A CONVERSATION WITH VLADIMIRAS SEREDA, THE LEADER OF KAUNAS EVANGELICAL CHRISTIAN BAPTIST COMMUNITY

The community of Kaunas Christian Baptist Church is the oldest Baptist Church in Lithuania. The history of the community starts in 1876, when railroader Schneider came to live in Kaunas from Virbalis. He belonged to the Evangelical Baptist community of Eitkūnai town.

It has been mentioned that in 1883, there were twelve baptised members of this church in Kaunas. In 1890–1898, the congregation built a house of prayer in Žemieji Šančiai, 2-oji Kranto Street. After WWII, the Soviet government expropriated the house of prayer and used the church building as a club and later as a room to store salt. When Lithuania recovered its independence, the house of prayer was returned to the community. They have been used to this day.

Pastor Vladimiras Sereda is the head of Kaunas Evangelical Christian Baptist Community. In 1980, he was assigned as the superior of the church, and in 1982, he became the head of the church. In 1984–1987, he studied in Moscow's Bible School. In 1989, he was ordained as a minister. Since 1993, he has been working in Alytus Correction House. In 1995–1999 he studied in the International Christian Slavic Institute. From 2003, he is a member of Lithuanian Prison Chaplain Association.

Could you briefly tell us about the Baptist house of prayer in Šančiai? What is its history?

I have been serving in this church building since it was recovered in 1991, so for 23 years.

The building of the church was built in 1890. During the WWI, the house of prayer was damaged, and the congregation had to rebuild it. During the WWII, the Soviet Army reached Lithuania and turned our house of prayer into kazarma (Note: a room for the hired and servants to live), where Soviet soldiers lived. All movable assets like the organs, benches and other things were removed.  We do not know where these things are. After the war, part of the congregation left the community, some of them were of German nationality. They went to Germany. The remaining ones, Lithuanians and Russians, could not maintain the building. The Soviet government has overtaken it and turned it into a club, and when it could no longer be used as a club, into a salt warehouse. In 1988, we found the church with bricked up windows, fallen roof, full of salt and garbage. We decided to ask for permission to use the building and on 20 December 1988, we received a document allowing it. Reconstruction was a difficult process: as it was characteristic to those times, it was difficult to buy construction materials. We had to look for people who could help. But with God's help, on 26 July 1991, the house of prayer opened its doors to the community and has been open ever since.

How authentic is the restored church?

Almost the entire building is restored as it has been before. Only the former pulpit was not rebuilt in this niche. But we reconstructed the baptistery.

Could you please tell us more about yourself: how did you end up in this community?

I was born in Siberia. My parents were deportees. They returned to Ukraine from Siberia in 1968. When we returned, they did not want to accept us in Ukraine, we were registered only after three years. Back then, as everywhere else, the ideology was the there is no God. But I had a question: if there is no God, why we must speak about whether He exists of not? After reading the New Testament, I realised in my mind that God exists. Since then, I started attending lectures in the Baptist community. I studied in Lvov's Technikum of Light Industry. When they found out that I was a believer, I got an ultimatum. I was basically expelled.

In 1980, I came to Lithuania with my wife after our wedding. We spent there a week and we did not like that people were speaking in another language than we were used to. Of course, it was beautiful here, especially the cities. We were invited to Lithuania once again and we returned after half a year. I was invited by KGB and asked why I came here, they tried to recruit me. I refused saying that I have an occupation and I will try to live honestly and fair and help others. Later threats started. My phone conversations were listened to, my mail was checked.

As people of faith, we were looking for some community. At first, we would go to Vilnius, where was a community of the Seventh Day Baptist church. Later someone told us that there are several sisters in Kaunas, who gather and pray. This used to take place in No. 23 at Sodų Street. When we went there, we found four or five sisters whose age was around 70. They were very happy, when young people arrived. The next Sunday, I was already preaching something from God's Word, and this is practically when my spiritual service started. I became the leader of this little group.

You mentioned that at first, the community consisted of several women only. How did people get to know where were you gathering?

It happened in various ways, it is hard to tell. There was a connection between communities on the Lithuanian level. They were in Vilnius, Klaipėda, Ylakiai, Biržai. So, the congregation knew about a small group in Kaunas which meets at home.

They also knew it through Moscow, where was a small union of Baptists. There was a familiar representative who used to attend meetings in Moscow. So, people would call to Moscow, Lithuania, and got our address.

How many people are there in the congregation?

Today we have 50 members. A part of young people has gone to work abroad, some of them do not know if they are coming back, so this number continuously changes.

You are not a Lithuanian, but you have lived in Kaunas for quite a long time. Do you feel like a Kaunasian?

Probably time has made me feel a Kaunasian (smiles). 

I have lived a greater part of my life in Kaunas. I lived 10 years in Siberia, 10 in Ukraine and over 30 in Lithuania. So, I think that I can call myself a Kaunasian. I like Kaunas very much. It is a calm, beautiful, slightly hilly city, but it is really good to live in.