Wojciech Kowalewski
Demographics and Definitions
According to statistical data, in 2010 the Pentecostal Church of Poland numbered 21,834 believers in just over 200 churches in a nation of 38 million.1 Within the Polish religious landscape the Pentecostal Church of Poland represents the second largest (after Lutherans) and the most flourishing of the country’s Protestant denominations.
The term Pentecostal movement has different meanings in Poland, signifying various expressions of faith from classic Pentecostalism to the Charismatic renewal movements to neo-Pentecostal networks.2 Zbigniew Pasek, professor of religious studies and sociology of religion, is the author of several academic studies on various aspects of Pentecostalism. He emphasizes in his work the spiritual diversity and the various expressions of faith found within this movement.3 Despite its lack of unity, the Pentecostal and Charismatic movements continue to grow and have an impact not only on Protestant churches and organizations, but also within the predominant Roman Catholic Church through Catholic Charismatic renewal.4 The focus in this article, however, will be upon the Pentecostal Church of Poland, which is the largest Pentecostal denomination in the nation.
The Pre-World War I Years
When the Pentecostal movement emerged at the beginning of the 20th century, Poland was a partitioned nation subject to the rule of Austria, Germany, and Russia. As a result, the beginnings of Pentecostalism among Poles occurred in three different Central and East European empires. The first Polish Pentecostals emerged in eastern Germany and were involved in the renewal movement within the Lutheran Church. The first Pentecostal conference took place in Lower Silesia in December 1909, and by 1910 Pentecostals had formed a congregation in Wroclaw.5 The influence of the Lutheran Church. The first Pentecostal conference took place in Lower Silesia in December 1909, and by 1910 Pentecostals had formed a congregation in Wroclaw.5 The influence of neo-pietistic spirituality was propagated among Poles in the Ślask Cieszyński Region by two Lutheran ministers: Jan Pindor (1852- 1924) and Karol Kulisz (1873-1940).6 The latter founded the Christian Fellowship in Cieszyn, which developed contacts with German Pentecostal churches in Lower Silesia. As a result of this relationship some members began cultivating Charismatic spirituality and eventually were excommunicated by the Lutheran Church. On 15 July 1910, this group registered under the name Bund für Entschiedenes Christentum für Entschiedenes Christentum ür Entschiedenes Christentum r Entschiedenes Christentum [Alliance for Committed Christianity].7 This Alliance planted new churches and at its peak consisted of approximately 2,000 members. Theologically, this Alliance represented a more moderate wing of Pentecostalism, emphasizing the need for spiritual conversion and the baptism in the Holy Spirit, but with no necessary accompanying expression of spiritual gifts. The Alliance is also known for publishing Glos Prawdy [The Voice of Truth] and Śpiewnik Pilegrzyma [The Pilgrim’s Hymnbook], the latter being the most important evangelical hymnbook of the 20th century available in the Polish language.8
The Interwar Decades
After the First World War and Poland’s renewed independence, Pentecostalism emerged in the central and eastern regions of the country. The first Pentecostal initiatives in independent Poland came from immigrants from the United States and Canada, as well as from missionaries, mainly German, who began their evangelistic work in the 1920s. In May 1929 in Stara Czołnica Pentecostals in Central and Eastern Europe formed the Evangelical Faith Christian Association Church.9 In addition to Poles its membership included Ukrainians, Belarussians, Russians, and Germans.
