Journal of European Baptist Studies, 2007

many of the ordinary church members followed them, leaving a feeling of deep fear until the end of their lives. All wanted to survive. 21 Pospelovskil, Russkaya pravoslavnaya tserkov’ vXX veke, p. 189. 22 Vsesoyuznoe soveshchanie, p. 20. 23 Beseda s predstavitelyami ‘Orgkomiteta’, 13-15. 24 G. Vins, Evangelie v usakh [Gospel in Chains] (Elkhart, IN: Russian Gospel Ministries, 1991), p. 130. 23 Interview of E.A. Tarasov with J. Dyck, 2 January 2001. Phonogram. J.Dyck’s personal archive. 26 ‘Postanovlenie VTSIK i SNK RSFSR o religioznykh ob ‘edineniyakh’ Byulleten ’ Ncirodnogo komissariata vnutrennikh del RSFSR N° 37(338) ot 24 oktycibrya 1929 g., pp. 685-689. [Regulation of the All-Union Central Executive Committee and the Soviet of People’s Commissars about religious associations. Bulletin of the People’s Commissariat of internal affairs of RSFSR N° 37(338) from 24 October 1929]. Archive of AUCECB, file 1.1, document 1 (electronic copy). 42 Journal of European Baptist Studies The first survival strategy was patriotism. The German aggression against the USSR in 1941 gave the remaining church leaders the possibility to express their patriotic feelings. All the documents of the time in the archive of the AUCECB show this attitude. Six days after the war began on 28 June 1941, the All-Union Council of Evangelical Christians (AUCEC) issued a circular letter with an unambiguous commitment to military service and an appeal to all believers to ‘increase tenfold the commitment to work’. 27 The legitimacy of military service was defended by examples of the puritans and ‘Oliver Cromwell, the great man of God’, as well as the American Civil War against slavery. This appeal was followed by a series of similar documents, with some of them -1 even printed in typography - the sign of a benevolent attitude from the state. Christian patriotism bore its fruits. The second strategy was absolute loyalty. To some extent, during the war, the religious policy of the state changed, and from 26-29 October 1944 a Conference of Evangelical Christians and Baptists in Moscow took place." Ten of thirty-four participants were from Moscow, six from Kiev, and the remainder from differing locations. The representative from North Caucasus came from Arkhangel’sk in northern Russia, probably from prison. The Conference proclaimed the foundation of the All-Union Council of Evangelical Christian and Baptists. Until 1991, this organisation represented the Baptist Union of the USSR. Later it split into Baptist Unions of the independent post-soviet republics. A short Statute of the Union of Evangelical Christians and Baptists, 31 consisting of ten topics mainly of doctrinal nature, was adopted and an institute of senior presbyters was introduced. In August 1945, this Union was joined by the Pentecostals. In this way, the government established an instrument for 27 Circular Letter of the AUCEC N° 457/57 from 28 June 1941. Archive of