Gottfried F. Alf: Pioneer of the Baptist Movement in Poland.

Gottfried F. Alf: Pioneer of the Baptist Movement in Poland. By Albert W. Wardin, Jr. Nashville: Baptist History and Heritage Society, 2003. 112 pp.

North American Baptists are familiar with the lives and stories of such leading Baptists as Isaac Backus and John Leland, who were instrumental in forging a path as the colonies developed into a nation. Wardin offers readers the story of the life and work of a Baptist pioneer in Europe, Gottfried F. Alf. Alf was the first Baptist baptized in Russian Poland, Russia's first ordained Baptist minister, and the founder of the first Baptist churches in Russian Poland and Ukraine (p. 7).

Wardin begins by examining Alf's life chronologically but then shifts to look at his ministry thematically. The story opens with Ali's early life, including his spiritual journey. This journey takes a significant turn when he decides to become a Baptist. Like many Baptist leaders throughout history, Ali's decision met with opposition from both civil and ecclesiastical authorities and led to a life filled with trial and persecution.

Alf's decision to be immersed also marks the transition in Wardin's work from a chronological retelling to a thematic approach. For example, the chapters on "Religious and Political Authorities" and "Prison and Mob Attack" include various examples of persecution and abuse that occurred at different points in Ali's life. A careless reader may miss the shift and experience some confusion as Wardin groups together similar events that occurred at various times in Alf's life.

Wardin maintains the thematic approach throughout the rest of the work, examining a number of topics including Ali's mission work both at home in Poland and in the Russian Empire where he worked to establish Baptist churches and to build relationships with like-minded believers. In the chapter, "Baptist Dynamics," Wardin makes an interesting and yet appropriate connection between the early Baptist church in Poland and the beginnings of the Baptist church in Virginia. Despite the obvious cultural differences, Wardin rightly contends that experience of the fledgling Baptist church in Poland can be seen in parallel with its counterpart in colonial Virginia.

The concluding chapter, "Alf's Legacy," offers a concise evaluation of his life and ministry. Wardin states that Alf "began a movement in Eastern Europe which helped bring evangelical free-church principles to the region" (p. 87). The book also includes a useful bibliography and appendix. The bibliography includes nineteenth-century mission periodicals from Eastern Europe and America that reported on Ali's mission efforts, and the appendix offers an English translation of two documents written by Alf to civil authorities requesting religious liberty for Baptists.

The story of Baptist beginnings in England and America has been well told, and Wardin offers an excellent introduction to an influential leader of the Baptist movement in Eastern Europe. Individuals interested in the global spread of Baptist principles will not want to miss Wardin's work detailing Gottfried Ali's contribution and leadership in Eastern Europe.--Reviewed by Scott E. Bryant, doctoral student in church history with an emphasis in Baptist studies at Baylor University, Waco, Texas.

Editor's Note: Wardin's book has also been published in Polish: Gotfryd Fryderyk Alf: Pionier Ruchu Baptystycznego Na Ziemiach Polsldch (Warszawa: Wyzsze Baptystyczne Seminarium Teologiczne w Warszawie, 2003).