Ivan Stepanovich Prokhanov (April 17 (29), 1869[1] – October 6, 1935)[1] was a Russian, Soviet, and emigre religious figure, engineer, poet, preacher,[Note 1][2] theologian, and politician.

He published evangelical magazines, wrote books on theology and religious jurisprudence, founded Christian political parties, and opened training schools for church ministers.

However, due to the difference in religious views with Neplyuev, Ivan Prokhanov was soon forced to leave this job and moved to Kolpino to work as the assistant chief engineer of the Izhorskiye Factories.

[7] In 1894, together with the evangelical figure Herman Fast [ru], the widow of the poet Nekrasov and other believers, he organized the Christian community "Vertograd" in the Crimea, where he lived for about a year.

Contrary to fears about the consequences of leaving Russia illegally, Prokhanov was not punished upon his return, although he was initially placed under official police surveillance.

From May 1925 to November 1926, Ivan Prokhanov stayed in the United States and Canada, where he sought opportunities to provide spiritual literature for the believers of the USSR.

[19] In 1927 Ivan Prokhanov made a series of trips to southern Russia, the Caucasus and Siberia, including a search for a site for the construction of Evangelsk [ru].

[20]In May 1928, Prokhanov left the USSR legally, primarily to attend the Baptist World Congress in Toronto and to seek foreign sources of funding.

Prokhanov's continued ties to the Union of Evangelical Christians and concern for USSR believers encouraged him to refrain from anti-Soviet speeches in exile and speak favorably of the Soviet government.

"All that I heard from my father and grandmothers about those who suffered for their faith made me want to devote my life to persecuted Christians and fight for freedom of conscience," he wrote.

[28] Prokhanov did not hide his messianic plans for the spiritual (and consequently socio-political) transformation of the world through the synergy of evangelical believers and the work of the Holy Spirit.

[34] Ivan Prokhanov was close to socialist beliefs, by his own admission: "I fully sympathized with all these ideals and wished to see them realized as soon as possible," he admitted.

[35] He could not accept Bolshevism's inherent denial of Christ and religion in general;[35] on the contrary, Prokhanov was passionate about filling the political and economic transformations taking place in Russia under him with a spiritual Christian conten;[30] according to his plan, it was Christianity that was to complete socialism,[36] since "with all the desirability and necessity...of fundamental political and economic reforms...the true renewal of Russia is possible only on condition of the spiritual revival and self-improvement of each individual."

Russian Baptist leaders disagreed with him on this point, believing that the main thing in Christian ministry is not the transformation of society, but the salvation of souls, and "everything else will be added on".

[39] Dogmatic theology played a secondary role for Prokhanov and served as a tool to achieve the main goal — church foundation and missionary work.

[53] By 1911, Ivan Prokhanov had united congregations of Evangelical Christians in St. Petersburg, Sevastopol, Simferopol, Yalta, Yekaterinoslav, Konotop, Kiev, Odessa, Oleksandrivsk, Kharkov, Nikolayev, and Samara.

[64] Immediately after the Bolsheviks came to power, Prokhanov, unlike the Baptists, refrained from making public negative statements about the new government and later sought compromises with it.

Christian artels and cooperatives were engaged in construction, production of bread and confectionery, sewing clothes and shoes, organization of public catering, etc.

[77] Prokhanov's speech in March 1923 at the congress of another Renewalist group "Union of the Communities of the Ancient Apostolic Church" (led by Archpriest Alexander Vvedensky) caused a controversial reaction,[78] but in general favorable attitude to the evangelical leader remained.

[80] According to the theologian and historian Vladimir Popov, Prokhanov's actions, although too simple and largely utopian in nature, contributed to large-scale communication between Protestant Evangelicals and Orthodox, eliminating many stereotypes and prejudices and strengthening Protestantism in Russia.

[81] Combating pacifism among Protestants was one of the tasks of the Anti-Religious Commission under the Central Committee of the RCP(b) [ru]— All-Union Communist Party of the Bolsheviks.

[83][84] While Prokhanov was imprisoned, the Chekists succeeded in forcing him to recognize military conscription as obligatory for Soviet Evangelical Christians and to sign an anti-pacifist proclamation published in "Izvestia" newspaper.

At a meeting of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of the Bolsheviks on May 17, 1928, I. V. Stalin spoke about the "blatant fact" of the permission of the Resettlement Department of the People's Commissariat of the RSFSR to organize a "religious city" in Siberia.

[86] The "General Testament" published after Prokhanov's death instructed that after the establishment of the World Union of Evangelical Christians, Jacob Kreker [ru] and Walter Jacque [ru][87] should be appointed Chairman and Deputy Chairman of the "Light in the East" Mission, due to the fact that during the years of emigration Prokhanov had not found staff capable of carrying out this ministry.

In addition, Alexander Stepanovich founded the Prokhanov Credit Partnership in Vladikavkaz, which lent money to small businesses of Molokans, Evangelical Christians, and Baptists.

[109] Ivan Prokhanov strove to give them a good education: the sons attended the gymnasium of the German Reformed Church in St. Petersburg, which their father considered one of the best in the city.

Due to the illness of his eldest son Yaroslav and the blocking of the road by the military, the family's journey was delayed, and on July 30, 1919, Prokhanov's wife died of Asiatic cholera in Vladikavkaz, having never reached Tbilisi.

Upon his return to Germany, Prokhanov, at the doctor's insistence, went to a clinic, first to a private one, then, as his condition worsened, to the Evangelical Hospital named after Martin Luther (German).

[121] According to the historian Wilhelm Kahle, the great importance of Ivan Prokhanov's personality in the history of Russian Protestantism is undeniable, but his role is still not fully understood and appreciated.

In advance, leaders of evangelical denominations in Russia and a representative of the Seventh-day Adventist Church signed a special declaration emphasizing Prokhanov's contribution to Russian history and calling for participation in the anniversary.