground. However, during the Patriotic War, both Baptists and evangelicals again became more active and united, creating the Union of Evangelical Christian Baptists of the USSR. After the war, they were joined by the Pentecostal sect.

Conclusion

I would like to remind you that the Holy Church is not a club of interests, but something that comes down to us from the Lord. The Church of Christ, created by his disciples-apostles, was united on earth for a whole thousand years. But in 1054, its western part fell away from the One Church of Christ, which changed the Creed and declared itself the Roman Catholic Church; it was she who provided fertile soil for everyone else to form their own churches and sects. Now, from the point of view of Orthodoxy, those who have fallen away from the True Orthodox Faith and preach faith in Christ differently from Orthodoxy do not belong to the One Holy and Apostolic Church, founded by the Savior himself. Unfortunately, this comes from the fact that many do not realize the greatness and height of their Christian calling, they do not know their duties and live in wickedness like pagans.

The Holy Apostle Paul wrote in his prayer: “Walk worthy of the calling to which you have been called, otherwise you will not be children of God, but of Satan, fulfilling his lusts.”

Baptist ideas

The main aspiration in life for adherents of this faith is service to Christ. The Baptist Church teaches that one must live in harmony with the world, but be not of this world, that is, obey earthly laws, but honor only Jesus Christ with one’s heart. The basis of Baptistism, which emerged as a radical Protestant bourgeois movement, is the principle of individualism. Baptists believe that a person's salvation depends only on the individual himself, and that the church cannot be a mediator between him and God. The only true source of faith is the Gospel - the Holy Scripture, only in it can you find answers to all questions and, by following all the commandments, all the rules contained in this holy book, you can save your soul. Every Baptist is sure of this. This is an undeniable truth for him. All of them do not recognize church sacraments and holidays, and do not believe in the miraculous power of icons.

Prayer

ABOUT PRAYER

God! teach us to pray!

(Ev. Luke 11, 1)

The majestic life of Jesus Christ passed before the eyes of the apostles. They saw Him as a Teacher and preacher of the great truths of the Gospel. They saw Him as the Friend of all who labor and are heavy laden. They saw Him as a Physician, healing illnesses of soul and body. And they saw Him as a great man of prayer.

They understood that it was the Teacher’s prayer life that was the source of all His blessed layers and deeds. And it became clear to the disciples that if they want to be transformed into the image of their Teacher, then they must learn to pray as He, Christ, prayed. And when the meaning of prayer for a life similar to the life of Christ became clear to them, they said to the Teacher: “Lord! teach us to pray!”

But we, modern disciples of Christ, understand the importance of prayer for our entire Christian life. That is why it is important for us to join the request of the apostles and enter the “school of prayer” of our Lord Jesus Christ.

"God! teach us to pray!” Is it really necessary to learn to pray? Didn't we know how to pray at our earliest ages? Isn't prayer the simplest task of our spiritual life? Yes, this is so, and yet all of us believers feel that we still do not know how to pray.

Yes, prayer is a very simple, but the highest thing: after all, prayer is communication with the invisible and highest Being called God. I

In the control tower of one of the locks on the Volga, we, visitors, were pointed to one simple button and were told that if we press it, powerful motors and pumps would immediately begin to operate, which would fill the huge lock with water in a few minutes. Prayer can be compared to this small simple button that a weak child can press, but the result of prayer is the action of almighty God.

Prayer is the channel through which all of God's countless blessings flow. Prayer makes available to us all the divine power of Christ. Our prayer matters not only for ourselves, but also for the entire Church of Christ, for the entire Kingdom of God, for the whole world!

In the divine plan, prayer is given the role of a lever that moves the great right hand of God. “Ask and you will receive!” - this is the divine law of prayer. But how often our prayers are fruitless, ineffective, and do not rise above the ceiling. And this is only because we do not know how to pray. And the school of prayer is with Christ, and He teaches everyone who wants to learn to pray the way He prayed. And therefore today we will say to Christ: “Lord! teach us to pray!”

“Teach us”... We read in the Bible about great men of prayer, such as the prophet Elijah and others, who did great things through the power of prayer.

We read in the New Testament about the apostles who, at the feet of Christ, learned to pray the all-overcoming prayer. We know the Apostle Paul as the greatest man of prayer, who, on the wings of prayer, brought the needs of all churches to the throne of God and overcame all the difficulties of his thorny path.

