University of Montana ScholarWorks at University of Montana Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers Graduate School 2017 The Russian Mission: Seventh-Day Adventism, Bolshevism, and the Imminent Apocalypse, 1881 - 1946 Garett B. Tree Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.umt.edu/etd Part of the Christian Denominations and Sects Commons, History of Religion Commons, History of Religions of Western Origin Commons, Missions and World Christianity Commons, and the United States History Commons Let us know how access to this document benefits ou.y Recommended Citation Tree, Garett B., "The Russian Mission: Seventh-Day Adventism, Bolshevism, and the Imminent Apocalypse, 1881 - 1946" (2017). Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers. 10944. https://scholarworks.umt.edu/etd/10944 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at ScholarWorks at University of Montana. It has been accepted for inclusion in Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks at University of Montana. For more information, please contact [email protected]. THE RUSSIAN MISSION: SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTISM, BOLSHEVISM, AND THE IMMINENT APOCALYPSE, 1881 - 1946 By GARETT BRADY TREE Baccalaureate of Arts, University of Alaska Anchorage, Anchorage, Alaska, 2015 Thesis presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in History The University of Montana Missoula, MT May 2017 Approved by: Scott Whittenburg, Dean of The Graduate School Graduate School Robert H. Greene, Chair History Department Tobin Miller Shearer History Department Clint Walker Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................................. iii LIST OF FIGURES ...................................................................................................................... iv INTRODUCTION. ........................................................................................................................ 1 a. HISTORIOGRAPHY ........................................................................................................ 5 b. ADVENTIST BEGINNINGS, BELIEFS, BATTLES .................................................... 10 CHAPTER 1: THE MISSION, 1880 TO 1914 ......................................................................... 19 a. THE CHURCH IN RUSSIA TO 1914 ........................................................................ 23 b. MISSIONARIES IN RUSSIA TO 1906. ...................................................................... 27 c. MISSIONARIES IN RUSSIA TO 1914 ....................................................................... 32 d. ADVENTIST RESPONSE TO 1914 ............................................................................ 36 e. CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................. 44 CHAPTER 2: THE MISSION, 1914 TO 1924 ......................................................................... 47 a. THE CHURCH TO 1920 .............................................................................................. 49 b. ADVENTIST RESPONSE TO 1917 ............................................................................ 53 c. THE CHURCH, 1917 TO 1924 .................................................................................... 57 d. ADVENTIST RESPONSE, 1917 TO 1924 .................................................................. 60 e. THE CHURCH, 1914 TO 1924 .................................................................................... 67 f. ADVENTIST RESPONSE TO 1925 ............................................................................ 72 g. CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................. 78 CHAPTER THREE: THE MISSION, 1924 TO 1945 .............................................................. 80 a. THE CHURCH TO 1928 .............................................................................................. 82 b. ADVENTIST RESPONSE TO 1928 ............................................................................ 86 c. ADVENTIST RESPONSE TO 1945 ............................................................................ 92 d. CONCLUSION ........................................................................................................... 100 EPILOGUE ............................................................................................................................. 104 BIBLIOGRAPHY ................................................................................................................... 108 ii ABSTRACT Tree, Garett, MA, May 2017 Major History The Russian Mission: Seventh-Day Adventism, Bolshevism, and the Imminent Apocalypse, 1881 – 1946 Chairperson: Robert H. Greene The first Adventist missionaries made their way into Russia in the late 1880’s, where they experienced imprisonment, exile, and sometimes both. The scope of my thesis concerns the Seventh-Day Adventist Church and how Adventist missionaries and leaders endeavored on the Russian Mission. Using the writings, letters, and correspondence of these missionaries, as well as the myriad Adventist periodicals, I explain and analyze the evolution of the Mission from its inception to the end of the Second World War. In what ways did Adventist missionaries or Adventist media outlets abroad understand, explain, or justify the Russian Mission and its hardships? What characterized the Russian Mission through this transitional period? How can we understand the Russian Mission, through the Seventh-Day Adventist Church’s own writings and words, during the imperial period, the revolutionary period, and the early Soviet period? Why, in 1928, did Adventist periodicals stop calling for more evangelical missions and start heralding the second advent of Christ? What is the cause and significance of apocalyptic rhetoric? The missionaries, proselytizing in Russia during the imperial era, only ever discussed the prophetic potential of the Russian Mission; Adventist periodicals mirrored these sentiments, despite circulating stories of persecution at the hands of the Russian Orthodox Church and the autocracy. Russia’s entrance into the Great War, the consequent Russian Revolutions and Civil War, and the subsequent Volga Famine created an era of uncertainty for the Russian Mission, lasting well into the 1920’s; again, Adventists in Russia and abroad heralded the Mission as an apostolic success. Beginning in 1924, these feelings of hope began to fade, as missionary groups on the ground lost contact and communication with domestic Adventist centers. Instead of the hope-filled calls to Russia, however, outlets of the Adventist media began developing an understanding of the coming apocalypse. By 1928, the activities and goals of the Russian Mission had disappeared, and Adventists came to see Russia as the staging ground for an imminent and personal second advent of Christ. iii LIST OF FIGURES Fig. 1: Church Statistics of SDA in Russia, 1899 - 1906 ......................................................... 24 Fig. 2: Church Statistics of SDA in Russia, 1906 – 1915. ........................................................ 26 Fig. 3: Louis Conradi and his wife............................................................................................ 28 Fig. 4: Julius Boettcher, his daughter, and his wife .................................................................. 35 Fig. 5: Arthur Daniells .............................................................................................................. 43 Fig. 6: 1915 Church Statistics for the Western Russian Union Conference ............................. 50 Fig. 7: Russian refugees escaping the famine ........................................................................... 62 Fig. 8: Famine-stricken Children .............................................................................................. 62 Fig. 9: Louis Christian .............................................................................................................. 64 Fig. 10: Church Statistics of SDA in Russia, 1920 – 1924 ....................................................... 67 Fig. 11: Church Statistics of SDA in Russia, 1915 – 1924 ....................................................... 72 Fig. 12: Front page of The Signs of the Times .......................................................................... 74 Fig. 13: Leaders of the Living Church ...................................................................................... 75 Fig. 14: Church Statistics of SDA in Russia, 1924 – 1928 ....................................................... 84 Fig. 15: SDA Baptisms and Publications in Russia, 1921 – 1928 ............................................ 85 Fig. 16: Church made into Worker’s Club................................................................................ 93 Fig. 17: Lenin’s Mausoleum ..................................................................................................... 95 Fig. 18: Anti-religious carnival ................................................................................................. 96 Fig. 19: Communists on a church ............................................................................................. 96 Fig.