When did Protestantism appear? Protestant Church: what is it? History of formation and modernity. Sectarian trends in the Protestant Church

06.12.2020

Denomination or sect, church or...

In society, there is such a phenomenon as Protestant churches, or as they are often called in our country - "sects". Some people are fine with this, others are very negative about them. You can often hear that Protestant Baptists sacrifice babies, and Pentecostals turn off the lights in meetings.

In this article, we want to provide you with information about Protestantism: reveal the history of the emergence of the Protestant movement, the basic doctrinal principles of Protestantism, and touch on the reasons for the negative attitude towards it in society.

Big Encyclopedic Dictionary reveals the meaning of the words "Sect", "Sectarianism", "Protestantism":

SECT(from Latin secta - teaching, direction, school) - a religious group, a community that broke away from the dominant church. In a figurative sense - a group of people who are closed in their narrow interests.

SECTARIANISM- religious, the designation of religious associations that are in opposition to one or another dominant religious trend. In history, social, national liberation movements often took the form of sectarianism. Some sects have acquired traits of fanaticism and extremism. A number of sects cease to exist, some turn into churches. Famous: Adventists, Baptists, Doukhobors, Molokans, Pentecostals, Khlysty, etc.

PROTESTANTISM (from lat. protestans, genus n. protestantis - publicly proving), one of the main directions in Christianity. He broke away from Catholicism during the Reformation of the 16th century. It unites many independent movements, churches and sects (Lutheranism, Calvinism, the Anglican Church, Methodists, Baptists, Adventists, etc.). Protestantism is characterized by the absence of a fundamental opposition of the clergy to the laity, the rejection of a complex church hierarchy, a simplified cult, the absence of monasticism, celibacy; in Protestantism there is no cult of the Virgin, saints, angels, icons, the number of sacraments is reduced to two (baptism and communion).

The main source of doctrine is Holy Scripture. Protestantism is spread mainly in the USA, Great Britain, Germany, Scandinavian countries and Finland, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Australia, Canada, Latvia, Estonia. Thus, Protestants are Christians who belong to one of several independent Christian churches.

They are Christians and, along with Catholics and Orthodox, share the fundamental principles of Christianity. For example, they all accept the Nicene Creed, accepted first Council of the Church in 325, as well as the Nicene Tsaregrad Creed, adopted by the Council of Chalcedon in 451 (See inset). They all believe in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ, in His divine essence and the coming coming. All three sects accept the Bible as the Word of God and agree that repentance and faith are necessary to have eternal life.

However, the views of Catholics, Orthodox and Protestants differ on some issues. Protestants value the authority of the Bible above all else. Orthodox and Catholics, on the other hand, value their traditions more highly and believe that only the leaders of these Churches can interpret the Bible correctly. Despite their differences, all Christians agree with the prayer of Christ recorded in the Gospel of John (17:20-21): “I do not only pray for them, but also for those who believe in Me according to their word, so that they may all be one ...”.

HISTORY OF PROTESTANTS

One of the first Protestant reformers was a priest, professor of theology Jan Hus, a Slav who lived in the territory of modern Bohemia and became a martyr for his faith in 1415. Jan Hus taught that Scripture is more important than tradition. The Protestant Reformation spread throughout Europe in 1517 when another Catholic priest and professor of theology named Martin Luther called for a renewal of the Catholic Church. He said that when the Bible comes into conflict with church traditions, the Bible must be obeyed. Luther declared that the Church was wrong to sell the opportunity to go to heaven for money. He also believed that salvation comes through faith in Christ, and not through an attempt to "earn" eternal life by good deeds.

The Protestant Reformation is now spreading all over the world. As a result, such churches as Lutheran, Anglican, Dutch Reformed, and later Baptist, Pentecostal and others, including charismatic ones, were formed. According to Operation Peace, there are about 600 million Protestants, 900 million Catholics and 250 million Orthodox around the world.

At first glance, it may seem that Protestants appeared on the territory of the CIS only with the collapse of the USSR and came from America. In fact, Protestants first came to Russia during the time of Ivan the Terrible, and by 1590 they were even in Siberia. For a nine-year period (from 1992 to 2000), 11,192 Christian communities were registered on the territory of Ukraine, of which 5,772 (51.6%) were Orthodox and 3,755 (33.5%) were Protestant (according to State Committee Ukraine for Religious Affairs).

Thus, Protestantism in Ukraine has long gone beyond the "group of individuals who are closed in their own narrow interests", since more than a third of all churches in the country cannot be called a "sect". Protestant churches are officially registered by the state, they are open to everyone and do not hide their activities. Their main goal remains to convey to people the gospel of the Savior.

DOCTRINAL PRINCIPLES

CHURCH TRADITIONS

Protestants don't mind church traditions except when these traditions are contrary to Scripture. They justify this primarily by Jesus' remark in Matthew 15:3, 6: “... Why do you also transgress the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? ... Thus you eliminated the commandment God's tradition yours."

BAPTISM

Protestants believe in the Bible's statement that baptism should only follow repentance (Acts 2:3) and believe that baptism without repentance is meaningless. Protestants do not support infant baptism, as the infant cannot repent because of his ignorance of good and evil. Jesus said: “Let the children go and do not prevent them from coming to Me, for of such is the kingdom of heaven” (Mat. 19:14). Protestants rely on the fact that the Bible does not describe a single case of infant baptism, especially since even Jesus waited for his baptism up to 30 years.

