The year of the Reformation brought Christian sucker around the world. Only some lazy pastor was not tempted by the beautiful figure. Sermons, concerts, joint worship services of communities - it’s all very cool! But how many of those who succumbed to the joyful hype of the big Protestant holiday really know what exactly is celebrated on October 31? According to legend, which, however, was disputed by the German historian Erwin Iserloh, Martin Luther posted his 95 theses on repentance and indulgences on the door of a church in the city of Wittenberg. If you haven't read them yet, now is the time to fill the gap.

1. Our Lord and Teacher Jesus Christ, saying: “Repent...”, commanded that the entire life of believers should be repentance.

2. This word ["repent"] cannot be understood as referring to the sacrament of repentance (that is, to confession and absolution, which is performed by the ministry of the priest).

3. However, it does not only refer to internal repentance; on the contrary, internal repentance is nothing if in external life it does not entail complete mortification of the flesh.

4. Therefore, punishment remains as long as a person’s hatred of him remains (this is true internal repentance), in other words, until he enters the Kingdom of Heaven.

5. The Pope does not want and cannot forgive any punishments other than those that he has imposed either by his own authority or by ecclesiastical law.

6. The Pope has no power to forgive any sin without declaring and confirming the forgiveness in the name of the Lord; in addition, he gives absolution only in cases determined by him. If he neglects this, then the sin continues.

7. God does not forgive anyone’s sin without at the same time forcing him to submit in everything to the priest, His vicar.

8. Church rules of repentance were imposed only on the living and, in accordance with them, should not be imposed on the dead.

9. Therefore, for our good, the Holy Spirit acts in the pope, in whose decrees the clause on death and extreme circumstances is always excluded.

10. Those priests act ignorantly and impiously who, even in Purgatory, leave church punishments on the dead.

11. The tares of this teaching - about changing the punishment of the church into the punishment of Purgatory - were definitely sown when the bishops were sleeping.

12. Previously, church punishments were imposed not after, but before the remission of sins, as tests of true repentance.

13. The dead are redeemed by death, and they, being already dead according to church canons, according to the law are exempt from them.

14. The imperfect consciousness, or grace of the deceased, inevitably brings with it great fear; and the smaller the grace itself, the greater it is.

15. This fear and horror in themselves are sufficient (for I will keep silent about other things) to prepare for suffering in Purgatory, because they are the closest to the horror of despair.

16. It seems that Hell, Purgatory and Heaven are different from each other, just as despair, the proximity of despair and serenity are different.

17. It seems that just as fear inevitably decreases in souls in Purgatory, so grace increases.

18. It seems that it is not proven either by reason or by Holy Scripture that they are outside the state of [acquiring] merit or communion of grace.

19. It also seems unproven that they are all confident and calm about their bliss, although we are completely convinced of this.

20. So, the pope, giving “full forgiveness of all punishments,” does not mean exclusively all, but only those imposed by himself.

21. Therefore, those preachers of indulgences are mistaken who declare that through papal indulgences a person is freed from all punishment and saved.

22. And even the souls who are in Purgatory, he does not exempt from the punishment that they had to, according to church law, atone for in earthly life.

23. If anyone can be given complete forgiveness of all punishments, there is no doubt that it is given to the most righteous, that is, to the few.

24. Consequently, the majority of the people are deceived by this equal and pompous promise of freedom from punishment.

25. Whatever power the pope has over Purgatory in general, every bishop or priest has in his diocese or parish in particular.

26. The Pope does very well that not by the power of keys (which he does not have at all), but by intercession he gives forgiveness to souls [in Purgatory].

27. Human thoughts are preached by those who teach that as soon as the coin rings in the box, the soul flies out of Purgatory.

28. Truly, the sound of gold in a box can only increase profit and greed, but church intercession is solely in God’s will.

29. Who knows whether all the souls in Purgatory wish to be ransomed, as happened, they say, with St. Severin and Paschal.

30. No one can be sure of the truth of his repentance and - much less - of receiving complete forgiveness.

31. Just as rare is the one who truly repents, so is the one who buys indulgences according to the rules, in other words, extremely rare.

32. Those who believed that through letters of absolution they had gained salvation will be condemned forever along with their teachers.

33. One should especially beware of those who teach that papal indulgences are God's priceless treasure, through which man is reconciled to God.

34. For their venial grace is addressed only to the punishments of church repentance, established humanly.

35. Those who teach that repentance is not required to redeem souls from Purgatory or to receive a letter of confession do not preach Christianly.

36. Every truly repentant Christian receives complete liberation from punishment and guilt, prepared for him even without indulgences.

37. Every true Christian, both living and dead, takes part in all the benefits of Christ and the Church, given to him by God, even without letters of release.

38. Papal forgiveness and participation should in no case be neglected, for it (as I have already said) is an announcement of God's forgiveness.

39. It became an overwhelming task even for the most learned theologians to simultaneously praise before the people both the generosity of indulgences and the truth of repentance.

