church – moscow style

First a quick history lesson.  Until 1991, Russia was known as the USSR.  Pre-1991 is referred to as "Soviet."  During this time, communism was in full force.  Most everything was owned by the government.  The government sanctioned religion.  Meeting in a public gathering for worship was not tolerated (unless at a Soviet church).  The fall of communism changed all of that, but you don’t have to look hard to see the remnants of communist rule.

Sunday we attended a church in edovsk, a suburb of Moscow.  Typical church services here last 2-3 hours and have 2 sermons.  During Soviet times (pre 1991) a typical service had 4 sermons and would last much longer.

101_2781

Above:  We grabbed a train from downtown Moscow to Dedovsk.

101_2775

A typical street around Dedvosk.  From the train station we walked to the church (below).  It was a Baptist church, started by Russian people 60 years ago.  Under Soviet rule, it was an underground church and endured much persecution.  Recently, they were able to build a church building.

101_2776

101_2778

Above: Steph and I with Peter and Yana Smirnov.  Pete and Yana had us over for a traditional Russian lunch after church.  Peter and his family have a rich history in Dedovsk.  His father was a pastor and allowed the church to meet in his house.  Because of this, he was arrested and spent 15 years in prison.  Peter’s family founded the church we attended.  Peter and Yana both work at RACU (Russian American Christian University).

Share with

This post has one comment

  1. I think I was part of a group that helped build this church in 1994. I was thinking about the church and was hoping I would find something on it. If someone could get back to me that would be great. My god continue to bless.

Leave a Reply

Start typing and press Enter to search