ICONS

Protestants believe that the Ten Commandments (Ex. 20:4) forbid the use of images for worship: “You shall not make for yourself an idol or any image of what is in the sky above, and what is on the earth below, and what is in the water below the earth”. Leviticus 26:1 says: “Do not make for yourselves idols and statues, and do not set up pillars for yourself, and do not lay stones with images on your land to bow before them; for I am the Lord your God.” Therefore, Protestants do not use images for worship for fear that some people may worship these images instead of God.

PRAYERS TO THE SAINTS

Protestants prefer to follow the instructions of Jesus, where He taught us to pray by saying: “Pray like this: Our Father who art in heaven!”(Mat. 6:9). In addition, there are no examples in Scripture where anyone prayed to Mary or the saints. They believe that the Bible forbids praying to people who have died, even to Christians in Paradise, basing this on Deuteronomy (18:10-12), which says: "You must not have ... the questioner of the dead". God condemned Saul for coming into contact with Saint Samuel after his death (1 Chronicles 10:13-14).

THE VIRGIN MARY

Protestants believe that Mary was a perfect example of Christian obedience to God and that she remained a virgin until Jesus was born. The basis for this is the Gospel of Matthew (1:25), which says that Joseph, her husband, “did not know her, how at last she gave birth to her firstborn Son”, and other passages from the Bible that speak of the brothers and sisters of Jesus (Matt. 12:46, 13:55-56, Mark 3:31, John 2:12, 7:3). But they do not believe that Mary was without sin, because in Luke 1:47 she called God her Savior; if Mary had been without sin, she would not have needed a Savior.

CHURCH

Protestants believe that there is only one true Church, but do not believe that it is part of any man-made organization. This true Church consists of all people who love God and serve Him through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ, no matter what denomination they belong to.

CHURCH FATHERS

Protestants respect and value the teachings of the Church Fathers (church leaders who lived after the apostles) when those teachings are in harmony with Scripture. This is based on the fact that often the Fathers of the Church do not agree with each other.

RELICS OF SAINTS

Protestants do not believe that there is any special power in the relics of the saints, because the Bible does not teach this. Protestants believe that there is no indication in the Bible that Christians should honor the bodies of the dead.

SHOUTANS AND THE TITLE "FATHER"

Protestant ministers do not wear cassocks because neither Jesus nor the apostles wore any special clothing. There is no indication in the New Testament about this either. They are usually not called "father" because Jesus said in Matthew 23:9: “And call no one on earth your father…”, which they think means we should not claim anyone as our spiritual master.

THE SIGN OF THE CROSS AND THE CROSS

Protestants don't mind the sign of the cross, but since Scripture doesn't teach it, they don't teach it either. The Protestant and Catholic Churches, unlike the Orthodox, prefer to use a simple cross.

ICONOSTASIS

Protestants and Catholics believe that the iconostasis symbolizes the veil that separates people from the Holy of Holies in the Jerusalem Temple. They believe that when God tore it in two at the time of Jesus' death (Matt. 27:51), He said that we are no longer separated from Him because of the blood He shed so that we could be forgiven.

PLACES OF WORSHIP

Jesus said in Matthew 18:20: "For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them". Protestants believe that worship is sanctified not by the place where the service is held, not by the building, but by the presence of Christ among the believers. The Bible also says that the temple of God is Christians, not buildings: "Don't you know that you are the temple of God, and the Spirit of God lives in you?" (1 Cor. 3:16).

The Bible shows that early Christians held services in many different places: at school (Acts 19:9), in Jewish synagogues (Acts 18:4, 26;19:8), in the Jewish temple (Acts 3:1) , and in private homes (Acts 2:46; 5:42; 18:7; Philip. 1:2; 18:7; Col. 4:15; Rom. 16:5 and 1 Cor. 16:19 ). Gospel services, according to the Bible, took place near the river (Acts 16:13), in the street crowd (Acts 2:14) and in the square (Acts 17:17). There is no evidence in the Bible that the early Christians held services in a church building.

REASONS FOR NEGATIVE ATTITUDE TO PROTESTANTS

Orthodoxy officially came to the territory of present-day Ukraine in 988, when the rulers of Russia introduced Orthodox Christianity as the state religion. Much earlier, the disciples of Christ came to the land of the Scythians in order to bring the good news of the Savior to the barbarian peoples. The most famous is the arrival in Kyiv of the disciple of Jesus - Andrew, who was popularly called "The First-Called". At that time, there was no division of Christianity into Roman and Byzantine, that is, into Catholic and Orthodox, and Andrei represented completely Protestant views - he preached, based only on the word of God; held meetings wherever possible (there were no churches yet); baptized only adults.

With the strengthening of the positions of the Orthodox Church in Russia, and then in Tsarist Russia, everything non-Orthodox passed into the rank of anti-state. At first, this was due to wars in which Catholics fought against the Orthodox, and then to the strengthening of the power of the sovereign, since it is much easier to manage one religion than several. Protestants or "non-believers" were expelled to remote regions, and all who remained were hiding from persecution. The authorities and leadership of the Orthodox Church in every possible way encouraged the humiliation of the rights of other religions.

After 1917, the new government tried to completely get rid of the "opium for the people" by destroying churches and the physical destruction of believers. But after certain difficulties and discontent of the population, the power of the Soviets left only one church to exist - the Orthodox. And Protestants, along with Catholics, Greek Catholics, representatives of other denominations, are either serving time in camps or are hiding from power. Under such conditions, houses and basements became the only way to hold meetings of Protestants, and to protect from the eyes of "well-wishers" the lights were turned off. At the same time, in order to discriminate against anti-state religions, stories about the sacrifices of Baptists, the low cultural and educational level of Pentecostals, the witchcraft of charismatics, and more are spread in the press and among the people. Thus, a negative attitude towards everything non-Orthodox was subconsciously brought up in society for decades. And now it is very difficult for people to overcome these negative stereotypes and accept Protestants as Christians.