40. True repentance seeks and loves punishment, but the generosity of indulgences weakens this desire and inspires hatred towards them, or at least gives a reason for this.

41. Papal indulgences must be preached with caution, so that the people do not falsely understand that they are preferable to all other acts of beneficence.

42. Christians must be taught: the Pope does not consider the purchase of indulgences even in the slightest degree comparable to works of mercy.

43. Christians must be taught: he who gives to a beggar or lends to a needy person does better than he who buys indulgences.

44. For by good deeds grace increases and a person becomes better; through indulgences he does not become better, but only freer from punishment.

45. Christians must be taught: he who, seeing a beggar and despising him, buys indulgences, will not receive papal forgiveness, but will incur the wrath of God upon himself.

46. ​​Christians must be taught: if they do not have wealth, they are obliged to leave what they need in their home and in no case spend their wealth on indulgences.

47. Christians must be taught: the purchase of indulgences is voluntary and not forced.

48. Christians must be taught: the pope both needs and desires more, when selling absolutions, a pious prayer for him than the money received.

49. Christians must be taught: papal absolutions are useful if they do not place hope in them, but are very harmful if through them they lose the fear of God.

50. Christians must be taught: if the pope knew about the abuses of the preachers of absolution, he would consider it best to burn down the church of St. Peter than to build it from the skin, meat and bones of his sheep.

51. Christians must be taught: the pope, as his duty obliges him to do, is what he really wants, even if it is necessary to sell the church of St. Peter - to give from his money to many of those from whom some preachers of emancipation have defrauded them of their money.

52. The hope of salvation through letters of release is in vain, even if the commissioner, moreover, the pope himself, would pledge his own soul for them.

53. The enemies of Christ and the Pope are those who, for the sake of preaching absolution, order that the word of God be completely silent in other churches.

54. Harm is done to the word of God if in one sermon equal or more time is spent on absolution than on it.

55. The opinion of the pope is certainly that if indulgences - the most insignificant good - are glorified with one bell, one procession and prayer service, then the Gospel - the highest good - must be preached with a hundred bells, a hundred processions and a hundred prayer services.

56. The treasures of the Church, from where the pope distributes indulgences, are not sufficiently named and are unknown to Christians.

57. There is no doubt that their value - and this is obvious - is eternal, for many preachers do not distribute them as generously as they willingly collect them.

58. Neither are they the merits of Christ and the saints, for they constantly - without the assistance of the pope - bestow grace on the inner man, and the cross, death and Hell on the outer man.

59. “Treasures of the Church,” said St. Lawrence is the poor of the Church,” but he used this word according to the custom of his time.

60. We rashly declare that the keys of the Church, bestowed by the ministry of Christ, are that treasure.

61. For it is clear that for release from punishment and for forgiveness, in certain cases, the power of the pope is sufficient.

62. The true treasure of the Church is the most holy Gospel (Good News) about the glory and grace of God.

63. But it is deservedly very hateful, for it makes the first last.

64. The treasure of indulgences is deservedly very beloved, for it makes the last first.

65. So, the treasures of the Gospel are the nets with which people were previously caught from riches.

66. The treasures of indulgences are the nets by which people’s wealth is now caught.

67. Indulgences, which preachers proclaim to have “supreme grace,” are truly so because they bring profit.

68. In reality, they can least be compared with God's grace and mercy of the Cross.

69. Bishops and priests are charged with the duty of receiving commissioners of papal dispensations with all reverence.

70. But even more so they are charged with the duty of looking with all their eyes, listening with all their ears, so that instead of the papal commission they do not preach their own inventions.

71. Whoever speaks against the truth of papal absolution - let him be anathematized and cursed.

72. But whoever stands guard against the unbridled and insolent speech of the preacher - may he be blessed.

73. How rightly the pope strikes with excommunication those who plot all sorts of tricks to harm the trade in scapegoats.

74. Thus, much more terrible, he intends to strike with excommunication those who, under the pretext of absolution, are plotting to damage holy grace and truth.

75. To hope that papal pardons are such that they can forgive a person’s sin, even if he, assuming the impossible, dishonors the Mother of God, means to lose his mind.

76. We say against this, that papal pardons cannot remove the slightest venial sin, as far as guilt is concerned.

77. Claim that St. Peter, if he had been pope, could not have bestowed more blessings - there is blasphemy against St. Peter and dad.

78. We say against this that this and in general every pope bestows more blessings, namely: the Gospel, miraculous powers, gifts of healing, etc. - as stated in the First Epistle to the Corinthians, chapter 12.

79. To assert that a magnificently erected cross with the papal coat of arms is equivalent to the cross of Christ means blasphemy.

80. Bishops, priests and theologians who allow such speeches to be made before the people will be held accountable for this.

81. This impudent preaching of absolution leads to the fact that reverence for the pope, even by learned people, is not easy to defend against slander and, moreover, the insidious questions of the laity.

82. For example: Why doesn’t the pope liberate Purgatory for the sake of the most holy love for one’s neighbor and the extremely plight of souls - that is, for the most important reason - if at the same time he saves an incalculable number of souls for the sake of despicable money for the construction of a temple - that is, for the most insignificant reason ?