Theologically this new denomination represented classic Pentecostal views, with an emphasis upon the baptism in the Holy Spirit and the practice of Charismatic spirituality, as well as a strong emphasis upon sanctification of believers.10 The Bible Institute in Gdansk, founded in 1930 by Gustaw Herbert Schmidt (1891-1958), an Assemblies of God missionary to Poland, played a significant role in training pastors and missionaries and became the primary center propagating Pentecostal teaching throughout the region. Over 500 students studied at the Bible Institute before German Nazis forced its closure in 1939.11 The Evangelical Faith Christian Association continued to grow and included approximately 300 churches and 23,000 members in 1939 at the outbreak of the Second World War.12
World War II and the Cold War Years
During the war the Nazis banned Pentecostal churches and their denominational associations. They also arrested many Pentecostals who were sent to concentration camps or were forced to leave the country. Also, as a result of shifting borders after the war, Polish Pentecostals found themselves not only in Poland, but in the Soviet Union and Czechoslavakia. In May 1947 Communist authorities enforced the merger of several evangelical denominations in the United Evangelical Church, two of which were Pentecostal: the Alliance for Committed Christianity and the Evangelical Faith Christian Association.13 Tensions ran high within this denominational structure, with no signs of a unified vision. Communists persecuted those Pentecostal churches that attempted to function independently and underground. Decades later, in 1987, Pentecostals were able to leave the United Evangelical Church, forming the Pentecostal Church of Poland.14 At that time this church body consisted of approximately 10,000 members in 82 churches, but not all Pentecostals joined this new denomination.15
New Freedoms; New Challenges
Since the collapse of Communism in 1989, Polish society has undergone massive transformation that, on the one hand, has given rise to new opportunities and considerable liberties, but on the other hand, has inflicted high social costs and generated new conflicts of interest. Nevertheless, Poland’s socio-political transformation has opened new opportunities for the Pentecostal Church of Poland to function freely and to develop its evangelistic and social ministries. This new freedom was confirmed when on 10 February 1997, the Polish Parliament passed legislation that officially recognized the Pentecostal Church of Poland and allowed it to legally run its own missions, foundations, schools, and social and evangelistic ministries.16 Internationally the Pentecostal Church of Poland is a member of the World Assemblies of God Fellowship and the Pentecostal European Fellowship.17
Editor’s Note: The concluding portion of this article will be published in the East-West Church and Ministry Report 24 (Fall 2016).
Notes:
- M. Kamiński, Kościóŀ świadomy powoŀania (Warsawa: WST, 2011), 9.
- Thirty Pentecostal and Charismatic church associations were officially registered as of 2010, according to government data. See A. Migda, Mistycyzm pentekostalny w Polsce (Kraków: Nomos, 2013), 9.
- See for instance Zbigniew Pasek, Ruc zielonoświatkowy. Próba monografii (Kraków: Instytut Wydawniczy Nomos, 1992).
- The Catholic Charismatic renewal movement continues to grow in Poland, with some 800 prayer groups meeting regularly. One Catholic Charismatic event organized in Łódź attracted 250,000 people. See W. K. Kay, K. Slijkerman, R. Pfister, and C. Van Der Laan, “Pentecostal Theology and Catholic Europe” in W. K. Kay and Anne E. Dyer, eds., European Pentecostalism (Leiden-Boston: Brill, 2011), 329-30.
- Z. Pasek and Z. Włoch, Historia ruchu zielonoświatkowego i odnowy charyzmatycznej (Krawów-Szczecin: Instytut Wydawniczy Compassion, 2006), 488-89.
- Wojciech Gajewski and Krzsztof Wawrzeniuk, “A Historical and Theological Analysis of the Pentecostal Church of Poland,” Journal of the European Pentecostal Theological Association 20 (2000), 33.
- Tim Case and Mark Kaminski, “The Development of Pentecostalism in Central European Countries: Poland, Bulgaria, Hungary, Czech Republic and Slovakia” in Kay and Dyer, eds., European Pentecostalism, 226. Gajewski and K. Wawrzeniuk translate the name of this alliance as “The Fellowship for Resolute Christianity.”
- For a more detailed history and characteristics of the Alliance see Z. Pasek, Stanowczy Chrześcijanie. Studium historii idei religijnych (Kraków: Instytut Religioznastwa UJ, 1993).
- Case and Kaminski, “The Developme
- Gajewski and Wawrzeniuk, “A Historical and Theological Analysis,” 35-36.
- Case and Kaminiski, “The Development of Pentecostalism,” 226.
- Case and Kaminski, “The Development of Pentecostalism,” 227.
- For a detailed historical and legal account of the Pentecostal Church of Poland see M. Kaminski, w Polsce w latach 1988-2008. Studium historyczno-ustrojowe (Warszawa: WST, 2012).
- Pasek and Wloch, Historia, 494.
- Gajewski and Wawrzeniuk, “A Historical and Theological Analysis,” 37-38.
- M. Kamiński, Kościóŀ Zielonoświatkowy,197-99.
Wojciech Kowalweski, Ph.D., University of Wales, Cardiff, United Kingdom, is founder and director of Golden Apple Institute, a leadership development ministry based in Wroclaw, Poland.