The BaptistChurch of Cagliari / Sardinia

The BaptistChurch in Italy is one of the churches claiming its roots in the Anabaptist story from the 16th century. Our forefathers, sometimes confused and going astray, were enthusiastic believers trying to give concrete relevance to the liberation they had experienced in Jesus Christ. Neither governor, nor common morals could keep them from speaking out against social injustice and engaging in actions in favor of new civil rights.

The BaptistChurch, born in England and Holland in the 17th century, arrived in Italy in the second part of the 19th century, while the CagliariBaptistChurch was founded in 1877. Italian Baptists are a tiny minority church. Together with our evangelical sister churches, the Methodist, the Valdensian and the Lutheran Church of Italy, with whom we have developed close ties of cooperation, we do not make up one percent of the total population. In a country in many ways dominated by the Roman Catholic Church, we believe that we must monitor the laity of the public institutions, which easily fall into the error that all spiritual inquiry is necessarily linked to the Catholic Church. At the same time, however, we are also active in enhancing the ecumenical endeavor, to testimony with one voice in favor of economical justice or the safeguard of creation, as expressed by § 15 of our confession of faith.

In our times we receive the call to be committed to justice, peace, freedom, the respect of the rights of human beings and the entire creation.

The spirit that all of creation shares in the love of God, is also the primary promoter of our interreligious meetings, which bring into dialog most of the different faith movements locally represented. Again our confession of faith states in § 18:

In living out our vocation to proclaim the gospel of the grace of God in Christ, it is not our function to judge, but to respect the religious expression of everyone and watch over the rights of liberty for all.

We believe that one of the rules with which God governs the universe is diversity, and therefore hold strongly on the individual freedom of each singular believer. The challenge we therefore face from day to day, is to stay in unity, despite the rich diversity inherent in the congregations. Many of the structures of our churches do have the purpose to unite the people of God. While on national level the main authority is exercised by our annual assembly, to which all the local communities send their delegates, on international level we are members of the Conference of European Churches and of the World Council of Churches.

The facilities

The community of Cagliari has a church building in the center of Cagliari and a community house called Eben Ezer at the renown Poetto, the 10 km long sandy beach of the town. While in town we hold most of our public activities, the sea home is dedicated to study groups, gathering activities and holiday programs, primarily for young and elderly people, but open to respond also to other requests.

Eben Ezer

Eben-Ezer is a Hebrew word which translated means “the Stone of Help”. It is mentioned in the book of 1 Samuel (7, 12) in the First Testament of the Bible:

Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Jeshanah, and called its name Ebenezer; for he said,

“Hitherto the Lord has helped us.”

Around the year 1000 b.C. the Jewish people are subject to a series of defeats. The reason for their mischief is the distance from God. Following Samuel’s preaching, being Samuel one of their judges, the people were transforming their formal belief into a faith that parts from the heart. Consequentially also God moves again within reach and the defeats transform into a long period of peace for the nation.

Ebenezer is also the name of the BaptistChurch in Atlanta/USA where Martin Luther King was serving as a pastor.

Eben Ezer’s Guesthouse

Eben Ezer’s guesthouse has three independent apartments.

The first : single bedroom; fan, refrigerator, bathroom and shower.

The second : double bedroom, fan, bathroom with tub and shower and a big balcony towards the garden.
The third : double bedroom, living room, children room, ventilator, bathroom with tub and shower, balcony towards the garden. The apartment can provide up to six sleeping places. Apartment two and three include a kitchen line consisting of a lavatory, four cooking surfaces, air dome, refrigerator, dish washer and all the necessary household utensils.

Eben Ezer has a reading corner, with magazines and books in different languages and a television set with satellite receiver. Our guests have the possibility to ask for the use the washing machine in the basement. From 2005 on we also want to offer Internet service.

On the first floor the house has two independent halls that can be connected to the surrounding garden. They can be used for conferences or meetings and together with the kitchen can also provide for meals and parties of groups up to a hundred persons.

The house is located 50 meters from the beach, provides good public transport which connects within 10-15 minutes to the heart of the city and its main archeological sites. There are many public parking places in front of the house, a small amusement park for children within a few minutes walk and a supermarket around the corner.

The island disposes of a mild climate that guarantees warm sunny days all from May throughout the middle of October. While spring (March - May) and autumn (October – December) offer temperatures that invite for archeological excursions, city sightseeing, or a walk in the mountains, the summer months are clearly dedicated to beach life, particularly in August when the temperature can stay above 30 degrees all month long.

More pictures and information you find on our internet site: www.chiesabattistadicagliari.net

or write to us under chiesa.battista_ca@tin.it to speak with the pastor,

or eben-ezer@tiscali.it to connect to the administration of our guesthouse