83. Or: Why do funeral services and annual commemorations of the dead continue to be held and why does the pope not return or allow the funds donated for them to be withdrawn, while it is sinful to pray for those who have already been redeemed from Purgatory?

84. Or: What is this new grace of God and the Pope, that for money they allow an atheist and enemy of God to acquire a pious and beloved soul to God, but for suffering they do not save the same pious and beloved soul unselfishly, out of mercy?

85. Or: Why are the church rules of repentance, which in fact have long been abolished and dead due to disuse, are still paid for in money for indulgences granted, as if they were still in force and alive?

86. Or: Why does the pope, who is now richer than the richest Croesus, build this only temple of St. Peter would rather not use his own money, but rather the money of poor believers?

87. Or: What does the Pope forgive or absolve those who, through true repentance, are entitled to full forgiveness and absolution?

88. Or: What could add more good to the Church, if the pope did what he now does once, a hundred times a day, endowing every believer with this forgiveness and remission?

89. If the pope seeks to save souls by absolution rather than by money, why does he revoke the bulls and absolutions previously granted, while they are equally effective?

90. To suppress these very crafty arguments of the laity only by force, and not to resolve them on a reasonable basis, means exposing the Church and the Pope to ridicule by the enemies and making Christians unhappy.

91. So, if indulgences are preached in the spirit and according to the thought of the pope, all these arguments are easily destroyed, moreover, they simply do not exist.

92. Therefore, let all the prophets be scattered, preaching to the people of Christ: “Peace, peace!” - but there is no peace.

93. It is good for all the prophets who preach to the people of Christ: “Cross, cross!” - but there is no cross.

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94. Christians should be exhorted to strive joyfully to follow their head, Christ, through punishment, death and hell.

95. And they hoped more to enter heaven through many sorrows than through serene calm.

Luther M. 95 theses. Dispute on clarifying the effectiveness of indulgences

In the name of the love of truth and the desire to explain it, the following will be proposed for discussion in Wittenberg, under the chairmanship of the Venerable Father Martin Luther, Master of Liberal Arts and Holy Theology, and Professor in Ordinary in that city. Therefore, he asks that those who cannot be present and personally enter into discussion with us, do so, due to absence, in writing. In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

1. Our Lord and Teacher Jesus Christ, saying: “Repent...”, commanded that the entire life of believers should be repentance.

2. This word ["repent"] cannot be understood as referring to the sacrament of repentance (that is, to confession and absolution, which is performed by the ministry of the priest).

3. However, it does not only refer to internal repentance; on the contrary, internal repentance is nothing if in external life it does not entail complete mortification of the flesh.

4. Therefore, punishment remains as long as a person’s hatred of him remains (this is true internal repentance), in other words, until he enters the Kingdom of Heaven.

5. The Pope does not want and cannot forgive any punishments other than those that he has imposed either by his own authority or by ecclesiastical law.

6. The Pope has no power to forgive any sin without declaring and confirming the forgiveness in the name of the Lord; in addition, he grants absolution only in cases specified by him. If he neglects this, then the sin continues.

7. God does not forgive anyone’s sin without at the same time forcing him to submit in everything to the priest, His vicar.

8. Church rules of repentance were imposed only on the living and, in accordance with them, should not be imposed on the dead.

9. Therefore, for our good, the Holy Spirit acts in the pope, in whose decrees the clause on death and extreme circumstances is always excluded.

10. Those priests act ignorantly and impiously who, even in Purgatory, leave church punishments on the dead.

11. The tares of this teaching - about changing the punishment of the church into the punishment of Purgatory - were definitely sown while the bishops were sleeping.

12. Previously, church punishments were imposed not after, but before the remission of sins, as tests of true repentance.

13. The dead are redeemed by death, and they, being already dead according to church canons, according to the law are exempt from them.

14. The imperfect consciousness, or grace of the deceased, inevitably brings with it great fear; and the smaller the grace itself, the greater it is.

15. This fear and horror in themselves are sufficient (for I will keep silent about other things) to prepare for suffering in Purgatory, because they are the closest to the horror of despair.

16. It seems that Hell, Purgatory and Heaven are different from each other, just as despair, the proximity of despair and serenity are different.

17. It seems that just as fear inevitably decreases in souls in Purgatory, so grace increases.

18. It seems that it is not proven either by reason or by Holy Scripture that they are outside the state of [acquiring] merit or communion of grace.

19. It also seems unproven that they are all confident and calm about their bliss, although we are completely convinced of this.

20. So, the pope, giving “full forgiveness of all punishments,” does not mean exclusively all, but only those imposed by himself.

21. Therefore, those preachers of indulgences are mistaken who declare that through papal indulgences a person is freed from all punishment and saved.

22. And even the souls who are in Purgatory, he does not exempt from the punishment that they had to, according to church law, atone for in earthly life.

23. If anyone can be given complete forgiveness of all punishments, it is certain that it is given to the most righteous, that is, to the few.

