Soviet Evangelicals Since World War II, Walter Sawatsky, 1981

local administrative Without discounting the good work these various office holders do. the fact remains that it is the women who have and still contribute the lion’s sh to the existence of the church. Many of their number went to prison toa but often they were able to keep the church open while the husband was in prison. While Abram Hamm served his sentence ( 1970-73), his wife invited the congregation to meet in her house in order to show the authorities how ineffectual had been their attempt to hinder church life.8 In the early years Jacob Zhidkov and others had repeatedly acknowledged the vital role'af the women. Maria Orlova, Michael Orlov’s wife, was a schoolteacher who had made a futile attempt to become a missionary to India (before the Revolu- tion). She contributed significantly as part of a gifted husband-and-wife ee feeling that her husband’s ministry was not the same after her Yet Soviet evangelicals have tended to apologize for the fact that some of their women do lead. In a major article for presbyters, N. A: Levindanto stated that only one deaconess was referred to in the New Testament (Rom. 16:1). Since there was no reference to ordination, a woman could lead the worship service and preach as did Philip’s dane bier but the church ordinances should be conducted by ordained men from netehborin congregations. At the 1979 congress ten of the 525 delegates were eee One of them from Moldavia delivered a lengthy speech on the role of - women in the Bible. With great humility she asked the men not to forget to teach the women, including teaching them when to be silent and when to help. Yet she also made a stirring appeal for the creation of the office of dea- coness, urging the brothers to help women to serve God. Presiding chair- man Ivan Gnida hugged her and apologized profusely for the many ti the men had taken the women for granted.5! . isla In most Soviet evangelical circles the requirement that the woman wear a head covering (usually a shawl) implies greater subordination than‘ one would expect. Usually the brethren (men) meet separately to make church decisions before sharing them with the entire membership. When visiting in a Russian evangelical home, it is unusual for the wife to ar- ticipate in the discussion of church affairs: If’ most Soviet accel women do not preach or speak in public, they do pray fervently during the public prayer ‘sessions. In this writer's experience, the content of fee aay was sometimes more edifying than the sermons preached by the 330 Soviet Evangelicals Since World War tI The Missing Teachers Specially trained teachers are a rarity in Soviet evangelical circles. The AUCECB is the only East European evangelical union that is not permitted to maintain its own seminary. Already in 1947 President Jacob Zhidkov had spoken of the need for a theological s