Yuri Sipko
Encyclopedia
Yuri K. Sipko is a Russian Baptist
pastor who was vice president of the World Baptist Alliance and president of the Union of Evangelical Christians-Baptists of Russia
(UECB) from 2002 to 2010.
in the Omsk Oblast
.
At age 16 he entered college in Omsk
. After graduating four years later, he served in the army and then married and settled in the village of Tabaga in Yakutia.
In 1978 his family returned to Omsk and became Baptist. In 1984 he was ordained as a deacon, and in 1985 became a pastor.
From 1987 Sipko was the senior pastor of the Omsk and Tyumen
regions.
. He served for two four-year terms.
On 20 March 2002 Sipko was elected chairman of the Russian Union of Evangelical Christians-Baptists, serving for two four-year terms.
Since the late 1990s, faced with declining church membership, Sipko actively supported inter-church social projects where Baptists and Pentecostals worked together.
In 2007 his organization sponsored an event where evangelists toured by bicycle throughout Russia spreading the word of Christ.
In October 2008, during the conflict between Russia and Georgia, he met with his Georgian counterpart to discuss reconciliation.
In a joint statement the participants condemned the war between the two countries as "pointless and brutal".
He left office on 25 March 2010, replaced by Pastor Alexei Smirnov.
In April 2009, reacting to appointment of a man known to be hostile to Protestant groups such as the Baptists to the official "Commission for the Implementation of State Expertise on Religious Science", Sipko stated that the government had been involved in a concerted, long-term effort to greatly restrict the freedom of religion in Russia.
In November 2009, commenting on proposed legislation to restrict missionary activity in Russia, he said "Practically all believers will become susceptible to penal sanction".
Baptist
Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...
pastor who was vice president of the World Baptist Alliance and president of the Union of Evangelical Christians-Baptists of Russia
Union of Evangelical Christians-Baptists of Russia
The Union of Evangelical Christians-Baptists of Russia is part of the large family of Evangelical Christian Baptists, a Protestant evangelical movement which began in the Russian Empire, in the midst of the Orthodox establishment. It originally attracted peasants, urban artisans, the lower...
(UECB) from 2002 to 2010.
Early life
Sipko was born on 28 February 1952 in the town of TaraTara, Russia
Tara is a town in Omsk Oblast, Russia, located about north of Omsk, at the confluence of the Tara and Irtysh Rivers at a point where the forested country merges into the steppe. It serves as the administrative center of Tarsky District, although it is not administratively a part of it...
in the Omsk Oblast
Omsk Oblast
Omsk Oblast is a federal subject of Russia , located in southwestern Siberia. The oblast has an area of and a population of with the majority, 1.15 million, living in Omsk, the administrative center....
.
At age 16 he entered college in Omsk
Omsk
-History:The wooden fort of Omsk was erected in 1716 to protect the expanding Russian frontier along the Ishim and the Irtysh rivers against the Kyrgyz nomads of the Steppes...
. After graduating four years later, he served in the army and then married and settled in the village of Tabaga in Yakutia.
In 1978 his family returned to Omsk and became Baptist. In 1984 he was ordained as a deacon, and in 1985 became a pastor.
From 1987 Sipko was the senior pastor of the Omsk and Tyumen
Tyumen Oblast
Tyumen Oblast is a federal subject of Russia . Its administrative center is the city of Tyumen. The oblast has administrative jurisdiction over two autonomous okrugs—Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug and Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug. Tyumen is the largest city, with over half a million inhabitants...
regions.
Senior positions
In 1993 Sipko was elected deputy chairman of the Russian Union of Evangelical Christians-Baptists, and moved with his family to MoscowMoscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
. He served for two four-year terms.
On 20 March 2002 Sipko was elected chairman of the Russian Union of Evangelical Christians-Baptists, serving for two four-year terms.
Since the late 1990s, faced with declining church membership, Sipko actively supported inter-church social projects where Baptists and Pentecostals worked together.
In 2007 his organization sponsored an event where evangelists toured by bicycle throughout Russia spreading the word of Christ.
In October 2008, during the conflict between Russia and Georgia, he met with his Georgian counterpart to discuss reconciliation.
In a joint statement the participants condemned the war between the two countries as "pointless and brutal".
He left office on 25 March 2010, replaced by Pastor Alexei Smirnov.
Official hostility
Baptists in Russia face official hostility. In February 2009 Sipko's name was used in fake stories in a Smolensk newspaper claiming to be Baptist but in fact designed to smear the reputation of Baptists. The publishers apparently had links with the government.In April 2009, reacting to appointment of a man known to be hostile to Protestant groups such as the Baptists to the official "Commission for the Implementation of State Expertise on Religious Science", Sipko stated that the government had been involved in a concerted, long-term effort to greatly restrict the freedom of religion in Russia.
In November 2009, commenting on proposed legislation to restrict missionary activity in Russia, he said "Practically all believers will become susceptible to penal sanction".