24. Consequently, the majority of the people are deceived by this equal and pompous promise of freedom from punishment.

25. Whatever power the pope has over Purgatory in general, every bishop or priest has in his diocese or parish in particular.

26. The Pope does very well that not by the power of keys (which he does not have at all), but by intercession he gives forgiveness to souls [in Purgatory].

27. Human thoughts are preached by those who teach that as soon as the coin rings in the box, the soul flies out of Purgatory.

28. Truly, the sound of gold in a box can only increase profit and greed, but church intercession is solely in God’s will.

29. Who knows whether all the souls in Purgatory wish to be ransomed, as happened, they say, with St. Severin and Paschal.

30. No one can be sure of the truth of his repentance and - much less - of receiving complete forgiveness.

31. Just as rare is the one who truly repents, so is the one who buys indulgences according to the rules, in other words, extremely rare.

32. Those who believed that through letters of absolution they had gained salvation will be condemned forever along with their teachers.

33. One should especially beware of those who teach that papal indulgences are God's priceless treasure, through which man is reconciled to God.

34. For their venial grace is addressed only to the punishments of church repentance, established humanly.

35. Those who teach that repentance is not required to redeem souls from Purgatory or to receive a letter of confession do not preach Christianly.

36. Every truly repentant Christian receives complete liberation from punishment and guilt, prepared for him even without indulgences.

37. Every true Christian, both living and dead, takes part in all the benefits of Christ and the Church, given to him by God, even without letters of release.

38. Papal forgiveness and participation should in no case be neglected, for it (as I have already said) is an announcement of God's forgiveness.

39. It became an impossible task even for the most learned theologians to simultaneously praise before the people both the generosity of indulgences and the truth of repentance.

40. True repentance seeks and loves punishment, but the generosity of indulgences weakens this desire and inspires hatred towards them, or at least. gives rise to this.

41. Papal indulgences must be preached with caution, so that the people do not falsely understand that they are preferable to all other acts of beneficence.

42. Christians must be taught: the Pope does not consider the purchase of indulgences even in the slightest degree comparable to works of mercy.

43. Christians must be taught: he who gives to a beggar or lends to a needy person does better than he who buys indulgences.

Martin Luther is famous, first of all, for initiating large-scale transformations in the religious worldview of the people at the turn of the 15th-16th centuries, which led to the emergence of another direction of Christianity - Protestantism.

Who was Martin Luther?

Lucas Cranach. Hans and Margaret Luther.

Martin Luther was born into the family of a former peasant who became a mining metallurgist, and eventually a wealthy burgher. When the boy was 14 years old, he was sent to a Franciscan Catholic school, after which, at the behest of his parents, he began studying law at the university in Erfurt. From an early age, the boy was attracted to theology; together with his friends, he sang church hymns under the windows of wealthy townspeople.

In 1505, against the wishes of his parents, Martin left the law faculty and entered the Augustinian monastery in Erfurt. After only a year of service, the young man took monastic vows, and in 1507 he was ordained a priest.

In 1508 he was sent to teach at one of the newly established institutes in Wittenberg, where he became interested in the philosophical works of Bishop Augustine, one of the outstanding figures of the Christian church.

During one of his trips to Italy in 1511, Luther came to the conclusion that the Roman Catholic Church was widely abusing its position by issuing indulgences for money. It was a crisis of faith that he could not cope with for a long time.

Soon after the trip, Luther received a doctorate in theology and began to teach extensively. At the same time, he very thoughtfully and painstakingly studied biblical texts. As a result of his theological studies, Luther developed his own beliefs about how a believer should serve God, which diverged significantly from what the Catholic Church professed.

"95 Theses" and the beginning of the Reformation

Luther's 95 Theses. commons.wikimedia.org

On October 31, 1517, Martin Luther posted on the door of the Wittenberg Castle Church a document consisting of 95 theses criticizing the papacy and indulgences (forgiveness of sins for money). In his message, nailed to the parish door, he declared that the church is not a mediator between God and man, and the Pope has no right to give absolution, since a person saves his soul not through the church, but through faith in the Creator.

At first, Luther’s theses remained without due attention from the Pope, who considered that this was one of the manifestations of “monastic quarrels” (discord between different church parishes), which were not uncommon in those days. Meanwhile, Luther, having secured the support of the Roman Prince Frederick the Wise, continued to spread his views on the activities of the Catholic Church. Only when the Pope sent his emissaries to him did the theologian agree to stop criticizing the existing church foundations.

Luther's excommunication

One of the key events of the Reformation period was the Leipzig Dispute, which took place in 1519. Johann Eck, an outstanding theologian and ardent opponent of Luther, challenged one of the reformer’s comrades, Karlstadt, to a public debate in the city of Leipzig. All of Eck's theses were constructed in such a way as to condemn the ideas and beliefs of Martin Luther. Luther was able to join the debate and defend his position only a week after the start of the debate.