We know about men of prayer and blessed prayer books of our churches who, at the feet of Christ, learned to strive in prayer, that is, learned the feat of prayer. And we want to learn to pray in such a way that the result of our prayers is “moving mountains,” that is, great actions of God. After all, the promises of God are also intended for us, just as all the gifts of heaven are also intended for us. God wants to answer our prayers too! He wants to make us devotees of prayer too! That is why it is so important to emphasize the word “us” in our request to the Lord: “Teach us to pray!”

“Teach”... Yes, you need to learn prayer. We need to know what the Word of God says about prayer. We must know the prayer life of Christ and His first servants - the apostles. We must know the whole will of God in order to learn not to ask anything from God that contradicts His divine will.

We must know Christ Himself if we want to pray as He prayed. We must be saturated with the thoughts, feelings, and spirit of Christ in order to pray truly Christ’s prayer. We must know what weakens our prayers, what makes them fruitless and wingless. This is why we need to learn prayer.

The main thing is to learn to pray. Learn not the theory, but the practice of prayer. By theory of prayer I mean preaching about prayer, understanding the meaning of prayer, and the desire to pray, but only the desire. But the power is not in the desire to pray, but in the prayer itself.

Learning to pray means acquiring the spirit of prayer. It is the spirit of prayer that will turn us into people of prayer, make us ascetics of prayer and lead us to constant communion with God. The apostles turned to Christ Himself with a request to teach them to pray. And we will follow their example. Who can teach us to pray better than our Lord Jesus Christ? Let the praying Christ be the subject of our study. Let the prayer life of Christ pass before our inner gaze. May the spirit of prayer, which constantly lived in the heart of Christ, descend into the heart of each of us.

Every child of God can learn to pray as our Lord Jesus Christ prayed. While believers can often admire their preachers or the wonderful voices in the choir, they rarely notice the prayer books in their church, those brothers and sisters who in the school of Christ have learned to pray and acquired the spirit of prayer.

One preacher thanked God for the success of his sermons. One day he has a dream. An angel appeared to him and said: “You rejoice at the success of your sermons, but know that God blesses your ministry through prayers...”, while the angel told the preacher the name of one member of his church. She was a blind old woman who was led into the meeting by the hand. Many knew her, and the preacher knew her, but they knew her not as an ardent prayer worker, but as a poor blind woman whom everyone pitied. Thus, in every church there are prayer books and prayer books who ask the Lord for streams of blessings on their church, and at the same time they are unknown to anyone, and no one pays attention to them, since they are usually completely inconspicuous and even, perhaps, crippled . But the Lord knows them! And He answers their prayers.

How did Christ pray?

(Ev. Luke 9, 18)

“He prayed”... Isn’t our question: why did Christ pray? That we are called to prayer is understandable. After all, we are people with all our inherent weaknesses, and we need strength from above, strength from God. This is why we need prayerful communication with God. But Christ is God Himself. What needs could the One who Himself satisfied all the needs of people have? Why, being the true God, did Christ pray? Doesn't it turn out that God prayed to God?

To the question why Christ prayed, two answers can be given. Firstly, prayer does not necessarily consist of requests for certain needs. This is a deep misunderstanding of the essence of prayer when we think that praying means mainly asking.

No! Prayer is communication with God, which can happen even without words. To pray means to seek the face of God, just as a child seeks the face of his father or mother and, when he comes to his father or mother, sometimes says nothing, but between the parent’s heart and the heart of the child, despite the absence of words, a surprisingly lively and close connection is established. We all know this truth from experience. If we take prayer in this sense, then Christ prayed unceasingly, since He always saw the face of the Father before Him.

The second answer to the question of why Christ prayed is that Christ was not only true God, but He was also true man. He is the Son of God and He is the Son of Man equally. And as the true Son of Man, He experienced our human needs. Like a real man like us, He experienced hunger and thirst, felt cold and was languishing in the heat, was tired and needed rest and restorative sleep, could grieve and yearn, even mortally, and needed the approval and support of friends. If we always remember the human nature of Christ, then we will understand all His prayers, written and not written on the pages of the Gospel. We will also understand His prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane, about which we read in Hebrews 5:7 the following words: “In the days of His flesh, with a strong cry and with tears, He offered prayers and supplications to Him who was able to save Him from death, and He was heard for His favor." Yes, like a true man, He needed prayer and prayed. As a true man, He is the “Firstborn” among His many brothers and sisters, that is, He is our elder brother, setting an example for us in everything, including in prayer.

