https://ojs.utlib.ee/index.php/UA <p>Usuteaduslik Ajakiri is a peer-reviewed journal with an international editorial board that publishes articles on theology, religion, and related topics. Contributions debating the views of an article already published in the journal are also welcome.</p> <p>For contributions, as well as for substantive and formal questions concerning the journal, please send an e-mail to <a href="mailto:usuteaduslik.ajakiri@gmail.com">usuteaduslik.ajakiri@gmail.com</a>, or</p> <p>Usuteaduslik Ajakiri<br />Akadeemiline Teoloogia Selts<br />Ülikooli 18-310<br />51014 Tartu<br />Account: Swedbank EE042200221014450360<br />S.W.I.F.T. HABA EE2X</p> Akadeemiline Teoloogia Selts en-US Usuteaduslik Ajakiri 1406-6564 https://ojs.utlib.ee/index.php/UA/article/view/27446 <p>The Union of Free Evangelical and Baptist Churches of Estonia and the “Effataa Awakening” 1978–1980<br />The focus of this article is the “Russian Awakening” – a religious phenomenon that broke out among those who visited the evangelical services from other Soviet republics to seek spiritual guidance in the context of the “Effataa Awakening” that originated in the Oleviste congregation of the Estonian Evangelical Christian Baptist Churches Union (EEKBKL), having started with the evangelical services of the Effataa gospel choir which has carried the name since 1975. The evangelical movement reached the form of ecstatic experiential Christianity in 1978 – parishioners would pray over the sick or those afflicted by evil spirits, and the person would often fall over in ecstasy as if struck by the Holy Spirit. The article explores the reactions of the EKB Union Presbyterian Council, as well as those of the authorities that had a direct role in influencing the course of events. The concluding discussion considers the use of the term “awakening” in the context of the history of Christianity in Estonia. Comparisons are made with Niilo Yli-Vainio’s prayer and healing services in Finland during the same period (1977–1981). </p> Riho Saard Copyright (c) 2026 Usuteaduslik Ajakiri 2026-06-24 2026-06-24 89 1 1 25 10.23675/ua.v89i1.27446