Luther in Worms: “On this I stand...” commons.wikimedia.org

Martin Luther, in contrast to his opponent, insisted that the head of the church is Jesus Christ, and the papal church received consecration only in the 12th century, thus not being the legal substitute of God on earth. The dispute between the two opponents lasted for two whole days, and was witnessed by a large number of people. The debate between the parties ended with Luther breaking all ties with the papal church.

The speech of the theologian from Erfurt stirred up the masses, and entire movements began to organize spontaneously, demanding church reforms and the elimination of monastic vows.

Luther's ideas found particular support among the emerging layer of capitalists, because the papal church strongly suppressed the economic independence and entrepreneurial activity of the people, condemning personal savings.

In 1521 the Roman Emperor Charles V published the so-called The Edict of Worms (decree), according to which Martin Luther was declared a heretic and his works were subject to destruction. Anyone who supported him could henceforth be excommunicated from the papal church. Luther publicly burned the imperial decree and declared that the fight against papal dominance was his life’s work.

Martin Luther burns a bull. Woodcut, 1557. Commons.wikimedia.org

Luther's patron, Frederick the Wise, secretly sent the theologian to the remote castle of Wartburg so that the Pope could not find out about the location of the traitor. It was here, while in voluntary confinement, that Luther began translating the Bible into German. It must be said that in those days the people did not have free access to biblical texts: there were no translations into German, and people had to rely on the dogmas that the church dictated to them. The work of translating the Bible into German was of great significance for the people, and helped the theologian himself to confirm his beliefs regarding the Catholic Church.

Development of the Reformation

The main idea of ​​the Reformation, according to Luther, was a non-violent limitation of the powers of the Pope, without war and bloodshed. However, spontaneous protests by the masses at that time were often accompanied by pogroms of Catholic parishes.

As a countermeasure, imperial knights were sent, some of whom, however, went over to the side of the instigators of the Reformation. This happened because the social importance of knights in a prosperous Catholic society had greatly decreased compared to ancient times, the warriors dreamed of restoring their reputation and privileged position.

The next stage of the confrontation between Catholics and reformers was the peasant war led by another spiritual figure of the Reformation - Thomas Munzer. The peasant revolt was unorganized and was soon suppressed by the forces of the empire. However, even after the end of the war, supporters of the Reformation continued to promote their vision of the role of the Catholic Church among the people. The reformers combined all their postulates into the so-called. Tetrapolitan Confession.

At this time, Luther was already very ill and could not defend his vision of a nonviolent Reformation to other participants in the protest movement. On February 18, 1546, he died in the city of Eisleben at the age of 62 years.

Bugenhagen preaches at Luther's funeral. commons.wikimedia.org

Reformation without Luther

Adherents of the idea of ​​the Reformation began to be called Protestants, and those who followed the theological teachings of Matrin Luther - Lutherans.

The Reformation continued after the death of its ideological inspirer, although the imperial army dealt a serious blow to the Protestants. Cities and spiritual centers of Protestantism were devastated, many adherents of the Reformation were imprisoned, even Martin Luther's grave was destroyed. Protestants were forced to make significant concessions to the Catholic Church, however, the ideas of the Reformation were not forgotten. In 1552, the second major war between Protestants and imperial forces began, which ended in victory for the reformers. As a result, in 1555, the Augsburg Religious Peace was concluded between Catholics and Protestants, which equalized the rights of representatives of Catholicism, Protestantism and other faiths.

The Reformation, which began in Germany, affected many European countries to varying degrees: Austria, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, France. The authorities of these states were forced to make concessions to the growing masses of people who demanded freedom of religion.

An important discovery has been made in the Jena University library: a note has been discovered confirming that Augustinian monk and theology professor Martin Luther actually nailed his 95 theses against the abuses associated with the sale of indulgences in the medieval Catholic Church to the church door in Wittenberg.

Although history is presented this way in most textbooks, scholars have often questioned it. Some believed that he simply read his theses before the church gates, others believed that Luther sent the theses to other professors in order to provoke a scientific discussion.

Many scientists believed that the story of the 95 theses nailed to the doors is nothing more than a legend that has no confirmation in reliable historical sources. They argued that this was an invention of Luther's supporters, who wanted to thus enhance the effect of his speech after the death of the reformer himself.

The record found was found in a 1540 German translation of the New Testament. It was left by Georg Röhrer, Luther's personal secretary and companion on all his travels.

Röhrer wrote: “In 1517, on the eve of the feast of All Saints, Dr. Martin Luther proclaimed his theses on indulgences on the church doors in Wittenberg.”

Röhrer's note was found by Dr. Martin Troy, a research fellow at the foundation, which cares for sites related to the history of the Lutheran Reformation.

“The uniqueness of the recording is based on the fact that it was made during the life of the reformer,” said Sabine Wefers, director of the university library.

Until now, the general belief that the theses were nailed down was based on the message of Philip Melanchthon, a close associate of Dr. Martin Luther. But this message was dated after the death of the Wittenberg reformer himself, reports the EAI agency.

