Soviet Evangelicals Since World War II, Walter Sawatsky, 1981

an world. Fe drew attention to the fact of greater openness in the Christian world, including some of the optimistic implications of Vatican IL. Bychkov ne marized the major discussions on the theme “Salvation Today conducte by the WCC at Bangkok in 1972. Here he affirmed the AUCECB position that salvation comes only through the new birth in Christ and means to follow Christ. He also drew attention to the new charismatic movernent which one might have expected he would treat with warmth, eens their own reputation for Pietist spirituality, but he warned against the charismatic’s emphasis on spiritual gifts. The Pentecostals in the union et reminded that their agreement in 1945 permitted no glossalalia in the church. Delegates listened with great interest, many taking copious bee Bychkov then moved into his actual report, focusing on seven if ne aspects of their activities. The first aspect was the Moscow links to the oe churches. A total of 985 senior presbyters and presbyters had visited the AUCECB and many other persons visited their offices daily. They had also sent the leading brethren to visit more of the churches. Presidium members resident in Moscow had made 175 trips visiting 640 churches. But Bychkov still granted that believers had a legitimate complaint that they were es visited rarely. In fact, “in many churches brothers from the AUCECB have isited.’””8 ig saree the various meetings of the AUCECB plenum, he quickly indicated what had been their major concerns. In oe 1970 the plenum had focused on unity. A year later the primary issue had been a leadership change occasioned by the death of Alexander Karev and S. T. . Timchenko. At meetings in July 1972 and December 1973 the plenum listened to numerous papers on the subject of expanding the role of - senior presbyters and presbyters in the spiritual education of se members, By December 1978 the plenum had begun to discuss the oe unity with the Pentecostals again. A year later they started preparations id the present congress and dispatched special appeals to all Pentecostals, Mennonite Brethren, and CCECB supporters to take part in the prepara- tion and conduct of the regional congresses. Bychkov also reported that the presidium had met separately with Pentecostals and with Mennonites in at- improve relations with them.® pecans now gave detailed statistics about the Bible correspondence course which after a six-year period had resulted in two graduating classes New Frontiers After 1974 419 totaling 179 persons. The presidium was trying to improve the teaching ma- terials and to expand the courses to include comparative theology and Christian ethics. Bychkov also emphasized that the entrance requirements would be stiffer, requiring higher general educational achievement and also requiring a readiness to serve in places determined by the AUCECB, Publication achievements were still not very substantial, but Bychkov was able to re