Soviet Evangelicals Since World War II, Walter Sawatsky, 1981

chool, declaring this a vital question which they hoped to consider in the near future and “we believe that the Lord will give us success in this matter.”5* Here his optimism was over- extended because even at the present time of writing, a theological school still does not exist. In 1968 permission was received finally to open a theological school by correspondence with a maximum enrollment of 100. Present General Secretary Bychkov first became involved with AUCECB activity by translating and helping prepare course materials. By 1979, 272 persons had graduated. from the two-year course. They had studied dog- matics, homiletics, exegetics, bibliology, church history, Evangelical Chris- tian-Baptist history and the constitution.® In reporting these results, Alexei Bychkov announced that they were preparing course materials for new dis- ciplines: comparative theology, Christian ethics, and ECB history. As.a result of the many proposals introduced at the 1974 congress, courses were also granted in music. In 1976 it became possible to add a third year of instruction, and the authorities now permitted fifty students to register an- nually. This made it possible to teach all three years of the course of studies simultaneously, thereby increasing the number of participants. In 1979 a special two-year course for church musicians began.®4 The AUCECEB also. announced that permission had been received to open a second church on the outskirts of Moscow in a building which will house the new seminary.®> Since the announcement, numerous delays have arisen, and the seminary still remains a future dream. At most, several guest lecturers’ beginning with the Baptist Claus Meister of Switzerland have ad- dressed the correspondence students.*¢ The primary problem, even if the state permitted a seminary, is that the AUCEGB (like other evangelicals) lack adequately trained teachers. Be- ginning in 1957, the AUCECB was permitted to send four students to study at Baptist colleges in England. After a considerable time gap, this was resumed in. the late sixties so. that a total of twenty-seven persons had the opportunity for study abroad before this program was terminated in 1976.5" The correspondence course is not really at the level of a theological seminary; many of the courses are based on adaptations from: Moody Bible Institute. courses. Even those who studied abroad were unable to get theological depth. in the two short years of their study, limited. as they: were Children and Youth 331 by the need to learn a foreign language. Michael Zhidkov, after two years at Spurgeons College, was able to spend an additional year at MeMaster University. Of the younger corps of leaders, he is probably the only one ap- proaching the theological qualifications required to teach in a cota mae ieee fae na been unsuccessful so far in obtaining econ students to the inte i i i i sear ee ler sre rnational Baptist Theological Sem