Attempts at theological self-identification of Russian neo-Pentecostals in the Post-Soviet period (1990s)

Abstract

Neo-Pentecostals (or charismatics), due to their relatively short existence, did not have time to develop their own complete theology. This causes certain difficulties in their confessional identification. The existing publications of neo-Pentecostal authors — most of them foreign — do not give a unified idea of the creed of this denomination, since for the most part they reflect only the theological views of the author himself and are not always shared even by representatives of his community, not to mention the denomination as a whole. The article attempts to summarize some of the theological views of the Russian neo-Pentecostals of the 1990s, in particular, their interpretation of the biblical provisions on the relationship between Christian freedom and submission to secular authorities, as well as their attitude to war and military service. Considering that no systematic studies of the doctrinal views of neo-Pentecostals were undertaken in Russia, which resulted in the lack of relevant literature, the author used the materials of his own field research undertaken by him “hot on the heels” — directly during the emergence and formation of neo-Pentecostal communities in Kazan, Yoshkar-Ola, Izhevsk, Saratov and, in part, in Moscow (1990–2000). The research was carried out by the method of included observation, interviews and narrative. The author does not claim that the results obtained are the official theological point of view of specific communities. Rather, these are generalized representations of thinking participants of various groups and communities of believers who generally share charismatic religious views.