Methodism in Russia: 100 Years of Darkness and Light

We take for granted that we are a global church. After all, United Methodists have a connectedness that is tied not only by theology and purse strings, but also by a simple edict to (in part) “do good in all the places we can.” That is what Methodists in Russia have been doing for more than a century, from the early missionaries who braved brutal Russian winters and a repressive communist government to deliver food to famine victims to pastors and church workers today awakening new generations to a faith that could not be extinguished.

To step into a United Methodist Church in Russia is to experience the epitome of tenacity. Daily, these congregations face adversity from a society that is indifferent to religion, a government that relishes red tape, and persecution by a state-sponsored church. Yet, our brothers and sisters in Russia continually move beyond these obstacles and seek new ways of being understood, accepted, and trusted.

In this three-part series by Jan Snider, readers will experience the history, the people, and the places of the United Methodist Church in Russia as the newest generation of believers witnesses to a faith that does good and makes disciples wherever it is planted.

United Methodists reclaim rich Russian history
In the midst of a brutal winter, Sister Anna Eklund became a familiar figure on the streets of what is now St. Petersburg delivering food to famine victims in 1921. Her story is but one chapter of a Methodist history that is being reclaimed during the centennial of the official birth of Methodism in Russia. Before the church was slowly suffocated by labor camps, murder and other forms of persecution in the Soviet era, there was a vital movement that left its mark in Methodist annals. Read story

Faith and joy keep revival going in modern Russia
MOSCOW (UMNS)—The gray, murky snow is plowed high in waves against the busy city streets. Women in black, spike-heeled boots stride forward as if on a Parisian runway, while below them old women crouch among the shuffling swarms, begging for rubles to buy their bread. And Christians who once faced the gulag for proclaiming their faith struggle anew in a society that now pays homage to modern capitalism. Read story

Methodism in Russia: 100 Years of Darkness and Light
Who influenced Methodist history within the Russian Empire? Who is driving the resurgence of the church today? This photo collection features orphanages, house churches, sanctuaries, and city streets as the people of the Russian United Methodist Church honor the ghosts of the past as they look toward the future. View Slideshow