Baptists Besieged

Chlo za Druga my imeyem? Nas On k zhizni probudil.

The Russian words were unfamiliar, but the tune the congregation sang was well known to the famous American guest: What a Friend We Have in Jesus. After his Moscow summit talks, President Nixon made a bit more history by attending services in the capital city's only major Baptist church. More than 1,000 worshipers, mostly blue-collar workers, crammed into the hall, and not only because Nixon was on hand. The church is packed every Sunday at each of three lengthy, enthusiastic services. On this occasion the brief sermon by Ilia Ivanov, chairman of the All-Union Council of Evangelical Christians and Baptists, was based on Paul's words in Galatians 5: 22: "The fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace."

The mood and motif of the service gave no hint of the difficult situation of Baptists in the Soviet Union, many of whom are victims of government repression that is as bad as the better-publicized plight of Soviet Jews and dissident intellectuals. More than 500 believers have been jailed. Under the continuing pressure a deep schism has opened in their own ranks.

The Baptists and the similar Evangelical Christians, who collectively number at least 3,000,000* gained a foothold in Russia a century ago, when Western proselytizers converted pious Christians who were dissatisfied with the Orthodox Church. These groups have since spread all across the Soviet Union, drawing mainly farmers and laborers. Like Baptists in Western Europe and the U.S., they do not baptize infants but immerse persons who decide individually to become Christians. They enjoy biblical preaching and robust singing as much as they abhor drinking and smoking. They differ from Western Baptists by observing traditional church feast days like Trinity Sunday, the day on which President Nixon visited. More important, the All-Union Council uses district superintendents to supervise local churches and name pastors, while Baptist congregations in the West are autonomous.

Bar Children. The first Soviet constitution guaranteed freedom of religion. Though the government was officially atheist, the Baptists prospered more after the separation of church and state than they had under the Orthodox regimes of the czars. In 1929, however, Stalin cracked down with a stern, anti-religion law, part of which forbade religious education for anyone under 18.

During World War II, various evangelical groups formed the All-Union Council of Evangelical Christians and Baptists in order to centralize and strengthen their movement. Since then the government, with which all churches must be registered, has usually refused or ignored applications from newly formed congregations. It has also shut down many existing churches even for minor infractions.

The first crack in the Baptist community appeared in 1960, after the All-Union Council, undoubtedly under government orders, sent a stringent Letter of Instructions to district superintendents. The instructions barred children from attending services, and told pastors to discourage baptisms of persons under 30 and to avoid proselytizing. A furor ensued, particularly in outlying areas where believers thought the All-Union Council was already too compliant toward the government. Many churchmen also resented having no voice in selecting council leaders.

Action Group. A well-organized reform movement sprung up called the Initsiativniki (Action Group). In 1965 the reformers formalized the schism by setting up their own church council. Leaders of the new council have been periodically arrested on charges ranging from holding illegal meetings to teaching their own children about Christianity, but the reformers have persisted. In 1966 they assembled 600 people from 130 towns for what was one of Moscow's biggest public protests since the Communists came to power. They began putting out several unauthorized periodicals. For the past 18 months they have even run their own clandestine publishing house, which has turned out 40,000 Bibles, hymnals and other religious literature. Last month 15 reformers staged a sit-in at the U.S. embassy to protest the demolition of their prayer hall in remote Central Asia. The reform movement is apparently flourishing, and has recruited young adherents. But it is impossible to estimate its size because its churches are largely unregistered.

Prospects are dim for either a healing of the schism or for government toleration of the reform movement. But the London School of Economies' Michael Bourdeaux, in his 1971 book Faith on Trial in Russia, maintains that the movement has given some leverage to the All-Union Council in its own, quieter struggle with the regime. One concession won by the council is that it is now allowed to run a correspondence course for pastors, the first formal Baptist education permitted since 1929.

* Compared with roughly 1,000,000 other Soviet Protestants, 3,000,000 Roman Catholics, and 50 million Russian Orthodox.

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