Lectures & Symposia
The Keston Center for Religion, Politics, and Society, the Department of History, the Department of Modern Languages and Cultures, and the International Studies Program proudly present the 2026 Keston Spring Lecture
“The Patriarch vs. the Revolution: Defending Religious Freedom in Early Soviet Russia”
Dr. Scott Kenworthy
Professor of History and Associate of the Havighurst Center for Russian and Post-Soviet Studies, Miami University of Ohio, and author of "The People’s Patriarch: Tikhon Bellavin and the Orthodox Church in North America and Revolutionary Russia" (Oxford University Press, 2025)
[biography]
Thursday, February 26, 2026
3:30 p.m.
Armstrong Browning Library & Museum, Treasure Room,
Patriarch Tikhon Bellavin (1865-1925) became head of the Russian Orthodox Church at the same moment that the communist Bolshevik Party seized power in Russia in 1917. The Bolsheviks sought to destroy the Orthodox Church as well as uproot religion to replace it with “scientific atheism,” immediately thrusting Patriarch Tikhon into defending the faith from their assault. Patriarch Tikhon was, therefore, the first—and in many ways paradigmatic—modern church leader who defended Christianity in the face of a totalitarian state, though his role has been frequently misunderstood. This presentation, based on extensive use of previously classified documents from the Bolshevik leadership and secret police, will elucidate how Patriarch Bellavin defended religious freedom in the face of persecution and how his example continues to be relevant.
Parking is available along Eighth Street and James Avenue, in available spots in the parking lots across Eighth Street from the Armstrong Browning Library, and in other visitor lots across the Baylor University campus. Visit map.baylor.edu for assistance with navigating the Baylor campus.
Past Lectures & Symposia
Ending Persecution: Charting the Path to Global Religious Freedom
H. Knox Thames, author of Ending Persecution, Senior Fellow, Pepperdine University Program on Global Faith and Inclusive Societies, and appointed State Department Special Advisor for Religious Minorities under Presidents Obama and Trump, in conversation with Joanne Cummings, Adjunct Professor of Political Science at Baylor University and retired State Department Officer who served extensively in the Middle East from Morocco through Pakistan, Micronesia, North Africa, and East Africa.
Thursday, October 23, 2025
"Speaking Truth to Power: The Revolt of a Russian Priest”
Dr. Wallace Daniel, Distinguished Professor of History, Mercer University & Emeritus Professor of History, Baylor University
Thursday, March 27, 2025
Video OneSearch Record Baylor Lariat Baptist Standard
"Baylor in Deeds—Interfaith and Intra-Faith Harmony: Strengthening Leadership for Women Globally through Sports"
A panel conversation featuring
- Hina Abel, Dissertation Fellow in Higher Education Studies and Leadership, Baylor University
- Meredith Frey, Master of Arts in School Leadership Fellow, Baylor University
- Marshall Magnusen, Associate Professor of Educational Leadership, Baylor University
- Brooke Ramsey, Local Waco School Leader
- William Sterrett, Chair and Professor of Educational Leadership, Baylor University
- Moderated by Charles Ramsey, Associate Chaplain and Director for Campus Ministries & Church Connections, Baylor University
Tuesday, October 29, 2024
"Seeking Peace in Times of War: Hope or Hopeless?”
A panel conversation featuring
- Joanne Held Cummings, US State Department (ret.), Director of Middle East Studies, and Lecturer, Political Science and Baylor Interdisciplinary Core
- Xenia Dennen, Chair, Keston Institute (UK)
- Vladimer Narsia, Fulbright Scholar in Peace and Conflict Studies, St. Philip’s College and Assistant Professor of Theology
and Canon Law, Ilia State University, Tbilisi, Republic of Georgia - George Njung, Assistant Professor, African Studies, Baylor Interdisciplinary Core
- Moderated by David A. Smith, Senior Lecturer, History Department
Thursday, February 22, 2024
“War, Music, and Dissonance: A Czechoslovak Case Study”
Michaela Kufová, Teacher and Conductor, Ondrášek Nový Jičín Arts School, Czech Republic
Thursday, November 2, 2023
"Irina Ratushinskaya: Triumph of the Spirit"
Xenia Dennen, Chair of the Keston Institute, UK
Friday, February 24, 2023
"Afghanistan: The Next Chapter"
A virtual panel conversation featuring
- Aref Dostyar, Former Consul General of Afghanistan to the Western United States and Senior Advisor at the University of Notre Dame's Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies
- Palwasha Kakar, Former head of the Gender Studies Institute at Kabul University and Interim Director for Religion and Inclusive Societies at the U.S. Institute of Peace (USIP)
- Mohammad Qasim Wafayezada, Former Minister of Information and Culture for the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and Professor of International Relations at Kanazawa University, Japan.