Christ had a favorite place to pray in Jerusalem. It was a quiet, deserted Garden of Gethsemane. From the Gospel of John 18, 1 - 2 we learn that Christ visited this garden often. Nature is a wonderful temple for communicating with God. Christ loved the temple of nature and often prayed in its silence and solitude.

Christ commanded us, His disciples, to seek solitude. Let us listen to what He tells us about solitary prayer in Ev. Matt. 6, 6: “When you pray, go into your room and, having shut your door, pray to your Father who is in secret...” Not all of Christ’s disciples have the opportunity to use the temple of nature for prayer. Christ says that solitude for prayer can be found in any room - you just need to close the door so that no noise from outside interferes with our communication with God.

And if, you ask, noise reigns inside our room and we have no power to close the door, since we do not live in the room alone, then what should we do? Then we must go into the depths of our hearts and, tightly closing the door of the “upper room of the soul,” stand before the face of God and tell Him everything that fills our heart. We can always close the door of our heart. At any moment and in any place we can turn our heart into a house of prayer. At any moment the incense of prayer can begin to burn in our hearts. In the noisiest house, you can close your heart from the noise reigning in it and create the silence necessary for prayer. We were created by God in such a way that we can instantly be transported to the throne of our God. No noise can prevent us from establishing a connection with God, and among the many voices around us, we can raise our voice to our heavenly Friend Jesus Christ and hear His divine voice speaking to our soul. In a word, there are no barriers to prayer except our own reluctance to pray.

But Christ not only prayed alone, He also prayed with His disciples, as it is said in Ev. Luke 9:18. And He left us wonderful words about the value and special power of united prayer. Let's read these words in Ev. Matt. 18, 19: “Truly I also say to you, that if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven.” Why have we paid so little attention to these wonderful words of Christ about the power of united prayer and made so little use of united prayer? Therefore, like the apostles, we ask the Lord to teach us to pray. And glory to Him, He teaches us to pray.

The Model of Prayer Given to Us by Christ

(Ev. Luke 11, 2 - 4)

“When you pray, say: “Our Father who art in heaven!” The value of prayer is that it moves us to the center of the Universe, which is the great, omnipotent and omnipresent God. Prayer places us before the throne of almighty God - the Creator of heaven and earth, the Creator of the universe. Shouldn't this confuse and frighten us? In the Old Testament there is a picture depicting the greatness and glory of our God. Let's look at this picture, as it is described in the book of the prophet Isaiah 6, 1 - 15: “In the year of the death of King Uzziah, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of His robe filled the whole temple. Seraphim stood around him; each of them has six wings; With two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And they called to each other and said: Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts! the whole earth is full of His glory. And the tops of the gates shook at the voice of those shouting, and the house was filled with incense. And I said: Woe is me! I'm dead! for I am a man of unclean lips, and mine eyes have seen the King of the Lord of hosts.”

This is the description of the throne of the Most High, and the Old Testament does not know any other description of our God. God dwelling in unapproachable glory - this is how we see Him on the pages of the Old Testament. But in the divine school of our Lord Jesus Christ we learn that God, sitting “on the throne,” is our Father, and Christ teaches us to call Him Father: “Our Father”...

The teaching of Christ about God as the Father who exists in heaven is extremely precious to us. It encourages us to come “boldly to the throne of grace” (Heb. 4:16), for on the high and exalted throne is not only the King of Glory, but also our Father. We owe this new revelation of God as our heavenly Father, whom the Old Testament did not know, to our Teacher Jesus Christ.

But let us listen to what Jesus Christ teaches us to pray for in the prayer “Our Father” that He gave us. “Our Father who art in heaven! Hallowed be thy name!” The Lord's Prayer contains six requests, and the first of them is the request that the name of God be sanctified in our lives. How to understand the words: “hallowed be thy name”? - “Let Your name be glorified!”

Has this request ever been the first request in our prayers? Do we value our glory? Gentlemen? Are we afraid of dishonoring the name of our Lord? Do we know that the name of God can be hallowed, glorified and can be blasphemed, as it is said in Romans 2:24: “For for your sake... the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles.”