There is no doubt that the found inscription will be a turning point in the debate, although not all scientists are confident in its authenticity. According to Professor Volker Leppin, dean of the Faculty of Evangelical Theology at Jena, the note cannot be a definitive argument that Martin Luther actually nailed the 95 Theses to the church door.

Baznica.Info / Patriarchy.ru

How Martin Luther's 95 Theses turned into 500 years of Protestantism in the world and in Russia

October 31, 1517 is considered the date of the beginning of the Reformation. On this day, Martin Luther (1483–1546) nailed his 95 Theses to the door of the castle church in the city of Wittenberg. Now this fact is disputed: perhaps Luther simply sent the text of his theses to various church leaders, they spread and served as an impetus for the church renewal movement.

Perhaps the Reformation can be called a revolution in Christianity, but Luther himself, like Ulrich Zwingli (1484–1531) or John Calvin (1509–1564) and other reformers of the 16th century, did not intend to introduce any innovations. They believed that they were returning to the true teachings of Jesus Christ and the apostolic church system, distorted by the papacy.

From these five basic principles one can derive many features of Protestant beliefs and practices: the denial of icon veneration, a reduction in the number of sacraments (and in some movements even a complete rejection of them), the absence of clear boundaries between priests and laity (pastors are not mediators between God and people, but only only preachers and mentors, while the laity are required to study the Bible and be active members of the church). The latter is aptly expressed by Karl Marx’s aphorism: “Luther turned the priests into laymen, turning the laity into priests.”

The thesis Sola scriptura had especially serious consequences: a free interpretation of the Bible, not bound by any authorities, became one of the reasons for the fragmentation of Protestantism and the emergence of many denominations, because even the leaders of the Reformation - Martin Luther, Ulrich Zwingli, Thomas Munzer (1489–1525) and John Calvin - did not understood the Bible the same way.

Many of the Protestant denominations that arose as a result of these differences are represented today in Russia.

The exact number of Protestants in modern Russia is unknown. It is believed that there are about three million of them. The largest Protestant denomination in Russia is Pentecostals. Next come Baptists, Lutherans, Seventh-day Adventists, various groups of evangelical Christians, and Methodists. Other denominations are also present - in small numbers.

Lutherans

Historically, the first Protestants to appear in Russia were Lutherans - representatives of the most ancient Protestant denomination. Lutherans adhere to the five principles of the Reformation, but also retain a number of traditional features: they believe in the reality of the presence of the flesh and blood of Christ in the bread and wine during communion, they baptize in infancy, they have a rich liturgical tradition, they retain the vestments of pastors and even images in churches (though , they are not an object of veneration, and they are not prayed before).

Lutheranism is mainly widespread in Germany, Scandinavia and the USA, but there are also many Lutherans in other countries. Back in the 16th century, under Ivan the Terrible, captured Lutheran Germans ended up in Russia.

Throughout the 17th century, the number of Germans living in Russia, as well as the Dutch, Huguenots (that is, the French followers of John Calvin) and immigrants from Scandinavian countries, increased. They formed special areas in Russian cities - foreign or German settlements. Protestant churches were built in these areas, and Protestants - mainly Lutherans - enjoyed religious freedom on the condition that they refused to convert Orthodox Christians to Protestantism.

Lutherans in Russia became much more numerous in the 18th century: first under Peter I, when Livonia, Courland, Estland and Ingermanland (the territories of modern Latvia, Estonia and the Leningrad region) with their German, Latvian, Estonian and Finnish populations were annexed to Russia, and then under Catherine II, who invited German farmers and artisans and provided them with land in the Volga region.

Currently, there are several Lutheran churches in Russia, the largest of which are the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Russia and the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Ingria (another name for Ingria, that is, the territory of the Leningrad region). The first, the most numerous and widespread throughout Russia, is of German origin, the second, widespread mainly in the North-West of the country, is of Finnish origin. These churches have much in common, in particular, both are undergoing a gradual process of Russification: services are held mainly in Russian, although German and Finnish services are preserved. However, the Church of Ingria is more conservative: unlike the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Russia, for example, it does not allow female priesthood.

Reformed and Presbyterianism are also represented in Russia - two main directions of another oldest Protestant denomination - Calvinism. Calvinism is characterized by a more decisive break with Catholic traditions compared to Lutheranism. Churches that arose in continental Europe adhering to Calvinist doctrines are usually called Reformed, while Presbyterian churches originate from the British Isles. Reformers appeared in Russia in the 17th century, mainly the Dutch and French. Now in Russia there are several Reformed and Presbyterian communities (by the way, a significant proportion of their members are ethnic Koreans), but in general there are few followers of Calvinism in Russia.

Service in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Pushkin, Leningrad region, 1989

Much more numerous today in our country are the Protestant denominations that arose in the world since the 17th century, and in Russia which have spread since the mid-19th century: Baptists, Evangelical Christians, Pentecostals and Seventh-day Adventists.

Baptists

The first Baptist community was founded in 1609 in Amsterdam by English Puritan emigrants persecuted in their homeland. These were radical Protestants who did not recognize the official church and demanded the elimination of all Catholic elements in doctrine, church structure and worship.

