Pavel I. Rogozin was born on December 7, 1898, in the village of Spevakovka in the Kharkov province of Ukraine. Not only was Rogozin a member of the Church of Evangelical Christians-Baptists (ECB), he was also a prominent pastor, theologian, apologist, and evangelical preacher.
Rogozin studied at numerous schools including the Teacher’s Seminary in Russia (1915-1918), Russian Bible College in Berlin, Germany (1921-1923), and the Bible seminary “College of all Nations” in London, England (1924-1926).
Upon completion of his education in 1926, Rogozin married Vera Iosifovna Olifer.
The newly married Rogozin moved to France where he began to plant churches, a mission which would lead him around the world. He began with the Russian Baptist Church in Paris in 1926, where he served as part of the pastoral ministry until 1931. In his time there, he lectured and led discussions on spiritual topics throughout Paris. He also served as a missionary to Russian Immigrant communities and refugees of various nationalities in France.
In 1932 Rogozin planted a Russian Baptist Church in the city of Nice in the South of France, where he held prayer meetings, lectures, and Bible studies for 15 years. He also conducted church gatherings in Cannes from 1933 and in Toulon from 1937. After WWII he planted another church in Rome, Italy, and preached in the Marseille, France.
Rogozin moved to the United States in 1947 and within two years, founded a church called the “Evangelical Slavic Center”. In 1952, he established a Russian Baptist Church in Hollywood, California. After four years, he moved to San Francisco where he planted yet another church and also became an active member of the Russian-Ukrainian Congregation of Evangelical Christians-Baptists of Ashford, United States.
Not only did he establish churches worldwide, but with the help of G.K Urban and other members of the Baptist church, Rogozin initiated a Russian evangelical movement and served for one year as a chairman for these Conferences. He conducted gatherings of “Spiritual awakening” in Paris and worked partially in the Bible Institute founded by V.A.Fetler. During this time, Rogozin studied Russian literature at Sorbonne University in Paris (1926-1930).
While serving in Nice, Rogozin also released the first issue of the Christian Magazine of Russian Gospel Mission in 1945, which he continued to publish as editor for twenty years until 1965. He was also the editor of another magazine, published by the Congregation, called The Sower of Truth. Rogozin authored numerous books on various problems of Protestant theology.
He died from throat cancer on March 10, 1974 in San Francisco.