With the words “hallowed be thy name,” Christ tells us what the highest Christian goal of life should be: to glorify the name of our God! In glorifying the name of God not only with our lips, but with our entire life on earth. Christ, finishing His earthly journey, could say to the Father: “I have glorified You on earth... I have revealed Your Name to men” (John 17:4,6). To ask for the sanctification of the name of God means to ask for the glorification of our God on earth. That is why, according to the teachings of Christ, this request for the glorification of the name of God should be the first request in our prayers. Concern for the glory of God should be our main concern.

Continuing to teach us to pray, Christ speaks of another most important need that we must bring to the heavenly Father: “Thy kingdom come!” We all know the teaching of Christ about the Kingdom of God. Christ says: “The Kingdom of God will not come in a noticeable way, and they will not say: here it is, here, or: there it is. For behold, the Kingdom of God is within you” (Heb. Luke 17:20-21). This means that when we ask God for His Kingdom to come, we understand where it must come: into human hearts. Let's learn to pray for the coming of the Kingdom of God into human hearts!

The third greatest need for which we must pray is expressed by Christ in the words: “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” We must learn to pray for the will of God, so that it will be fulfilled on earth as it is fulfilled in heaven. Angels fulfill the will of God unquestioningly and joyfully, and therefore there is no disharmony in the Kingdom of Heaven. Only the fulfillment of God's will will create harmony on earth.

So, according to the teachings of Christ, the glorification of the name of God, the coming of the Kingdom of God and the fulfillment of the will of God should be our most ardent desires, and we must constantly cry out to God for their fulfillment. These three requests have as their subject the Most High God—His name, His Kingdom, and His will. But the next three requests in prayer, which Christ taught us, have as their subject our human needs. Which ones?

“Give us our daily bread every day!” Bread and other foods are necessary for the health and strength of our bodies. To glorify the name of the Lord, to build the Kingdom of God and to fulfill the will of God, our outer man must be healthy and strong, and for this we need nutrition. To whom, if not to the Father, should we turn daily with this need for daily bread, for daily nutrition?

“And forgive us our sins”... Forgiveness of sins cleanses our heart. Christ teaches us to pray for the forgiveness of our sins, that is, for the cleansing of our hearts, because only a pure heart is capable of glorifying and sanctifying the name of God, longing for the coming of the Kingdom of God and fulfilling the will of God. But didn’t we receive the forgiveness of all our sins on the day we turned to the Lord? Yes, we have received it! Then what kind of forgiveness does Christ teach us to pray for? About forgiveness of our everyday sins.

While washing the feet of the apostles, Christ said: “He who has been washed needs only to wash his feet, because he is all clean” (John 13:10). Yes, the Lord has forgiven us all the sins we committed before our conversion, in the days of our ignorance. But, being in the flesh and coming into contact with various kinds of evil and sin, we become polluted and therefore need forgiveness and cleansing. By placing on our hearts a request for the forgiveness of our sins, Christ teaches us to forgive our neighbors, to forgive their sins against us.

Every time we ask the Lord for forgiveness of our sins, let us think about which of our neighbors we have not yet forgiven. Christ places great importance on our forgiveness of our neighbors. In His Sermon on the Mount, Christ speaks very strict words to all those His disciples who do not want to forgive their neighbors: “If you forgive people their sins, then your heavenly Father will also forgive you; and if you do not forgive people their sins, then your Father will not forgive you your sins” (Ev. Matt. 6: 14 - 15). Let us take these words of our divine Teacher seriously. And finally, the last request that Christ teaches us in the Lord’s Prayer says: “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.” In the Lord's Prayer, Christ speaks of God as our Father in heaven. He says that God is a Father who forgives our sins. And Christ announces to us even more joyful news about our heavenly Father, namely: He is able to keep us from temptation and deliver us from the evil one. Medicine says: diseases must be treated, or even better, prevented. Christ says that our heavenly Father is the Physician who heals our spiritual illnesses; but, according to the teachings of Christ, He is also God, who can protect us from falling into temptation and sin and from coming into contact with the evil one.

What glorious six requests Christ put before us in the Lord’s Prayer!

So that the name of God may be sanctified and glorified in our lives!

So that the Kingdom of God may descend into our hearts!

So that God's will is fulfilled in our lives!

So that we can have the nutrition we need for our bodily health!

So that every sin will be mourned by us and forgiven by the Lord!

And so that we do not fall into any sin at all!

We also read about the possibility of such purity and integrity in the Epistle of Jude 1, 24 - 25: “Now to Him who is able to keep you from falling and present you blameless before His glory with joy, to the only wise God... glory and majesty!..”