- Moderated by Charles Ramsey, Senior Fellow, South and Southeast Asia and Middle East Action Teams for the Religious Freedom Institute and Associate Chaplain and Lecturer in History at Baylor University
Friday, September 16, 2022
Video Article Article Additional Webinar
"Stalingrad on Screen: From Stalinist Propaganda to Putin-era Blockbuster"
Dr. Stephen Norris, Walter E. Havighurst Professor of History and Director, Havighurst Center for Russian and Post-Soviet Studies, Miami University in Ohio
Tuesday, March 22, 2022
Unfortunately, we did not capture video from this event.
“Totalitarianism, Faith, and Dissent: Czech Catholic Václav Benda and Beyond”
A lecture and panel discussion featuring an address by
Flagg Taylor, Associate Professor of Political Science at Skidmore College
followed by a conversation with
Joanne Held Cummings, U.S. Department of State, Foreign Service Officer (ret.)
Michael Long, Professor of Russian, Chair of Baylor's Department of Modern Languages & Cultures
Father Timothy Vaverek, Pastor of St. Mary’s of the Assumption Catholic Church in West
Moderated by Steven Gardner, Herman Brown Professor of Economics and Director of the McBride Center for International Business
Thursday, October 7, 2021
"Facing Forward: Afghanistan After America"
A panel discussion featuring
Fawzia Koofi, Former member of Parliament in Afghanistan and former Vice-President of the National Assembly
Ambassador Janan Mosazai, former Afghan Ambassador to China and Pakistan
Aref Dostyar, Consul General of Afghanistan to the Western United States
Ambassador Jonathan Addleton, Senior Civilian Representative to Southern Afghanistan and Head of USAID in Pakistan and India
Moderated by Dr. Charles Ramsey, Resident Scholar in Baylor University's Institute for Studies of Religion and Lecturer in the Baylor Department of History
Thursday, September 2, 2021
"Where in the World?"—Keston Researchers Report
A virtual panel presentation featuring
- Emily Baran, Middle Tennessee State University
- Mykhailo Cherenkov, Ukrainian Catholic University in Lviv
- Julie deGraffenried, Baylor University
- Alyona Kojevnikov, Keston News Service, Founding Director
- Roman Lunkin, Institute of Europe, Russian Academy of Sciences
- Barbara Martin, University of Basel
- Joshua Searle, Spurgeon's College
- Artyom Tonoyan, University of Minnesota
- Alina Urs, Center for the Study of Contemporary History in Romania, Founding Member
- Moderated by Wallace Daniel, Distinguished Professor of History, Mercer University & Emeritus Professor of History, Baylor University
Tuesday, March 23, 2021
"Pictures, Portraits, and Snapshots: Glimpses into Baylor's Special Libraries"
A virtual "speed panel" that included Keston researchers:
- Wallace Daniel, Distinguished University Professor of History at Mercer University
TOPIC: “Father Gleb Yakunin and Documents of the Christian Committee for the Defense of Believer’s Rights in the USSR” - Alice Luňáková, Masaryk University, Czech Republic
TOPIC: “50 Years Later: Prague Spring and the Death of Jan Palach”
Friday, October 30, 2020
"Voice of the Voiceless"
A "speed panel" featuring
- Susan Chandler, Director, Czech Heritage Museum and Genealogy Center, Temple
- Julie deGraffenried, Associate Professor of History, Baylor
- Ivy Hamerly, Director of the International Studies Program, Baylor
- Adrienne Harris, Associate Professor of Modern Languages and Cultures, Baylor
- Eva Hruska, Senior Lecturer of Modern Languages and Cultures, Baylor
- Sergiy Kudelia, Associate Professor of Political Science, Baylor
- Michael Long, Professor and Chair of Modern Languages and Cultures, Baylor
- Charley Ramsey, Part-time Lecturer for Truett Seminary and Religion and Director of Baptist Student Ministries, Baylor
- Luke Sayers, PhD Candidate, English, Baylor
Tuesday, Oct0ber 15, 2019
Unfortunately, we did not videotape this conversation.
Keston Center Diplomatic Forum
- Joanne Held Cummings, Career Foreign Service Officer of the U.S. Department of State
- Colonel Paul Roush, Retired Colonel of the U.S. Marine Corps and Retired Professor of the U.S. Naval Academy
- Roland H. Smith, Member of the British Diplomatic Service from 1967 to 2002, including posts as Deputy Ambassador to NATO (1992-95), Director for International Security in the Foreign Office (1995-98), and Ambassador to Ukraine (1999-2002).
Thursday, March 21, 2019
Unfortunately, The Keston Center for Religion, Politics, and Society did not videotape this event.
“Celebrating 100 Years of Czech Independence”
Hynek Kmoníček, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Czech Republic to the United States
Thursday, October 11, 2018
Unfortunately, these sessions were not videotaped for preservation.