Now that you know the history of the Protestant movement, its basic doctrinal principles, and understand the reasons for the negative attitude towards Protestantism in society, you can decide for yourself whether or not to accept Protestants as Christians. But today says the following: Protestants are 3755 churches in Ukraine in 9 years!

Yes, they differ from the usual Orthodox Church in some matters, but the goal of the Orthodox, Catholics, and Protestants is the same - to preach the Gospel and lead people to Salvation. And Protestants deal with it in recent times everything is better. It is the Protestants who conduct mass evangelism and meetings, in which more and more people come to Jesus Christ. It is the Protestants through all kinds of means mass media tell people about the Savior.

By basing their ministry directly on the Bible, Protestants provide people with another path to Christ, a path to salvation. Fulfilling the commission of Jesus Christ, Protestants bring His Salvation closer!

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newspaper "Word of Awakening"»

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What are we talking about? Protestantism is one of the three main trends in Christianity that arose in the 16th century. during the Reformation.

How many Protestants? Protestantism ranks second among the world's currents of Christianity in terms of the number of followers after Catholics (over 600 million people; according to some sources - about 800 million people). In 92 countries, Protestantism is the largest Christian denomination, in 49 of which Protestants make up the majority of the population. In Russia, Protestants make up about 1% of the population (1.5 million people).

Where did the term come from? The term "Protestants" originated in Germany at the Speyer Reichstag in 1529, at which it was proposed to cancel the decision of the previous Reichstag that the princes and so-called. Imperial cities have the right to choose their religion until the convening of an all-German council. Supporters of the Reformation did not agree with this and, having drawn up a protest document, left the meeting. Those who signed the protest became known as Protestants. Subsequently, the term came to be applied to all followers of the Reformation.

What do Protestants believe? Protestantism is based on five "only":

a person is saved only by faith (“only by faith”, sola fide)

one should believe in only one Mediator between God and man - Christ (“only Christ”, solus Christus);

a person gains faith in Him only through the grace of God (“only grace”, sola gratia);

a person does good deeds only by the grace of God and only for God, therefore all glory should belong to Him (“only glory to God”, soli Deo gloria);

Who are considered Protestants? Protestantism, having arisen as a combination of various currents, has never been united. Its largest movements include Lutheranism, Calvinism and Anglicanism, which are commonly referred to as "classical" Protestantism or the first wave of the Reformation. Other independent denominations that arose in the 17th-19th centuries are associated with them. (the second wave of the Reformation), which differ from each other in dogma, cult and organization: Baptists, Quakers, Mennonites, Methodists, Adventists, etc. Pentecostalism, which appeared in the twentieth century, is attributed to the third wave of the Reformation.

And who is not included? Jehovah's Witnesses, Church of Jesus Christ last days(Mormons), the Society of Christian Science, the Church of Christ (Boston Movement), which are genetically related to Protestantism, but in their ideological development have gone far beyond it (as well as Christianity in general), are usually referred to as new religious movements.

How to deal with denominations, when did someone arise and what does he believe in? Let's take a closer look at the history of Protestantism. Speaking in 1517 in Wittenberg with 95 theses against indulgences, Luther initiated the process of the Reformation and a new confession - Lutheranism. Later, Luther's doctrine of justification by faith, which became the cornerstone of Protestantism as a whole, caused a wide resonance in society and condemnation from the side of the papacy; in 1521 Luther was excommunicated by a papal bull. special treatment Luther to Scripture (a great contribution to culture was his translation of the Bible into German), especially to the New Testament texts as the main authority, was the reason for calling his followers evangelical Christians (later this term became synonymous with the word "Lutherans").

The second major center of the Reformation arose in Switzerland among the followers of the Zurich priest Ulrich Zwingli. Zwingli's doctrine had common features with Lutheranism - reliance on Scripture, sharp criticism of scholastic theology, the principles of "justification by faith" and "universal priesthood" (denial of the ordained priesthood as an intermediary for the salvation of man, the priesthood of all believers). The main difference was a more rationalistic interpretation of the Eucharist and a more consistent criticism of church rites. From the mid 1530s. the development of reform ideas and their implementation in Switzerland are associated with the name of John Calvin and his activities in Geneva. The followers of Calvin and Zwingli became known as Calvinists. The main provisions of the teachings of Calvin - the doctrine of predestination to salvation and the inseparable connection between the state and the church.

The third major direction of Protestantism, Anglicanism, appeared in the course of reformation in the Church of England, initiated by King Henry VIII. Parliament in 1529–1536 adopted a number of documents that formed a national church independent of Rome, from 1534 subordinate to the king. The main ideologue of the English Reformation was the Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Cranmer. The carrying out of the Reformation "from above", the compromise nature of the transformations (a combination of the provisions of the Catholic Church and Calvin), the preservation of the church hierarchy with the apostolic succession of ordinations allow us to consider Anglicanism the most moderate Protestant movement. Anglicanism is ideologically divided into so-called. the high church (which advocates the preservation of pre-Reformation worship), the low church (close to Calvinism), and the broad church (which advocates Christian unity and distances itself from doctrinal disputes). The Anglican Church is called Episcopal, as a rule, outside the UK.