In the footsteps of the praying Christ

(1 Peter 2:21)

We, like the apostles, ask Christ: “Lord! teach us to pray!” And Christ teaches us to pray. First, He gave us the doctrine of prayer; secondly, He left us an example through His prayer life. We will not learn to pray as we should unless we follow in the footsteps of Christ in our prayers. Let us become thoroughly acquainted with the prayer life of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Let us go to the banks of the Jordan River on the day of the baptism of our Lord there. We read in Ev. Luke 3:21-22: “When all the people were baptized, and Jesus, having been baptized, prayed, the heavens were opened, and the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in bodily form like a dove...”

Let us pay attention to the words: “Jesus, having been baptized, prayed”... Christ began His great ministry, and to perform this ministry the power of the Holy Spirit was needed. And Christ prays to be filled with this power and receives it: “The Holy Spirit descended on Him”...

Let us learn from our Lord Jesus Christ to pray for the power of the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit will descend on us, as He descended on Him.

Let's read Ev. Mark 1:35-37: “In the morning, getting up very early, he went out and went to a deserted place, and there he prayed. Simon and those who were with Him followed Him and, having found Him, they said to Him: “Everyone is looking for You.” This is how Christ began His working day: “In the morning, getting up..., I prayed.”

What an example for all His disciples and disciples: every morning to receive new strength in prayer! “Everyone is looking for You!” - the apostles say to Jesus. In other words: “Great work awaits You, Teacher!”

Yes, great work awaited our Lord Jesus Christ every day: hundreds and thousands of people expected help from Him. And, beginning His day of labor, in early morning prayer He united with the source of power - the eternal God the Father - and was filled with power from above. That's why His ministry was so blessed. How important it is to learn from Christ to have morning communication with God.

Let's read Ev. Luke 5, 15, 16: “But the rumor about Him spread all the more, and a great multitude of people flocked to Him to listen to Him and to be healed of their illnesses by Him. But He went into deserted places and prayed.” Christ not only in early morning prayer stored up strength from above for His glorious ministry, but He also sought renewal of strength in communion with the Father in the middle of the day. “He went into desert places and prayed.” Deserted places are not necessarily deserts. To renew our strength, any quiet corner is enough where we can direct our hearts to the Lord and ask Him for new strength for service and life’s struggle.

This is what our Teacher Christ did: in the middle of the day He repeatedly turned to the Father for help and strength. And He left us an example so that we would do the same. We all need constant renewal of our strength, and the best way to achieve this is prayer.

Let's read Ev. Luke. 6, 12, 13: “In those days He went up to the mountain to pray and spent the whole night in prayer to God. When the day came, he called his disciples and chose twelve of them, whom he named apostles.” The election of the apostles was of great significance for the work of Christ on earth. Their task was to direct the entire work of planting and educating churches after the Teacher had left them to take again His throne of glory. And before this most important matter - the matter of electing the apostles - Christ spends the night in prayer. There may be issues in the lives of the Lord's children that require special help from God to resolve. These difficult questions of life force us to pray especially fervently in order to solve them according to the will of God.

Let's read Ev. Matt. 14:23: “Having sent the people away, He went up to the mountain to pray alone.” To understand this prayer of Christ, you must read It. Matt. 14, 1.2 - 13: “And his (John the Baptist) disciples came and took his body and buried it; and they went and told Jesus. And when Jesus heard, he departed from there in a boat to a desert place alone.” The heart of Christ was filled with deep sadness over the tragic death of the greatest of all prophets - John the Baptist. And with this sadness in his heart, Christ went up the mountain to pray alone.

Here is an example for all of us when we are filled with some kind of sadness. The best way to comfort our hearts is through prayerful communication with God. Let the words of the psalmist ring loudly in days of sorrow: “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in troubles” (Psalm 45:2). He has the power to endure all our sorrows. And we must draw this strength from prayer.

Let's read Ev. Luke 9, 18: “At one time, when He was praying in a solitary place, and the disciples were with Him...” The Gospel tells us about the prayers of Christ “in private and about His prayers with the disciples. Let us follow His example in this regard, that is, we will pray alone, we will also pray collectively - with the disciples and disciples of Christ. Both prayers are necessary in our Christian life. Let us learn from our Lord Jesus Christ to pray alone and to pray with His children!

