Keston Center Spring Lecture Features Dr. Scott Kenworthy on the Fight for Religious Freedom in Revolutionary Russia
Scott Kenworthy, a leading expert in the history of the Orthodox Church in modern Russia, will visit Baylor University to present the 2026 Keston Spring Lecture on Thursday, February 26, 2026, at 3:30 p.m. CST in the Treasure Room of the Armstrong Browning Library & Museum. His presentation extends from his latest book on Orthodox Christian leader Patriarch Tikhon Bellavin, “The People’s Patriarch: Tikhon Bellavin and the Orthodox Church in North America and Revolutionary Russia.” (Oxford University Press, 2025).
“Dr. Kenworthy is an award-winning scholar of religious history, particularly Eastern Orthodox Christianity, who has just published a landmark book on Tikhon,” Dr. Julie DeGraffenried, Baylor Associate Professor and Department Chair of History, said.
In 1898, Tikhon Bellavin was appointed bishop of the Russian Orthodox Churches in the Aleutian Islands and North America. He visited major cities throughout the United States to consecrate new churches and connect with faith leaders of other traditions. In 1905, he was named Archbishop and relocated from San Francisco to New York. In 1907, he moved back to Russia when he was called to the See of Yaroslavl. Bellavin was soon voted Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church in 1917 as the Bolsheviks gained power. The Bolsheviks desired to destroy the Orthodox Church and replace it with “scientific atheism.” It fell to Patriarch Tikhon Bellavin to defend against the attack.
“This is the story of a courageous religious leader who spoke truth to power and defended his faith in the face of religious persecution, carried out by a repressive government,” Scott Kenworthy said.
In “The People’s Patriarch” Kenworthy immerses the reader in the fight to preserve Orthodox Christianity despite overwhelming opposition. The book “tells the story of the clash of visions for the new Russia in 1917 through the lens of the humble man chosen to lead the Church,” said Scott Kenworthy. “Just days after the Bolsheviks seized power, the great Council of the Russian Orthodox Church voted to restore the patriarch.”
“Hopefully, the audience will learn about a hero who called out government leadership for human rights and religious freedom violations and understand how he encouraged ordinary believers to bravely become involved so the church would survive,” Kathy Hillman, Director of the Keston Center for Religion, Politics, and Society, said.
Kenworthy’s presentation will dive into his use of previously classified documents from the secret police and Bolshevik leadership to illustrate the world Patriarch Tikhon Bellavin faced. He will highlight how Patriarch Tikhon Bellavin defended Orthodoxy, and it will hopefully become apparent to the audience how his efforts may be matched in today’s global context.
The 2026 Keston Spring Lecture is free and open to the public. The presentation will be followed by a reception with light refreshments and a book signing in the Cox Reception Hall of the Armstrong Browning Library & Museum. The Baylor Bookstore will be selling copies of “The People’s Patriarch: Tikhon Bellavin and the Orthodox Church in North America and Revolutionary Russia.”
For more information about this year’s Keston Spring Lecture, including the Zoom registration link, visit library.web.baylor.edu/kestonevents.
The 2026 Keston Spring Lecture is proudly presented by the Baylor Libraries, the Keston Center for Religion, Politics, and Society, the Department of History, the Department of Modern Languages and Cultures, and the International Studies Program, all at Baylor University.