A History of the Mennonite Brethren Church, Ja Toews

ill in their young people the idea of THE POWERS OF DEATH HAVE NOT PREVAILED 127 nonresistance. The author also cites numerous cases of Mennonite young men who objected to service in the Red Army during World War 11." What happened to those who refused to serve in the army is not revealed. According to the Baptist delegation that visited Canada in June, 1969. all young men in the Soviet Union serve in the Red Army unless they are exempted for medical reasons. Mennonite Brethren and Baptists In the Soviet Union every local religious community has to be registered with the Council for the Affairs of Religious Cults. Religious meetings as such are not permitted even in private homes. The registration of a congregation for worship purposes depends on meeting very exacting conditons. Certain persons and a minister must be approved to function as a nucleus for a congregation. In addition, a number of members must support the petition. Even if these conditions are met registration may be refused or delayed." The Mennonites who became uprooted during World War II lost these privileges because of their transfer to other areas and their German background. Since their rehabilitation as full-fledged Soviet citizens in 1955, great changes have taken place as far as their religious status is concerned. 11 Because most Baptists enjoyed the status and rights of registered churches, the Mennonite Brethren began to worship with them as early as 1959 in Kazakhstan, Kirgizia, and West Siberia. In 1963 the Council of t he Evangelical Christians-Baptists decided to accept the Mennonites inlo the Baptist Union. This decision affected primarily the Mennonite Brethren because of the similarity of views and practices, including the mode of baptism. However. Zhidkov, the chairman of the Baptist Union, is reported to have stated in September, 1964, that the plan was "to work out the necessary arrangements for a strengthening of the ties with both Mennonite groups"'" This plan, it appears, never niiitcriali/i'd. It is estimated I hut there are approximately twenty-two thousand members of the Mennonite Brethren Church in Russia today. Of these about eighteen thousand are registered with the Baptist Union. The others belong to separatist groups usually referred to as Initiativniki (initiators or dissenters). A number of Baptist congregations also belong to this movement which is sometimes, although falsely, called the underground church." 17 Attempts are being made at present to reconcile the two factions of Baptists. The difference between the registered and unregistered groups is primarily one of the degree of submission to state regulations with regard to the work and witness of the church. In recent years it has become possible to register 128 HISTORY OF THE MENNONITE BRETHREN CHURCH independently of the Baptist Union, and Mennonite as well as Mennonite Brethren congregations are now considering this op