Soviet Evangelicals Since World War II, Walter Sawatsky, 1981

elations with world Baptists bodies have become so well developed over against other evangelical bodies that many people have the impression that Soviet evangelicals belong exclusively to the Baptist family. What is the nature and significance of. the AUCECB involvement in the Baptist World Alliance and the European Baptist Federation? Once active membership was resumed in 1955, Moscow sent its members regularly to meetings. Gradually the Soviet members became more acquainted with the overall program, but their contribution has been selective. Bychkov claimed credit for fostering a greater interest in peace and justice. Many of the programs in the sphere of evangelism, education and relief can only be applied in the Soviet Union with great difficulty and modification. Above all, Soviet Baptist participation was limited by the restrictions on the flow of currency. Unable to donate directly to the BWA or EBF, they have resorted to financing the travels of fellow East European Baptists to committee meetings. When Alexei Bychkov served as president of the European Baptist Federation, he invited the executive committee to Moscow for deliberations and his union paid the travel costs of all the members. Similarly, Soviet churchmen coming to meetings of the BWA, for example, in the United States, spend an additional week or two eiiting churches and raising donations for the BWA. An attempt to gain permission for Soviet financial involvement in relief projects in a Third World setting has not succeeded so far, Committee membership has long been limited to a small group of persons. Jacob Zhidkov served two terms as BWA vice-president. In 1962 his son Michael was elected to the executive committee of the EBF By 1965, when he was still identified simply as an AUCECB co-worker he was elected vice-president of the EBF. Only the following year was he ordained as presbyter of the Moscow church and was also elected a member of the AUCECB Presidium. Since 1975 he has been a vice-president of the BWA like his father before him. Zhidkov’s role in these committees was largely nominal as was true of many of the other Russian members on committees, 374 Soviet Evangelicals Since World War Il Much more significant was the election of Alexei Bychkov as president of the European Baptist Federation in 1975. For the first time an East Eu ropean churchmen led this organization, which required much ee ae mate cooperation between him and the secretary-treasurer, Gerhar roe based in Hamburg. In March 1976 the EBF executive committee he expanded session in Moscow, the first such meeting in Eastern nae second meeting took place in Budapest in September of that year. = experience proved to be very positive, since there was no ant : censorship of activity, although more European Baptists leaders felt oblige to attend a peace