From the second half of the XVI century. Differences in Protestant theory and practice led to the formation of various currents in the Reformation movement. In Calvinism, there was a division according to the principle of organizing communities into Presbyterians (managed by an elected consistory headed by a presbyter) and Congregationalists (who proclaimed the complete autonomy of communities). Communities of continental European origin, predominantly French, Dutch and Swiss, began to be called Reformed. Reformed churches generally accept central government, and some of them, unlike Presbyterians and Congregationalists, have bishops. Puritans appeared in England, advocating the cleansing of the Anglican Church from the Catholic heritage in the spirit of Calvin's ideas. The Spanish theologian Miguel Servet, who had a polemic with Calvin, became one of the first preachers of Unitarianism, a doctrine that rejects the dogma of the Trinity and the God-manhood of Jesus Christ. In the second half of the XVI century. Unitarianism spread in Poland, Lithuania, Hungary, in the 17th century. in England in the 19th century. - in the USA.

The Reformation found wide support from all strata of European society, representatives of the lower classes got the opportunity to express social protest with an appeal to the biblical commandments. In Germany and Zurich, Switzerland, an active sermon on the establishment of social justice in society was started by the Anabaptists, whose doctrinal features were the requirement to baptize only adults and not to take up arms. Subjected to severe persecution from both Catholics and "classical" Protestants, the Anabaptists fled to Holland, England, the Czech Republic, Moravia (Hutterites), and later to North America. Part of the Anabaptists merged with the followers of the so-called. Moravian Church (followers of Jan Hus, a preacher who lived in the 15th century) and in the 18th century. formed a community of herrnguters. The most famous Anabaptist denomination is Mennonite (1530), named after its founder, the Dutch priest Menno Simons, whose followers emigrated as a sign of social protest. From the Mennonites in the second half of the 17th century. the Amish separated. Influenced by the ideas of the Anabaptists and Mennonites in the middle of the 17th century. Quakerism appeared in England, distinguished by the doctrine of " inner light”, unusual for the 17th century. social ethics (denial of social hierarchy, slavery, torture, death penalty, uncompromising pacifism, religious tolerance).

For Protestant theology of the 17th-18th centuries. characteristic is the idea that the church should consist only of consciously converted people who have experienced a personal meeting with Christ and active repentance. In "classical" Protestantism, the pietists (from the word pietas - "piety") in Lutheranism and the Arminians (who proclaimed free will) in Calvinism became the spokesmen for this idea. At the end of the XVII century. in Germany, a closed community of Dunkers emerged from the Pietists into a separate denomination.

In 1609, in Holland, from a group of English Puritans, a community of followers of John Smith was formed - Baptists, who borrowed the Anabaptist doctrine of adult baptism. Subsequently, the Baptists were divided into "general" and "private". In 1639 Baptism appeared in North America and is now the largest Protestant denomination in the United States. Famous preachers and writers are Baptist followers: Charles Spurgeon (1834–1892), Martin Luther King, Billy Graham (b. 1918).

The main feature of Methodism, which emerged from Anglicanism in Great Britain at the beginning. XVIII century, is the doctrine of "sanctification": the free conversion of a person to Christ takes place in two stages: first, God sanctifies a person with the righteousness of Christ ("justifying grace"), then gives him the gift of holiness ("sanctifying grace"). Methodism quickly spread, primarily in the United States and in English-speaking countries, thanks to peculiar forms of preaching - mass worship under open sky, the Institute of Itinerant Preachers, home groups, and annual conferences of all ministers. In 1865, the Salvation Army, which is an international charitable organization, appeared in Great Britain on the basis of Methodism. The Church of the Nazarene (1895) and the Wesleyan Church (1968) also emerged from Methodism, reproaching Methodism for excessive doctrinal liberalism.

Reformation processes also affected Orthodox Russia. In the XVII-XVIII centuries. among the Russians appeared the so-called. Spiritual Christianity - Christophers (whips), Dukhobors, Molokans, whose doctrine was partly similar to the Protestant one (in particular, the rejection of icons, the veneration of saints, the rejection of rituals, etc.).

The denomination of the Plymouth Brethren (Darbists), which appeared in Great Britain in the 1820s. from Anglicanism, adheres to the doctrine according to which the history of mankind is divided into separate. periods, in each of which the characteristic law of God operates (dispensationalism). In the 1840s there was a split into "open" and "closed" Darbists.

Adventism appeared in the 1830s. in the USA based on the interpretation of biblical texts about the Second Coming of Jesus Christ and the possibility of its exact calculation. In 1863, the organization of the largest current in Adventism, the Seventh-day Adventist Church, was created. During the 1st World War reformist Adventists stood out, dissatisfied with the partial rejection of Adventists from pacifism. Seventh-day Adventists are distinguished by their denial of the immortality of the soul and eternal torment (sinners will simply be destroyed during the Last Judgment), the veneration of Saturday as the "seventh day" of serving God, the recognition of the restoration of the gift of prophecy and visions through the founder of the church, Ellen White, as well as a number of food prohibitions and prescriptions healthy lifestyle life ("health reform").

A distinctive feature of the New Apostolic Church, which arose in the second half of the XIX century. in the UK based on the communities of the so-called. Irvingian (a community that broke away from the Presbyterians), is the cult of "apostles" - the leaders of the church, whose word is the same doctrinal authority as the Bible.

