Brotherhood of the Free Gospel Christian Churches
The Brotherhood of the Free Evangelical Christian Churches (BFECG) is a religious community of predominantly Russian- Germans . In 2019 the number of members was 18,500 in 118 parishes.
history
From Pentecostal churches , which had been founded by Russians and ethnic Germans in the 1920s in Russia, a community movement emerged that was not officially registered and not on illegal of Evangelical Christians-Baptists Council participated. The result was isolation within the free churches .
After many repatriates moved to Germany, a small number of these brotherhoods joined the Bund Freikirchlicher Pfingstgemeinden (BFP). Most remained independent; of them, the BFECG is the largest. The individual congregations bear the FECG (Free Evangelical Christian Church) in front of the place name, e.g. B. FECG Berlin or Free Evangeliums Christen Gemeinde Berlin. The generic term BFECG with the B for the brotherhood was added later.
The brotherhood owes its establishment, among others, to Ivan Efimovich Voronajew .
In 1989 the Christian diaconal relief organization Stephanus (CDH-Stephanus) was founded by the brotherhood.
Life and teaching
The BFECG rejects new developments in the charismatic movement as well as contacts with ecumenism or other Russian-German Christian groups. The families are closely involved in community life, which is strongly influenced by so-called biblical orders . In addition to a “rebirth”, a “Spirit baptism ” is also expected, which should take place before the baptism if possible .
Since 1990, the BFECG has published the quarterly publication Stephanus as a “community and mission magazine” . Later the subtitle Path of Succession was added.
Web links
literature
- Manual Weltanschauungen, Religious Communities, Free Churches. Edited on behalf of the church leadership of the VELKD by Matthias Pöhlmann u. a. Gütersloh 2015, p. 264, ISBN 978-3-579-08224-0 .
- Church history under the influence of the Holy Spirit, http://jawajo.de/kirchengeschichte-unter-dem-einfluss-des-heiligen-geistes/