Towards Understanding of the Practice of Proclamation: The Core Element of Russian Baptist Worship, Timofey Cheprasov, 2015

122 Eor more information on the life of Russian evangelical Christians on occupied territories and the Nazi attitude to them see |. G. Ermolov, “Evangelskiie Khristiane — Baptisti v Period Okupatsii RSFSR 1941-1944” [“Evangelical Christians - Baptists during the Period of Occupation of Russian Federation in 1941-1944”], in Beliakova and Sinichkin, eds., 105 Let Legalizatsii Russkogo Baptisma, pp 174-175. 113 There exists a diversity of evaluations of the above mentioned shift in government's policy. A. Komarov argues that the formation of the AUCECB and other signs of relaxation of persecutions (e.g. the release of a number of pastors from prisons and labour camps) were nothing but an attempt of the Soviet Government to create some kind of “ministry of spiritual affairs” to execute better control ‘from within’ of the evangelical movement. (“Evangelskiie Christiane-Baptisti v Sisteme Gosudarstvenno-Religioznikh Otnoshenii v SSSR: 1944-63 gg” [“Evangelical Christians- Baptists in the system of State-Religious Relationships in USSR: 1944-63”], in Evrasiia: Dukhovniie Traditsii Narodov [Eurasia: Spiritual Traditions of the Nations], Vol. 3 (2012), pp 194-199). 83 and Baptists took place in October of that year, with a number of its participants being released from prisons and labour camps prior to the meetings. The congress decided to form one union, appointed its general council, and established a system of senior pastors [starshiie presvitera].""” These and some other decisions resulted in a formation of a system, which significantly restricted local congregations in their ability to make autonomous decisions, without receiving permission from the leadership of the Union, yet made it easier for the Soviet administration to have greater control of the Church. Whilst allowing the repressive regime to have impact on the decisions and actions of the Church might seem a controversial decision, it has to be remembered that the baptistic leaders had to choose between something bad (activities controlled by the Soviet state) and even worse — total prohibition and overt persecution of all religious practices in the country. "> The death of Stalin in 1953 marks an end of the era of “militant atheism” and the state’s appropriation of a new approach to anti-religious oppression, the so-called 116 “scientific atheism” of Khrushchev’s time.’ The authorities focused on “scientific” propaganda among young people, creating a perception in society that faith and science were in irresolvable conflict. In addition, they introduced practices of public ‘M4 Apart from the Baptists and Evangelical Christians, there was a number of other non- Orthodox denominations that were forcefully brought into the AUCECB by the communistic authorities in order to exercise greater control over the religious life in the country. For example, the Pentecostal church “joined” the AUCECB in 1945, the Mennonites in 1966.