Roman S. Evangelical Christians Saint Zionists: The History of Social Organization and Religious Doctrine

The thesis, based on archival documents, doctrinal texts and memoires collected by the author, discusses the history of a sectarian religious movement of Evangelical Christians Saint Zionists (also known as Murashkovtsi) which formed in 1930-s in Polish-controlled Western Polissya. The movement emerged from the situation of social and cultural crisis caused by the decline of the traditional rural economy as well as by the collapse of peasants' world outlook in the course of the World War and Bolshevik revolution; the crisis led to a massive expansion of Protestant sects, including Baptists, Evangelicals and, most notably, Pentecostals. Today, Zionists still exist in Kazakhstan, Moldova and Southern Ukrainian town of Kominternivske, where the most viable community of nearly 500 members is located.