Let's read Ev. Luke 9:28-29: “After these words, about eight days later, He took Peter, John and James and went up to the mountain to pray. And when he prayed, the appearance of His face changed...” Every year we celebrate the Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord. Today we will emphasize the words: “And as He prayed, the appearance of His face changed.” The transformation took place during Christ's prayer! The ideal of Christianity is transformation into the image of Christ, achieving the height and perfection of Christ. The best way to be transformed into the image of Christ is prayer, frequent prayerful communication with God. After each prayerful communication with Christ, our face will reflect the love, joy and peace poured out by the Lord into our hearts.

A prayer life similar to the prayer life of Christ leads to a change in our heart, to making it more like the divine heart of Christ. And a change in our heart leads to a change in our entire outer life. Such is the power of prayer.

Let's read Ev. Luke 10:21: “At that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit and said: I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and have revealed them to babes; Hey, Father! for such was Thy good pleasure.” Here we hear a prayer of gratitude coming from the lips of Christ. Why does He thank the Father? His disciples had just returned from a blessed journey preaching the Gospel. They had great success, and their hearts were full of joy, and the Teacher thanks the heavenly Father for them, for these simple, illiterate fishermen, to whom God opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.

But let us pay attention to where Christ offers this prayer. Apparently, not on a mountain or in a deserted place, but in a populated area, since one of the lawyers found himself here, who turned to Him with his question.

Christ saw the Father in every place and could talk with Him, that is, pray at any time and under any circumstances. What an example for us! If we always see Christ before us with the eyes of our hearts, then any place and any time will be suitable for us to internally appeal to Him or thank Him for this or that mercy shown to us.

Let us learn from our Lord to pray under all conditions. Our heart must be independent of conditions. It must be able to establish a connection with God at any time and under any conditions. Our heavenly Teacher, Christ, teaches us this.

Let's read Ev. John 11:41 - 44: “So they took away the stone from the cave where the dead man lay. Jesus raised his eyes to heaven and said: “Father! I thank You that You heard Me. I knew that You would always hear Me, but I said this for the people standing here, so that they would believe that You sent Me. Having said this, He cried out with a loud voice: Lazarus! get out! And the dead man came out, entwined on his hands and feet with burial cloths, and his face was tied with a scarf. Jesus says to them: Untie him, let him go.” We read about Christ's prayer at the tomb of Lazarus. Here we see again how our Lord Jesus Christ, among a multitude of people, raises his eyes to heaven. But from His prayer we learn that He prayed for the resurrection of Lazarus in some other place, being alone with the Father. “Father,” He says at the tomb of Lazarus, “I thank You that You heard Me.”

What does Christ’s prayer at the tomb of Lazarus call us to? To ensure that we pray for our friends, for their resurrection by the power of Christ. Let us pray for our spiritually dead Lazarus as Christ prayed: both in the silence of a secluded corner and in the noise of life. And let us believe in the resurrecting power of Christ, for for Him there are no hopelessly dead Lazarus.

Let's read Ev. John 12:28: “Father! glorify Your name!” Christ offered this prayer to the Father when the shadow of the cross of Calvary already lay as a black stripe on His path. The hour of Calvary was already very close, and the “grain of wheat” had to fall into the ground to die and bear much fruit. No matter how terrible this Calvary cross is, Christ does not intend to leave it, knowing that this is the only way to save sinners. He has only one desire: that the cross of Calvary glorify the Father. “Father! glorify Your name!" - this is His prayer when contemplating the cross.

What does this prayer of Christ teach us? So that, languishing under the burden of our cross, we burn with the desire that our cross will serve for the glory of God. Carrying our cross, let us pray in the words of Christ: “Father! glorify Your name!”

Let's read Ev. Luke 22, 31 - 32: “And the Lord said: Simon! Simon! Behold, Satan asked to sow you like wheat, but I prayed for you, so that your faith would not fail; and thou hast once turned, and strengthened thy brethren.” These words reveal to us another precious feature in the prayer life of Christ: He prayed personally for Peter. But is it really only about Peter? We can have no doubt that He prayed for John, and for James, and for Thomas, and for each of His apostles. Let us not doubt that He prayed for each of us. How gratifying this is! He prayed for you, brother, and for you, sister! And, praying for you and for me, He knows how to pray for us.

