History

The Christian union “Unity in Christ” was founded in 1932 in Estonia by husband and wife Mikhail and Natalia Smirnov, and was registered by decision of the Minister of Justice and Internal Affairs of the Republic of Estonia.

Earlier, before the First World War, through the spiritual work of Mikhail Smirnov, two Christian communities were founded: in the Smolensk province and later the “Philadelphia Church” in Gatchina, near St. Petersburg.

Mikhail Petrovich Smirnov came from a family of peasants and worked hard in the religious field.

Natalia Nikolaevna Smirnova was born of nobility. She graduated from the faculty of linguistics and historical sciences of the Pedagogical Institute in St. Petersburg. There she studied theology and apologetics (the discipline of defending Christianity) for two years.

At its founding, the union leadership included converted students from the University of Tartu.

Unity in Christ published spiritual literary magazines, as well as many other written spiritual works.

Several branches of Unity in Christ were opened in Estonia.

During the Soviet era, Unity in Christ wasn’t able to operate independently, but only in affiliation with the Methodist Church.

On January 21, 1997, the Christian church “Unity in Christ” was registered in the Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of Estonia under new legislation.