The word "Baptist" comes from the Greek "baptizo" - "I dip in water", "baptize". A feature of Baptistism is baptism by faith, i.e. baptism only for conscious believers, from which comes the refusal to baptize infants who cannot consciously profess the Christian faith.

Currently, the largest number of Baptists is in North America (primarily the USA), as well as in Africa, Asia and Oceania - in total there are about 60 million people in the world. The two main denominations of Baptists are general and private Baptists.

General Baptists believe that Christ accomplished the common atonement, i.e. redeemed all people without exception, and salvation requires the participation of God and human will. But private Baptists adhere to the doctrine of John Calvin, according to which Christ atoned for the sins of only the elect. And if in the United States, where the largest number of Baptists in the world live, private Baptists predominate, then in Russia, as in other countries of the former Soviet Union, general Baptists have spread.

Baptistism, like its related evangelical Christianity, began to spread in Russia in the second half of the 19th century.

At first, Baptists and evangelical Christians were subjected to persecution, which was weakened after the manifesto on religious tolerance of 1905 and the First Russian Revolution. In the first years after the October Revolution, Baptists and Evangelical Christians tried to fit into the new reality and until the end of the 1920s they enjoyed a tolerant attitude from the authorities. However, in the 1930s, persecution began against them, which continued until the start of the Great Patriotic War. Many active Baptists and evangelical Christians were subjected to repression.

Since 1943, Soviet religious policy has relaxed and many communities have received legal status. In 1944, largely on the initiative of the authorities, the All-Union Council of Evangelical Christians-Baptists (ECB) was created - an organization that united Baptists, Evangelical Christians, as well as some Pentecostals and some other Protestant groups. And although the union of Baptists and Evangelical Christians was initiated from above (no one asked ordinary believers), it nevertheless stood the test of time, but the majority of Pentecostal communities soon left the new union.

Service in the prayer house of the Evangelical Christian Baptist community, Bryansk region, 1992

In 1963, a split occurred among the evangelical Christian Baptists of the USSR. It was caused by the fact that the leadership of the All-Union Council of the ECB, under the conditions of Khrushchev’s anti-religious campaign, issued a secret instruction under pressure from the authorities, which proposed not to take children to services, to stop missionary activities, etc.

This instruction caused indignation among some believers, who regarded it as apostasy by the leadership of the council. They created an initiative group to convene the All-Union Congress of Evangelical Christian Baptists with the goal of repealing the instruction (hence the common name for these protesters - Initiative Baptists). However, the congress was not convened, the oppositionists broke with the All-Union Council and created their own organization - the Council of Churches of Evangelical Christian Baptists, which the authorities refused to register and whose leaders, as well as active participants in the movement, were persecuted.

A service dedicated to the breaking of bread, in the prayer house of Evangelical Christian Baptists, Bryansk, 1992

In 1992, the All-Union Council of Evangelical Christians-Baptists ceased to exist, and on its basis the Russian Union of Evangelical Christians-Baptists was created, which united most of the communities and exists to this day.

However, it is not the only Baptist association in Russia. The successor to the Council of Churches of Evangelical Christian Baptists, which broke away in the early 1960s, was the International Union of Churches of Evangelical Christian Baptists. There are no significant differences between the beliefs of the Russian and International Unions of the ECB, but if the Russian Union and its member communities are officially registered, the International Union still avoids official registration, since it does not accept any relationships with government authorities.

There are also autonomous communities of Evangelical Christian Baptists that are not part of any union. In addition, over time, a number of communities of Evangelical Christians, with whom Baptists were once united “from above,” emerged or re-emerged, so that Evangelical Christianity also again exists as a separate direction of Russian Protestantism, although communities of Evangelical Christians are few in number.

Worship in the Baptist prayer house, Novokuznetsk, 1994

Pentecostals

The most numerous Protestant denomination in modern Russia is Pentecostalism. Pentecostals are the youngest Protestant denomination that arose at the beginning of the twentieth century in the United States, and the most dynamically developing direction of Christianity.

Pentecostalism arose within the framework of the Holiness Movement, which in turn grew on the basis of the so-called revivalism, that is, “awakening,” a movement in American Protestantism of the 18th–19th centuries. Followers of the Holiness Movement believed that the goal of a Christian is to achieve holiness through receiving the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

Pentecostals place special importance on the baptism of the Holy Spirit, which they consider similar to what the apostles experienced on the 50th day after the resurrection of Christ (hence the name of the denomination). One of the most important signs of the influence of the Holy Spirit among Pentecostals is the gift of speaking “in other tongues,” which is why many of their services are of an ecstatic nature. There are the gift of healing, and the gift of prophecy, and other gifts. Pentecostals, like Baptists and evangelical Christians, baptize only conscientious believers (not infants).

Great Methodist Camp Meeting of the Second Great Awakening in New York State, 1865

Many consider the beginning of the Pentecostal movement proper to be January 1, 1901, when the first act of speaking “in other tongues” was recorded in Kansas. In the first quarter of the twentieth century, Pentecostalism had already emerged as a separate denomination, divided into many movements.