In the 19th century there was a tendency to unite the Protestant churches. In the English-speaking world, this was facilitated by the so-called. revivalism is a movement that called Christians to repentance and personal conversion. The result was the emergence of the Disciples of Christ (Church of Christ), the so-called. Evangelicals and United Churches. The Disciples of Christ (Church of Christ) appeared in the early 1830s. in the United States from Presbyterianism. This denomination included Protestants who proclaimed a complete rejection of any dogmas, symbols and institutions not specified in the New Testament. The disciples of Christ allow differences of opinion even on such important issues as the Trinity, believing that this and many other dogmas are not clearly explained in Scripture. Evangelicals that appeared in the United States in the 19th century preach non-denominational personal conversion, “birth again” with a special act of God changing the heart of the believer, faith in the sacrifice of Christ on the cross, and active missionary work. The conservative wing of the Evangelicals created dispensationalism, the liberal wing created social evangelism (changing social reality in order to bring it closer to the Kingdom of God). On the basis of evangelicalism, fundamentalism arose (named after a series of pamphlets "Fundamentals", published in 1910-1915). Fundamentalists insisted on the absolute authenticity of common Christian dogmas and a literalist reading of the Bible. so-called. neo-evangelicalism emerged in the 1940s, uniting those who criticized liberal evangelicals for moral relativism and fundamentalism for being closed, and advocated active preaching modern means. Neo-evangelicalism has given rise to the so-called in the United States. megachurches - church organizations in which there is a "center" ( main church headed by a leader who develops the style of worship and preaching, manuals for Sunday schools and social work, etc.) and “branches” (numerous church communities that are in direct and rigid submission to the “center”).

In the middle of the XIX - early. XX centuries appeared so-called. united churches as a result of the merger of different Protestant denominations - Lutherans, Anglicans, Reformed, Presbyterians, Methodists, Baptists, Quakers, etc. In most cases, the merger was voluntary, sometimes imposed by the state. The unifying basis of these churches is their historical involvement in the Reformation and doctrinal affinity. At the end of the XIX century. appeared so-called. free churches are Protestant communities that exist independently of state Protestant churches.

The development of the theology of Protestantism in the XX century. characterized by the ideas that the mystical gifts of the ancient church should return to the church and that Christianity should be adapted to non-European cultures. So, at the beginning of the XX century. from the Methodist group "Movement of holiness" Pentecostalism was formed, which is characterized by an exclusive role in the church of the Holy Spirit, the gift of glossolalia (pronouncing specific sounds reminiscent of unknown languages during prayer), etc. In the 1960s and 70s Pentecostalism received a new impetus for development due to representatives of Christian denominations using Pentecostal practices. Under the influence of the so-called. Pentecost in the 20th century original Asian and African churches arose, characterized by a combination of Christian and pagan practices.

Today there is a return to spirituality. More and more people are thinking about the intangible component of our lives. In the article we will talk about who the Protestants are. This is a separate direction of Christianity, or a sect, as some believe.

We will also touch on the issue of different currents in Protestantism. Information about the position of supporters of this trend in modern Russia. Read on to find out the answers to these and many other questions.

In the sixteenth century in Western Europe there was a separation of a significant part of believers from the Roman Catholic Church. This event in historiography is called the "Reformation". Thus, Protestants are part of Christians who do not agree with the Catholic principles of worship and some issues of theology.

The Middle Ages in Western Europe turned out to be such a period when society fell into total dependence not so much on secular rulers as on the church.

Practically not a single issue was resolved without the participation of a priest, whether it was a wedding or domestic problems.

Getting more and more involved social life, Catholic holy fathers accumulated untold wealth. The flashy luxury and double standards practiced by the monks turned society away from them. Dissatisfaction grew due to the fact that many issues were forbidden or resolved with the forced intervention of priests.

It was in this situation that the opportunity arose for Martin Luther to be heard. This is a German theologian and priest. As a member of the Augustinian order, he constantly observed the depravity of the Catholic clergy. One day, according to him, an insight came about true path devout Christian.

The result was the Ninety-five Theses, which Luther nailed to the door of a church in Wittenberg in 1517, and a speech against the sale of indulgences.

The basis of Protestantism is the principle of "sola fide" (only with the help of faith). It says that no one in the world can help a person to be saved, except for himself. Thus, the institution of priests, the sale of indulgences, the desire for enrichment and power on the part of the ministers of the church are swept aside.

Difference from Catholics and Orthodox

Orthodox, Catholics and Protestants belong to one religion - Christianity. However, several splits occurred in the process of historical and social development. The first was in 1054, when the Orthodox Church separated from the Roman Catholic Church. Later, in the sixteenth century, in the process of the Reformation, a completely separate movement appeared - Protestantism.

Let's see how different the principles are in these churches. And also why former Protestants are more likely to convert to Orthodoxy.

So, as two fairly ancient currents, Catholics and Orthodox consider their own church to be true. Protestants have a variety of views. Some directions even deny the need to belong to any confession.

Among Orthodox priests allowed to marry once, monks are forbidden to marry. Catholics of the Latin tradition all take a vow of celibacy. Protestants are allowed to marry, they do not recognize celibacy at all.

Also, the latter have absolutely no institution of monasticism, in contrast to the first two directions.

In addition, Protestants do not touch on the issue of "filioque", which is the cornerstone in the dispute between Catholics and Orthodox. They also lack purgatory, and the Virgin Mary is perceived as the standard of a perfect woman.

Of the seven generally accepted sacraments, Protestants recognize only baptism and communion. There is no confession and the veneration of icons is not accepted.

Protestantism in Russia

Although the Russian Federation is an Orthodox country, other faiths are also widespread here. In particular, there are Catholics and Protestants, Jews and Buddhists, supporters of various spiritual movements and philosophical worldview.

