Soviet Evangelicals Since World War II, Walter Sawatsky, 1981

farm). I have followed the transliteration rules of the American Library of Congress with minor exceptions. Names well known in the West such as Jacob (instead of Iakov) Zhidkov and Alexander (instead of Aleksandr) Karev are anglicized. Where deemed appropriate, German names are given in the original spelling. An exception is Georgi Vins, whose transliterized spelling has become widely accepted, instead of the Germanic, Wiens. Church polity differs by denomination and by country. It would seem more American to speak of ‘Pastor’ Michael Zhidkov and “Superintendent” or “Bishop” Jacob Dukhonchenko, but that would lead the reader to assume unwarranted similarity with Western organizational models. I have therefore retained the literal translations of “presbyter” (for an ordained leading minister) and “senior presbyter” (for an administrator of a regional grouping of churches). These are derived, in any case, from the original Greek and perhaps closer to New Testament Christianity. Another difficult term is upolnomochnyi (plenipotentiary), the official title of the local official for the Council of Religious Affairs. Here I have tried to use the cumbersome “plenipotentiary” as infrequently as possible, using the more vague “state official” which lacks the tone of power that “plenipotentiary” 24 Soviet Evangelicals Since World War Il does, For purposes of clarity I have retained orgkomitet (organizing com- mittee) to designate the official leadership of the Reformers during the tran- sitional period 1962-65. I have tried to avoid calling the two major unions the “Russian Baptist Union” and the “Reform Baptist Union.” The latter is acceptable and often used but not their own term. They prefer “Council of Churches,” which for a Westerner, however, means the World Council of Churches and its na- tional equivalents, The larger union is neither only Russian nor only Baptist, hence to call them “Russian Baptists’ as has become common, simply rein- forces the elements of power in that union. J therefore chose the letter ab- breviations AUCECB and CCECB which have also become common and are indeed widespread Russian acronyms. The following is a list of abbre- viations, including the most frequently cited journals that have been used. AUCECB—AIl-Union Council of Evangelical Christians-Baptists BWA—Baptist World Alliance CCECB—Council of Churches of Evangelical Christians-Baptists CRA—Council for Religious Affairs CPC—Christian Peace Conference (Prague) ECB—Evangelical Christian Baptists EBF—European Baptist Federation KGB—Committee of State Security (Soviet secret police) USSR—Union of Soviet Socialist Republics- RSFSR—Russian Soviet Federated Socialist Republic BL—Bratskii Listok (Fraternal Leaflet), official CCECB journal BV—Bratskii Vestnik (Fraternal Messenger), official AUCECB journal EBPS—European Baptist Press Service EPS—Ecumenical Press Service G2W—Glaube in der