In Ev. John in chapter 17 we have the so-called “high priestly” prayer of Christ. Christ offered this prayer to the Father in the presence of His apostles at the end of the Last Supper. This prayer is so majestic that theologians, delving into it, have written entire books about it. This prayer is especially dear to us because Christ prays in it for the unity of all those who believe in Him on earth. Who does not know the words of Christ from this prayer: “Let them all be one; just as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You, so may they also be one in us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me. And the glory that You gave Me, I have given them: that they may be one, even as We are one. I am in them, and You are in Me; that they may be perfected in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me...” With all the great and deep joy that we have in Christ our Savior, our hearts are full of sadness, seeing how fragmented and disunited the Church of Christ is on earth. How grateful we should be to Christ for His prayer for the unity of all God's children. And it is the duty of all believers in Christ to follow His example in prayer for the unity of His entire church on earth.

Let's read Ev. Luke 22:39 - 44: “And he went out, and went as usual to the Mount of Olives; His disciples also followed Him. Having arrived at the place, he said to them: Pray so as not to fall into temptation. And He Himself went away from them a stone's throw and, kneeling down, prayed, saying: Father! Oh, that You would deign to carry this cup past Me! however, not My will, but Yours be done. An angel from heaven appeared to Him and strengthened Him. And, being in struggle, he prayed more diligently; and His sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.” This is the prayer of Christ in Gethsemane.

And if we called the high priestly prayer of Christ a majestic prayer, then we can call His Gethsemane prayer “mysterious prayer.” Many books have been written about this prayer, but its secret has not yet been revealed. We will not attempt to reveal it today. But we must understand one thing: Christ prays in Gethsemane for the cup of death.

The cup of death is a very bitter cup, and for the Lord Jesus Christ it was even more bitter than for us, since He was a spotless and pure Lamb. The bitterness of this cup plunged our Lord into the deepest sorrow and caused such spiritual struggle in Him that His body was covered with bloody sweat, and an angel from heaven had to strengthen Him. But He surrendered Himself to the will of the heavenly Father and calmly went to Golgotha ​​to die there for our sins. The cup of death is a very bitter cup for us too. The deathbed is our Gethsemane. From almost every deathbed, from the lips of a child of God close to death, comes a prayer similar to the prayer of Christ: “Father! Oh, if only You would deign to carry this cup past Me!” But thank the Lord that the Gethsemane prayer of our Redeemer teaches us to add to all our requests and especially to the request to deliver us from the cup of death the words of our Lord Jesus Christ: “Nevertheless, not My will, but Thine be done!”

And finally we come to the last three prayers of Christ, His prayers on Calvary.

We read about Christ's first prayer on Calvary in Ev. Luke 23, 34: “Jesus says: “Father! forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”

We read about the second prayer of Christ on Calvary in Ev. Matt. 27:46: “And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice: “My God, My God! Why have you forsaken me?”

And we read about the third prayer of Christ on Calvary in Ev. Luke 23:46: “Jesus cried out with a loud voice and said: Father! into Your hands I commend My spirit.” Prayer on the cross is such an uncomfortable place for prayer: no knees to bend, no hands to fold... and what noise all around - the screams of the crowd, the ridicule of the scribes and Pharisees... and what pain in the hands and feet nailed to the cross...

But Christ prays even in such conditions; He prays for those who nailed Him to the cross, prays for Himself in the darkest hour of His earthly life, and in prayer betrays His spirit to the Father.
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Baptism in Baptistism

Adherents of this faith go through the rite of baptism not in infancy, but in adulthood, since a Baptist is a believer who is fully aware of why he needs baptism and treats it as a spiritual rebirth. In order to become a member of the community and be baptized, candidates must undergo a probationary period. They later go through repentance at a prayer meeting. The baptism process includes immersion in water, followed by the ceremony of breaking bread.

These two rituals symbolize faith in spiritual union with the Savior. Unlike the Orthodox and Catholic churches, which consider baptism a sacrament, that is, a means of salvation, for Baptists this step demonstrates conviction in the correctness of their religious views. Only after a person fully understands the depth of faith, only then will he have the right to go through the rite of baptism and become one of the members of the Baptist community. The spiritual leader performs this ritual, helping his ward to plunge into the water, only after he was able to go through all the tests and convince members of the community of the inviolability of his faith.

God's grace

All this will inevitably lead to destruction, like that barren vine of the vineyard about which the Lord spoke, which will be burned.

