Soviet Evangelicals Since World War II, Walter Sawatsky, 1981

d the memorandum immediately— probably more friendly treatment than that received by the Evangelical Christians and the Baptists. Both of the latter movements were forced to issue declarations of loyalty and officially reject pacifism against the wishes of their membership. Preaching and Peace 107 The state followed up these loyalty declarations with unprecedented pressures that produced a more: inward-looking, less socially active church leadership. The surviving evangelicals gradually came to accept restricting freedom of religion to the freedom to practice the rituals inside a church. This was the orientation of Jacob Zhidkov, the leading spokesman after the war. When he summarized their history in 1947, he concluded that “our goal must be to use the possibility for freedom of religious confession as given [italics mine] to preach the good news of the gospel” and to strive for the prosperity of the motherland.’ This is still the main orientation, Zhidkov’s son Michael has repeatedly claimed freedom of religion and re- jects protests to the contrary in the West; in his view the cause of liberty is pete served by making use of every favorable opportunity granted by the state. . Since both state legislation and the inner orientation of Soviet evangel- icals leads to apoliticism and lack of social involvement, a survey of evangel- ical religious practice will help illuminate the role of evangelicals in Soviet society. Evangelical Religious Practice Evangelical religious practice revolves around the worship services. Throughout the postwar period visitors have invariably described them with wonder. Especially older worshipers, hoping for a seat, begin to arrive long before the service starts. When the service begins, there isn’t even standing room left. The worship service begins with congregational singing which slowly gathers force, always maintaining a distinctive Slavic melancholy, Then follow three or more sermons, interspersed with singing from the choir and congregation. Services also begin and end with public prayer sessions in which usually three members from the congregation pray audibly while others whisper their prayers. The prayers revolve around personal praise and thankfulness, and there is much weeping. A worship service lasts two hours but, because of the variety in the program, passes more quickly than one might expect. Few of the sermons last more than 15 minutes, and they are usually delivered with emotional fervor. There is a heavy emphasis on singing. The Moscow choir, for instance, sings five times in a service.? Some of the women may participate by reciting poetry, a much-loved cultural expression. In all evangelical congregations, whether Baptist, Mennonite, or Pentecostal, the sermon is the basic part of the service. AUCECB president 108 Soviet Evangelicals Since World War Il Zhidkov emphasized that the purpose of