Soviet Evangelicals Since World War II, Walter Sawatsky, 1981

heological, it becomes evident that the greatest worry of the Baptists, an apprehension far more important than the differing viewpoints on the ordinances, was their concern for church discipline. Repeatedly in their discussions they asked for clarifications of the status of those persons who had been excommunicated from their church and who had been accepted as members in the Evangel- ical Christian Union. Frequently the excommunication or voluntary depar- ture from the Baptist Union reflected a rejection of the strict regulations enforced by the Baptists. From the Baptist point of view it was clear that their Baptist understanding and practice was biblical, and that they had a greater claim to biblical truth than any other church body. A committed Baptist could not conceive of any other reason for rejecting Baptist distinc- tives than willful disobedience of the commands of Jesus. Therefore, renun- ciation of Baptist distinctives was apostasy and with apostates no fellowship could be possible.2° This became the insoluble question since given the fluid nature of evangelicalism in the twenties, there had been considerable membership migration. The Evangelical Christians were prepared from henceforth to recognize each other's disciplinary measures, but did not wish to make the measure retroactive. It was in this area that the greatest distrust between the two bodies became evident, each apparently competing for members. But the leading participants also made unity difficult. Jacob Zhidkov later remarked that as young believers they had been very embarrassed by the rabid polemics of Dei Mazaev in the Baptist newspaper between 1909 and 1912.2! Others felt that from the very start Ivan Prokhanov, who had had no following, had developed a record by taking over the church in St. Petersburg, then trying to swallow up nearby Baptist churches, and wherever he went inviting the disaffected to make common cause with him. Thereby, they felt, he hoped to achieve a large union which lacked any doc- trinal coherence, but which he would lead and direct for his ends. Outside observers regard this as unjust but do recognize that Prokhanov’s powerful 84 Soviet Evangelicals Since World War II personality brought him as many enemies as friends, thus limiting his suitability as leader of the union.22 Prokhanov’s attempt to compromise with the Baptists by accepting their emphases was misinterpreted. Even his deci- sion in 1924 to be ordained was understood as evidence of lack of scruples rather than as a peace offering.” Conflict within Baptist ranks continued and was never really solved. The conflict between Mazaev and Pavlov flared up again in the 1920s. Not only was it the difference between practicing open and closed communion or a personality conflict between two strong personalities, it also became a conflict on the question of military service. In the early 1920s the so-call