According to statistics, there are about three million Protestants in Russia who attend more than ten thousand parishes. Of these communities, less than half are officially registered with the Ministry of Justice.

Pentecostals are considered the largest movement in Russian Protestantism. They and their reformed offshoot (Neo-Pentecostals) have over a million and a half followers.

However, over time, some pass into the traditional Russian faith. Protestants are told about Orthodoxy by friends, acquaintances, sometimes they read special literature. Judging by the responses of those who "returned to the bosom" of their native church, they feel relieved, having ceased to be mistaken.

To other currents common in the territory Russian Federation, include Seventh-day Adventists, Baptists, Minnonites, Lutherans, Evangelical Christians, Methodists, and many others.

Next, we will talk in more detail about the most common areas of Protestantism in Russia. We will also touch on some denominations that, by definition, are on the verge between a sect and the Protestant church.

Calvinists

The most rational Protestants are Calvinists. This direction was formed in the middle of the sixteenth century in Switzerland. A young French preacher and theologian, John Calvin, decided to continue and deepen the reform ideas of Martin Luther.

He declared that not only things that were contrary to Scripture should be removed from churches, but also those things that were not even mentioned in the Bible. That is, according to Calvinism, in the house of prayer there should be only what is prescribed in the holy book.

Thus, there are some differences in doctrine held by Protestants and Orthodox. The first consider any gathering of people in the name of the Lord to be a church, they deny the majority of saints, Christian symbols and the Mother of God.

In addition, they believe that a person accepts faith personally and according to a sober judgment. Therefore, the rite of baptism takes place only in adulthood.

Orthodox are the exact opposite of Protestants in the above points. In addition, they hold the belief that only a specially trained person can interpret the Bible. Protestants, on the other hand, believe that everyone does this to the best of their abilities and spiritual development.

Lutherans

In fact, Lutherans are the followers of the true aspirations of Martin Luther. It was after their performance in the city of Speyer that the movement began to be called the "church of the Protestants."

The term "Lutherans" appeared in the sixteenth century during the controversy of Catholic theologians and priests with Luther. So they called the followers of the father of the Reformation in a pejorative manner. Lutherans call themselves "Evangelical Christians".

Thus, Catholics, Protestants, Orthodox strive to gain the salvation of the soul, but the methods are different for everyone. Differences, in principle, are based only on the interpretation of Holy Scripture.

With his Ninety-five Theses, Martin Luther proved the failure of the entire institution of priests and many of the traditions that Catholics adhere to. According to him, these innovations concern more the material and secular spheres of life than the spiritual. Hence, they should be abandoned.

In addition, Lutheranism is based on the belief that Jesus Christ, by his death on Golgotha, atoned for all the sins of mankind, including the original. Everything you need for happy life is to believe this good news.

Lutherans are also of the opinion that any priest is the same layman, but more professional in terms of preaching. Therefore, for communion of all people, a chalice is used.

Today, more than eighty-five million people are classified as Lutherans. But they do not represent unity. There are separate associations and denominations according to the historical and geographical principle.

In the Russian Federation, the most popular in this environment is the Lutheran Hour Ministry.

Baptists

It is often jokingly said that Baptists are English Protestants. But there is also a grain of truth in this statement. After all, this trend stood out precisely from the environment of the Puritans of Great Britain.

In fact, Baptism is the next stage of development (as some believe) or simply an offshoot of Calvinism. The term itself comes from the ancient Greek word for baptism. It is in the name that the main idea of this direction is expressed.

Baptists believe that only such a person can be considered a true believer who, in adulthood, has come to the idea of abandoning sinful deeds and sincerely accepted faith in his heart.

Many Protestants in Russia agree with similar thoughts. Despite the fact that the majority belong to the Pentecostals, which we will talk about later, some of their views are completely the same.

In a nutshell, Protestant Baptists are confident in the infallibility of the authority of the Bible in all situations. They adhere to the ideas of universal priesthood and congregation, that is, each community is independent and independent.

The presbyter has no real power, he just reads sermons and teachings. All issues are resolved at general meetings and church councils. The service includes a sermon, singing of hymns to the accompaniment of instrumental music, and impromptu prayers.

Today in Russia, Baptists, like Adventists, call themselves evangelical Christians and call their churches houses of prayer.

Pentecostals

The most numerous Protestants in Russia are Pentecostals. This current penetrated into our country from Western Europe through Finland at the beginning of the twentieth century.

Thomas Barratt was the first Pentecostal, or "oneness" as he was then called. He arrived in 1911 from Norway to St. Petersburg. Here the preacher declared himself a follower of evangelical Christians in the spirit of the apostles, and began to rebaptize everyone.

The basis of the Pentecostal faith and ritual is the baptism in the Holy Spirit. They also recognize the rite of passage with the help of water. But the experiences that a person experiences when the Spirit descends on him are considered by this Protestant movement to be the most correct. They say that the state that the baptized person experiences is equivalent to the sensations of the apostles, who received initiation from Jesus Christ himself on the fiftieth day after his resurrection.

Therefore, they name their church in honor of the day of the Descent of the Holy Spirit, or the Trinity (Pentecost). Followers believe that the initiate thus receives one of the Divine gifts. He gains the word of wisdom, healing, miracles, prophecy, the ability to speak foreign languages or discern spirits.

In the Russian Federation today, three of the Pentecostals are considered the most influential Protestant associations. They are members of the Assembly of God.