In the 1960s, the charismatic movement arose and then became widespread - speaking in other tongues, as well as prophecy, healing and other gifts, began to spread in various Protestant denominations and even some Catholic communities. Therefore, there is no consensus among researchers whether charismatics are considered a type of Pentecostalism or whether they are different directions of Christianity.

Charismatics went much further than traditional Pentecostals in their worship experiments: rock music, dancing and falling on the floor became common occurrences at their services. Sometimes they even talk about a third wave, or about neo-Pentecostals (neo-charismatics), who appeared in the 1970s. During this time, many new churches sprang up around the world practicing speaking in tongues and other forms of ecstatic worship. Be that as it may, Pentecostalism is now widespread throughout the world and is the largest Protestant denomination.

Pentecostal service with speaking in tongues in Jolow, West Virginia, USA

Pentecostalism penetrated into Russia from Sweden and Norway and began to spread here in 1911. To distinguish themselves from evangelical Christians close to Baptists, Russian Pentecostals began to call themselves (and still call themselves) Christians of the Evangelical Faith or Christians of the Evangelical Faith. Around the same time, the teaching of Pentecostals also spread, rejecting the doctrine of the Trinity and therefore called Oneness Pentecostals. Their “official” name is “Evangelical Christians in the Apostolic Spirit.”

After 1917, the Pentecostal movement continued to develop, but in the 1930s it too was subject to repression. In 1944, part of the Pentecostal communities joined the above-mentioned All-Union Council of Evangelical Christian Baptists, but they were forced to abandon the practice of speaking “in other tongues.”

Soon, almost all of these communities left the All-Union Council of the ECB, and until the end of the 1980s, the majority of Pentecostal communities remained unregistered. Moreover, Pentecostals were persecuted: they were accused of violating Soviet legislation, of fanaticism, and even, which was absolutely groundless, of human sacrifice. In particular, the feature film “Clouds over Borsk”, released in 1960, was devoted to this topic, in which, among others, young Inna Churikova and Nikita Mikhalkov played. In the 1970s–1980s, sentiments in favor of emigrating to the United States began to spread among Pentecostals, and a considerable part of them left Russia.

Pentecostal worship with healings in the circus in Yaroslavl, 2002

At the end of the 1980s, the situation began to change: Pentecostal communities were registered, and all-Russian Pentecostal associations emerged. Charismatics began to play a significant role among the rapidly growing communities.

Adventists

Another numerous movement within Russian Protestantism is the Seventh-day Adventists.

Adventism (from the Latin adventus - advent; meaning the second coming of Christ) arose in the USA in the 1840s. Baptist preacher William Miller (1782–1849) concluded from his study of the Bible that the Second Coming would occur in October 1844. His preaching was a success among representatives of various Protestant denominations, but since the Second Coming did not happen, there was a “great disappointment” (a term used by Adventists themselves).

Many of those who believed Miller left him, but some, deciding that the exact timing of the end of the world was impossible to calculate, continued to wait for him. It was in these circles around 1860 that Seventh-day Adventists emerged.

The seventh day is Saturday, which Adventists, in accordance with the biblical commandments, honor and observe, considering Sunday a distortion of the divine commandment introduced by Catholics. The American Ellen (Ellen) White (1827–1915), who among Adventists has the status of a prophetess and whose works enjoy significant authority, played a huge role in the formation of the Seventh-day Adventist doctrine.

The main points of the Seventh-day Adventist doctrine, along with the doctrine of the Trinity and the recognition of the divine nature of Jesus Christ, common to most Christians, as well as principles common to many Protestants (universal priesthood of all believers, conscious baptism, etc.) is the reverence of the Sabbath and other Old Testament commandments, denial of the immortality of the soul (Adventists believe that at the second coming the righteous will be resurrected for eternal life, and sinners will be completely destroyed), etc.

The sanitary reform developed by Ellen White plays an important role: Adventists do not eat pork and the meat of other animals that are unclean, according to the Bible, and do not consume tobacco, alcohol, other intoxicating substances, and even tea and coffee. Many Adventists are pacifist. When, during World War I, the leaders of a number of Adventist churches in the United States allowed military service, a split occurred in the Adventist movement and the Seventh-day Adventist Church of the Reformation movement emerged, firmly standing on the principles of pacifism.

Adventist service, Ulan-Ude, 1991

In Russia, the first Seventh-day Adventist communities appeared in the 1880s. Early on, Adventists were also subject to persecution, which was later eased. In the 1920s, Adventists tried to cooperate with the Soviet government, but in the 1930s, repression began, directed against Adventists in general, but especially against Reform Adventists, who were persecuted until the end of the 1980s. Despite this, after the Great Patriotic War, many Adventist communities were registered, but the movement began to flourish, of course, in the 1990s. Today Adventism is spread throughout Russia. In the Tula region there is even a higher educational institution of the denomination - Zaoksky Adventist University.