Soviet Evangelicals Since World War II, Walter Sawatsky, 1981

but that attempt failed. Local complaints about violations of the August Agreement by both sides continued. There was increasing pressure by the Pentecostal leaders in the union to modify the August Agreement.” , Finally, in 1972, the AUCECB agreed to appoint a seven-man com- mission to analyze and revise the agreement. The commission met several times during the following year and also received various recommendations from local churches. But a year later they reported that the 1945 agreement had by now become a historic document which had been reaffirmed at three All-Union congresses in the sixties,”4 and therefore they came to the conclusion that it should continue to remain unchanged as the basic docu- ment for regulating relationships between the Pentecostals and the union. The decision was scarcely surprising, since only two members of the com- mission were Pentecostals and all the rest were powerful AUCECB leaders, including S. P. Fadiukhin, who is well known for his staunchly Baptist 288 Soviet Evangelicals Since World: War II stance against Pentecostals in his own large congregation in Leningrad.” The decision was disappointing to Pentecostals and also to many local leaders who had dissatisfied Pentecostals in their membership. Some delegates came to the 1974 congress hoping that the Pentecostal question would be thoroughly discussed and that perhaps the August Agreement could still be changed.”6 This did not happen. Later at the next major meeting of the AUCECB’s plenum, General Secretary Alexei Bychkov spoke with approval of a new development among unaffiliated Pentecostals. These, he said, were now expressing a desire to worship openly, to obey the laws, and up to twenty-five such congregations had been registered without affiliation to the AUCECB.7 Pentecostal spokesman Peter Shatrov also presented a major paper on the subject of unity with the Pentecostals in which he pointed out that about 33,000 had joined the AUCECB and that relations between Baptists and Pentecostals in the Western Ukraine and the Baltic region were good. He listed seven factors which united them with the ECB and could also report that as a result of increased travel in the congregations, at least seven more Pente- costal congregations had joined the union, not to mention the many indi- viduals who had found their way to an established congregation. But there were still 500 congregations with more than 20,000 members outside the union. There was also continuing discontent because individuals did not recognize the agreement. On one side were persons who felt that only those with the gift of tongues had salvation, while on the other side were those who said that speaking in tongues did not come from God. This intolerance must be eliminated, Shatrov emphasized. He urged the presbyters of united congregations in particular to do their utmost to abide by the agreement.”8