Now they are legalized. The all-Russian Association of Pentecostals is being formed.

In the XVII century. there was a ” Christian society of friends of the inner light.” It was founded by the artisan j. Fox (1624-1691) declared that the truth of faith is manifested in the act of illumination by “inner light”. For ecstatic methods of achieving communion with God, or because they emphasized the need to be in constant “awe” of God, the followers of this movement were called Quakers (from the English. quake – to shake). Their worship consists of internal conversation with God and preaching. Quakers in the world

there are about 200 thousand of their communities exist in the United States, England, Canada and some other countries, they created the “world Advisory Committee of friends”.

As an attempt to overcome religious indifference of the Anglican Church of the XVIII century there was a movement of Methodists. Its founders were the Wesley brothers John (1703-1791) and Charles (1707-1788). The name refers to the methodical observance of Christian precepts, which they preached in the “Holy club” they created as students at Oxford, and to new methods of preaching. John Wes-

Lee argued that all people at birth receive the gift of grace, allowing them to respond to the call of God and enter the path of salvation. The Methodists paid special attention to missionary activity and its new forms: preaching in the open air, in workhouses, prisons, etc. having Branched off in 1795 from the Anglican Church, they simplified the doctrine, reducing the 39 articles of the creed to 25. They connect the principle of salvation by faith with the doctrine of good works. In 1881, the world Methodist Council was established. Followers of Methodism are about 31 million people. Methodism is common in many countries, especially in the United States, great Britain, Australia, and South Korea. Methodist communities are being established in Russia.

This denomination, historically close to the Anabaptists, was named in 1544 after the Dutch preacher Menno Simons (1492-1559), who advocated the principle of adult baptism by faith. The doctrine of the men-vonites, set forth in the “Declaration of the main articles of our common Christian faith” (1632), proclaims the equality of all members of the community, non-resistance to evil by violence, up to the prohibition to serve with arms, the autonomy of communities. From Dutch and German Mennonites settled in many countries, including Russia. There are currently about 500,000 Mennonites in the world. They live in the USA, Canada, Holland, Germany and other countries. In Russia, the Mennonites were divided into Church and fraternal, close to the Baptists and baptizing through immersion. The international body of Mennonites is the world conference.

We have not considered all, but only the most important areas of the Protestant faith. Things-

there are still many smaller Protestant churches, denominations, sects. The peculiarities of the creed, cult and organizations of Protestantism create great opportunities for the sectarian process.

As a special type, researchers also distinguish “native” Christianity, which by 1980 already had about 82 million people, formed by the missionary activity of Protestants. By the middle of the XX century, the development of Protestantism in Africa, South America, Oceania, and Asia became more dynamic. Characteristic of this process is the growth of African independent churches. By 1968, there were almost 6 thousand of them with more than 10 million followers. Some religious scholars even believe that these churches are the fourth

a major trend of Christianity, along with Catholicism, Orthodoxy and Protestantism. In many of them there is a syncretism, a combination of Christian ideas and symbols with ethnic religious ideas and pagan cults, a desire to perceive Christianity in African terms, to connect the biblical teaching with their own religious experience, prophecies, healings, protection from evil spirits.