Mennonites

Mennoniteism is one of the most interesting offshoots of Protestantism. These Protestant Christians were the first to proclaim pacifism as part of the creed. A denomination arose in the thirties of the sixteenth century in the Netherlands.

The founder is Menno Simons. Initially, he departed from Catholicism and adopted the principles of Anabaptism. But after a while, he significantly deepened the individual features of this dogma.

So, the Mennonites believe that the kingdom of God on earth will come only with the cooperation of all people, when they establish a common true church. The Bible is the unquestioned authority, and the Trinity is the only thing that has holiness. Only adults can be baptized after they have made a firm and sincere decision.

But the most important distinguishing feature of the Mennonites is the rejection of military service, army oath and litigation. In this way, the supporters of this trend bring to humanity the desire for peace and non-violence.

The Protestant denomination came to the Russian Empire during the reign of Catherine the Great. Then she invited part of the community to move from the Baltic states to Novorossia, the Volga region and the Caucasus. This turn of events was just a gift for the Mennonites, as they were persecuted in Western Europe. Therefore, there were two waves of forced migration to the east.

Today in the Russian Federation this trend has actually united with the Baptists.

Adventists

Like any orthodox Christian, the Protestant believes in the second coming of the Messiah. It was on this event that the Adventist philosophy (from the Latin word for “coming”) was originally built.

In 1831, former United States Army Captain Miller became a Baptist and later published a book on the imminent coming of Jesus Christ on March 21, 1843. But it turned out that no one showed up. Then an amendment was made for the inaccuracy of the translation, and the Messiah was expected in the spring of 1844. When the second time was not justified, there was a period of depression among believers, which in historiography is called the "Great Disappointment".

After that, the Millerite current breaks up into a number of separate denominations. The most organized and popular are Seventh-day Adventists. They are centrally managed and strategically developed in several countries.

AT Russian Empire this current came through the Mennonites. The first communities formed on the Crimean peninsula and the Volga region.

Because of their refusal to take up arms and take an oath, they were persecuted in the Soviet Union. But in the late seventies of the twentieth century there was a restoration of the movement. And in 1990, at the first congress of Adventists, the Russian Union was adopted.

Protestants or sectarians

Today there is no doubt that Protestants are one of the equal offshoots of Christianity, with their own doctrine, principles, principles of behavior and worship.

However, there are some churches that are very similar in organization to Protestant ones, but, in fact, they are not. The latter, for example, include Jehovah's Witnesses.

But in view of the confusion and uncertainty of their teaching, as well as the contradiction of earlier statements with later ones, this movement cannot be unambiguously attributed to any direction.

Jehovists do not perceive Christ, the Trinity, the cross, icons. They consider the main and only God, who is called Jehovah, like the medieval mystics. Some of their provisions have something in common with Protestant ones. But such a coincidence does not make them supporters of this Christian trend.

Thus, in this article, we have figured out who the Protestants are, and also talked about the situation of various branches in Russia.

Good luck, dear readers!

Denomination or sect, church or...

The Big Encyclopedic Dictionary reveals the meaning of the words "Sect", "Sectarianism", "Protestantism":

They are Christians and, along with Catholics and Orthodox, share the fundamental principles of Christianity. For example, they all accept the Nicene Creed adopted by the first Council of the Church in 325, as well as the Nicene Constantinople Creed adopted by the Council of Chalcedon in 451 (See inset). They all believe in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ, in His divine essence and the coming coming. All three branches accept the Bible as the Word of God and agree that repentance and faith are necessary to have eternal life.

HISTORY OF PROTESTANTS

At first glance, it may seem that Protestants appeared on the territory of the CIS only with the collapse of the USSR and came from America. In fact, Protestants first came to Russia during the time of Ivan the Terrible, and by 1590 they were even in Siberia. For a nine-year period (from 1992 to 2000), 11,192 Christian communities were registered on the territory of Ukraine, of which 5,772 (51.6%) are Orthodox and 3,755 (33.5%) are Protestant (According to the State Committee of Ukraine for Religious Affairs) .

DOCTRINAL PRINCIPLES

CHURCH TRADITIONS

Protestants have nothing against church traditions, except when those traditions are contrary to Scripture. They justify this primarily by Jesus' remark in Matthew 15:3, 6: "... Why do you also transgress the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? ... Thus you have eliminated the commandment of God by your tradition."

BAPTISM

ICONS

PRAYERS TO THE SAINTS

THE VIRGIN MARY

CHURCH

CHURCH FATHERS

RELICS OF SAINTS

SHOUTANS AND THE TITLE "FATHER"

THE SIGN OF THE CROSS AND THE CROSS

ICONOSTASIS

PLACES OF WORSHIP

REASONS FOR NEGATIVE ATTITUDE TO PROTESTANTS

Yes, they differ from the usual Orthodox Church in some matters, but the goal of the Orthodox, Catholics, and Protestants is the same - to preach the Gospel and lead people to Salvation. And Protestants are getting better at it lately. It is the Protestants who conduct mass evangelism and meetings, in which more and more people come to Jesus Christ. It is the Protestants who, through all kinds of media, tell people about the Savior.

Roman CAT

newspaper "Word of Awakening"»

When writing the article, materials were used:

Protestantism(from Latin protestatio, onis f - proclamation, assurance; in some cases - objection, disagreement) - a set of religious communities (about 20,000 denominations), each of which identifies itself with the Church of God, Christ, believes that it professes pure faith , based on the Gospel, on the teachings of the holy apostles, but in reality it is a pseudo-Christian community, or sect. At the basis of the dogma of each Protestant community, as well as at the basis of the norms of worship and worship of God, lies a peculiarly interpreted divinely revealed teaching set forth in Holy Scripture, mainly in the canonical Books of the New Testament.

