Celebrating Russian Christmas and Church Consecration in Irkutsk

The Irkutsk congregation was founded in 1992 by a group of 45 people, and the first baptism took place that same year. The Irkutsk Central UECB Church acted as the mother church.

In 1996, a plot of land was purchased in the city center and a small building of 10x15 meters was soon built. The church grew and the building gradually ceased to accommodate everyone. Two services were organized, but sometimes people had to stand outside. As a result, the decision was made to build a new church building. Two floors were built over the existing building and its area was expanded.

Today, TBC has about 200 members, the pastors being Viktor Zaitsev, UECB Regional Pastor for the Far East, along with Fyodor Vasilyuk and Sergey Mityukov

Guests came to congratulate the church on the significant event: Pavel Gagelgans and Alexander Rosenov - representing the “Bible Mission”, Alexey Sarapulov - a pastor from Chita, Alexander Litvinov - senior pastor of the UECB churches of the Irkutsk region, and Alexander Kislov  - pastor of the Central UECB church in Irkutsk.

The celebration service in the new building combined the Christmas holiday and the church consecration. Victor Zaitsev preached about the Nativity of Jesus Christ, and Pavel Gagelgans's sermon was dedicated to the church. The church choir skillfully supported the atmosphere of the holiday. About 300 people attended the meeting.

Currently, three are only churches of Evangelical Christian Baptists serve in Irkutsk: the Central UECB Church (5 Kayskaya St.), the Transfiguration Bible Church (42 Partizanskaya St.), and the New Testament UECB Church (Akademicheskaya St. 56/3) – a subsidiary of the Transfiguration Church.

May the Lord continue to grow His church, and praise Him for His faithfulness!!