Unity trend and separatism in the history of domestic baptism

Abstract

Exploring the history of the Baptist movement in Ukraine and Russia, one can see two contradictory trends inherent in the internal development of this movement: the tendency to unite and the tendency towards separatism. These tendencies are dominated by one another, then they develop in parallel, restraining one another. Another VS Solovyov noted that Protestants, unlike Catholics, have an idea of ​​salvation in "small ships", which leads to separate tendencies in Protestantism. These tendencies find their theological substantiation in principle of independence or autonomy of each separate Baptist community, which is one of the fundamental principles of the practical life of Baptist churches. The autonomy of each community consists in the fact that no organizational, administrative or governing authority over the community exists, that is, the community itself determines its confession and the issue of church discipline.