Protestantism was formed during the Reformation, in the XVI century. The reason for the beginning of the reform movements was the dissatisfaction of individual representatives of the Roman Catholic Church with abuses on the part of her pastor, and above all on the part of the popes. Martin Luther became the leader of the religious revolution. His plans were to partially reform the church and limit the power of the pope. Luther's first open speech against the policies of the Catholic Church was in 1517. Luther then sent the theses to his friends. They were published in January 1518. It was also previously believed that the reformer publicly and violently condemned the sale of indulgences, but he did not deny the legitimacy and effectiveness of indulgences, but only abuses in their issuance. His 71st thesis read: "Whoever speaks against the truth of papal absolutions, let him be anathematized and damned."

Other founders of Protestantism, besides Martin Luther, were J. Calvin, W. Zwingli, F. Melanchthon.

Protestantism, due to its rather free attitude to the methods and techniques of interpreting the Holy Scriptures, is very heterogeneous and includes thousands of directions, although in general, to some extent, it still shares Christian ideas about God the Trinity, consubstantial Divine Persons, the God-Man Jesus Christ (Incarnation, Atonement, Resurrection of the Son of God), about the immortality of the soul, heaven and hell, the Last Judgment etc.

A rather sharp difference between Orthodoxy and Protestantism is seen in relation to the doctrine of the Church, and this is natural, because if the Protestants agreed with the Orthodox (or even with the Catholic) teaching, they would have no choice but to recognize their “churches” as false. In addition to the fact that Protestantism rejects the doctrine of Orthodox Church as the only true and saving, Protestants, partially or completely, deny the church hierarchy (hierarchy), Sacraments, authority Holy Tradition, on the basis of which not only the interpretation of Holy Scripture is built, but also liturgical practice, the ascetic experience of Christian ascetics, the veneration of saints and the institution of monasticism.

Five main doctrinal theses of classical Protestantism:

1. Sola Scriptura - "Only Scripture."

The Bible (Holy Scripture) is proclaimed to be the only and self-interpreted source of doctrine. Every believer has the right to interpret the Bible. However, even the first Protestant, Martin Luther, remarked: "The devil himself can quote the Bible with great benefit to himself." Evidence of the recklessness of the desire to understand the Bible only with one's own fallen mind is the ever-increasing fragmentation of Protestantism into many currents. Indeed, in ancient times, St. said in a letter to Emperor Constantine: Scripture is not in words, but in their understanding.

2. Sola fide - "Only by faith." This is the doctrine of justification by faith alone, regardless of the performance of good works and any external sacraments. Protestants deny their significance as a source of soul salvation, considering them the inevitable fruits of faith and evidence of forgiveness.

3. Sola gratia - "Only by grace."

This is the doctrine that salvation is a good gift from God to man and man himself cannot participate in his own salvation.

4. Solus Christus - "Only Christ."

Salvation is possible only through faith in Christ. Protestants deny the intercession of the Mother of God and other saints in the matter of salvation, and also teach that the church hierarchy cannot be an intermediary between God and people, believing that believers represent the "universal priesthood."

5. Soli Deo gloria - “Glory to God only”

Considering that Protestantism is not a single religious trend, but fragmented into many private ones, the above remarks apply to different Protestant communities in different ways. Thus, Lutherans and Anglicans recognize the need for hierarchy, although not in the same form as it is present in the Orthodox Church. The attitude towards the sacraments in different communities is not the same: it differs both, in fact, in the attitude towards them, and in the number of recognized sacraments. Protestantism, as a rule, is alien to the veneration of holy icons and holy relics, alien to the doctrine of the appropriateness of prayers to God's saints as our intercessors. Attitude to Mother of God varies greatly depending on the doctrine accepted in one or another "church". The attitude towards personal salvation also varies greatly: from the conviction that all who believe in Christ will be saved, to the conviction that only those who are predestined for this will be saved.

Orthodoxy implies a living, active perception of Divine grace by a Christian, by virtue of which everything becomes a mysterious union of God and man, and the temple with its Sacraments is a real place for such a union. The living experience of the action of Divine grace does not allow the restriction of the Sacraments or their perverted interpretation, as well as the diminution or abolition of the veneration of saints who have acquired grace, asceticism as a way of acquiring it.

The original forms of Protestantism were Lutheranism, Zwinglianism and Calvinism, Unitarianism and Socianism, Anabaptism and Mennonism, and Anglicanism. In the future, a number of currents, known as late, or neo-Protestantism, arose: Baptists, Methodists, Quakers, Adventists, Pentecostals. Currently, Protestantism is most widespread in the Scandinavian countries, the USA, Germany, Great Britain, the Netherlands, Canada, and Switzerland. The world center of Protestantism is considered to be the United States, where the headquarters of the Baptists, Adventists and other Protestant denominations have settled. Protestant currents play leading role in the ecumenical movement.

The theology of Protestantism has gone through a number of stages in its development. This is the orthodox theology of the sixteenth century. (M. Luther, J. Calvin), non-Protestant or liberal theology of the 18th - 19th centuries. (F. Schleiermacher, E. Troelch, A. Harnack), “crisis theology” or dialectical theology that appeared after World War I (K. Barth, P. Tillich, R. Bultmann), radical or “new” theology that spread after World War II (D. Bonhoeffer).