The worst thing here is that the Grace of God retreats from such schismatics. These people can no longer understand the Truth and think that they are doing God’s work by spreading lies about the Church, not knowing that in this way they are going against God Himself. All kinds of sects are created in large numbers, and just as many of them fall apart. Therefore, it is not possible to list them by name, date of creation and the leaders who lead them; we will focus only on the most important ones, but more on that a little later.

Baptist attitudes

According to this teaching, the sinfulness of the world outside the community is inevitable. Therefore, they advocate strict adherence to moral standards. The Evangelical Christian Baptist should completely abstain from the use of alcoholic beverages, the use of curses and curses, etc. Mutual support, modesty and responsiveness are encouraged. All members of the community must take care of each other and help those in need. One of the main responsibilities of every Baptist is to convert dissenters to their faith.

Baptist creed

In 1905, the First World Convention of Baptist Christians took place in London. On it, the Symbol of the Apostolic Faith was established as the basis of the doctrine. The following principles were also adopted:

1. Only people who have been baptized can be adherents of the Church, that is, an Evangelical Christian Baptist is a spiritually reborn person.

2. The Bible is the only truth, in it you can find answers to any questions, it is an infallible and unshakable authority both in matters of faith and in practical life.

3. The universal (invisible) church is one for all Protestants.

4. The knowledge of Baptism and the Lord's Vespers are taught only to baptized, that is, regenerated people.

5. Local communities are independent in practical and spiritual matters.

6. All members of the local community have equal rights. This means that even an ordinary Baptist is a member of the community who has the same rights as a preacher or spiritual leader. By the way, the early Baptists were against the church hierarchy, but today they themselves create something like ranks within their church.

7. For everyone - both believers and non-believers - there is freedom of conscience.

8. Church and state must be separated from each other.

Dissenters, heretics and sectarians

To preserve the unity of faith, the Church limited and established laws and rules for its existence. Anyone who violated these laws was called schismatics or sectarians, and the teachings they preached were called heresy. The Church looked at schisms as one of the greatest sins committed against it.

The Holy Fathers equated this sin with the murder of a person and with idolatry; even the blood of a martyr could not atone for this sin. There are an infinite number of schisms in the history of the Church. Church rules begin to be violated - first one, then automatically another, and as a result, the True Orthodox Faith is distorted.

Baptist sermons

Members of evangelical congregations gather several times a week to listen to a sermon on a particular topic. Here are some of them:

• About suffering.
• Heavenly mess.
• What is holiness?
• Life is in victory and abundance.
• Can you listen?
• Evidence of the Resurrection.
• The secret of family happiness.
• The first ever breaking of bread, etc.

Listening to the sermon, adherents of the faith try to find answers to the questions that tormented them. Anyone can read a sermon, but only after special preparation, acquiring sufficient knowledge and skills in order to speak publicly in front of a large group of fellow believers. The main worship service for Baptists is held weekly, on Sunday. The community sometimes meets on weekdays to pray, study, and discuss information found in the Bible. The service takes place in several stages: sermon, singing, instrumental music, reading of poems on spiritual themes, as well as retelling of biblical stories.

Baptist holidays

Followers of this church movement or sect, as it is commonly called in our country, have their own special calendar of holidays. Every Baptist reveres them sacredly. This is a list that consists of both general Christian holidays and solemn days unique to this church. Below is their complete list.

• Any Sunday is the day of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
• The first Sunday of each month according to the calendar is the day of breaking bread.
• Christmas.
• Baptism.
• Meeting of the Lord.
• Annunciation.
• Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem.
• Holy Thursday.
• Resurrection (Easter).
• Ascension.
• Pentecost (the descent of the Holy Spirit on the apostles).
• Transfiguration.
• Harvest Festival (exclusively Baptist holiday).
• Unity Day (celebrated since 1945 in memory of the unification of evangelists and Baptists).
• New Year.

World Famous Baptists

The followers of this religious movement, which has spread in more than 100 countries of the world, not only Christian, but also Muslim, and even Buddhist, are also world-famous writers, poets, public figures, etc.

For example, the Baptists were the English writer John Bunyan (Bunyan), who is the author of the book “The Pilgrim’s Progress”; the great English poet, human rights activist, public figure John Milton; Daniel Defoe is the author of one of the most famous works of world literature - the adventure novel Robinson Crusoe; Nobel Peace Prize laureate Martin Luther King, who was an ardent fighter for the rights of black slaves in the United States. In addition, major businessmen the Rockefeller brothers were Baptists.