"The Czechoslovak Experience in Film"
Dr. Michael Long, Professor and Interim Chair of Modern Languages and Cultures
Ivana Doležalová, Czech Journalist.
Tuesday, October 9, 2018
"Remembering the 50th Anniversary of Prague Spring"
Steven Pounders and Cooper Sivara of the Department of Theatre Arts present
Václav Havel's Audience: A Play translated by Vera Blackwell
Wednesday, October 10, 2018
"The Magic and Tragic Eights: Generational Reflections on 100 Years of Czech History"
Alice Luňáková, Graduate Student, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic
Friday, October 12, 2018
"HUSH! Religion and the Secular Media."
Alyona Kojevnikov, Former Radio Liberty Moscow Bureau Chief, BBC Russian Service Broadcaster, Translator for Margaret Thatcher, and Keston College Information Officer
Thursday, March 22, 2018
“Holy Fools: Faith and Freedom in Soviet Russia”
A lecture in the “Revisiting Red October: Commemorating the Centennial of the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia” Series
Dominic Erdozain, Research Fellow, Department of Theology and Religious Studies, King's College, London and Visiting Scholar, Candler School of Theology, Emory University
with a panel conversation featuring
- Wallace Daniel, Distinguished Professor of History, Mercer University
- Julie deGraffenried, Assistant Professor of History, Baylor University
- Philip Jenkins, Distinguished Professor of History, Baylor University
Wednesday, October 25, 2017
"Today's Russia: Religion, Politics, and Society"
Roman Lunkin, Woodrow Wilson Fellow and Senior Researcher at the Institute of Philosophy of the Russian Academy of Sciences
with a panel conversation featuring
- Xenia Dennen, Chair, Keston Institute (UK)
- Chet Edwards, Former U.S. Congressman
- Sergiy Kudelia, Professor of Political Science, Baylor University
- Moderated by Wallace Daniel, Distinguished Professor of History, Mercer University
Friday, February 24, 2017
Video PowerPointSlides (PDF) Article
"How Kolaches Came to Texas: A Social and Cultural History of Czech Migration"
Alice Luňáková, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic
Tuesday, August 30, 2016
Unfortunately, this event was not videotaped.
"Combatting God and Grandma: Soviet Anti-Religious Policies and the Battle for Childhood"
Julie deGraffenried, Assistant Professor of History, Baylor University
Thursday, April 14, 2016
Unfortunately, this event was not videotaped.
Defenders of the Faith: Then and Now
Lecture: "The Keston Institute and the Defense of Christians in the USSR before Perestroika"
Xenia Dennen, Chair, Keston Institute (UK)
Panel: "The Post-Soviet Challenge Today"
- Wallace Daniel, Distinguished Professor of History, Mercer University
- Stephen Gardner, Herman Brown Professor of Economics and Director of the McBride Center for International Business
- James Warhola, Professor and Chairman, Department of Political Science, University of Maine
- Moderated by Julie deGraffenried, Assistant Professor of History, Baylor University
Thursday, February 26, 2015
"Gender and Faith in Former Communist Countries: Yesterday and Today"
Alina Urs, Keston Scholar and researcher at the Institute for the Investigation of Communist Crimes and the Memory of the Romanian Exile, Bucharest, Romania
Friday, November 13, 2014
Unfortunately, this event was not recorded.
"My Experience as a Religious Dissident in Russia"
Alexander Ogorodnikov, Russian Dissident, Gulag Survivor, and Human Rights Activist
Friday, March 28, 2014
“Religion and Political Culture in Communist Countries: Past, Present and Future”
Keston Center for Religion, Politics, and Society Symposium
Thursday and Friday, November 13-14, 2013
Keynote Speakers
Rev. Canon Michael Bourdeaux, Keston Institute Founder
Dr. Wallace Daniel, Distinguished University Professor of History, Mercer University
Panels
"Religion, Political Culture and Human Rights"
Alina Urs, Centrul de Studii în Istorie Contemporană, Romania
Lauren Tapley, Baylor University
Tatiana Spektor, Couvent de Lesna, France
Julie deGraffenried, Chair, Baylor University
"Church-State Relations and National Identity"
James Warhola, University of Maine
Miranda Zapor Cruz, Baylor University
Kathy Hillman, Chair, Baylor University
"Religion and Foreign Policy in Contemporary Russia"
Stephen Gardner, Baylor University
Sergiy Kudelia, Baylor University
Michael Long, Baylor University
William Mitchell, Chair, Baylor University
"Religion and Political Culture in Communist Countries: The Future"
Michael Bourdeaux, Keston Institute
Wallace Daniel, Mercer University
Xin Wang, Baylor University
Stephen Gardner, Chair, Baylor University