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Dissident Baptist leader dies; movement lives on

BAPTISTS AGAINST THE SOVIETS: CHURCH FREEDOM WITHOUT COMPROMISES
Portal-credo.ru, 23 October 2007

On 15 July 2007 Gennady Kryuchkov died; he was one of the most courageous Christian leaders who would not cave in to the repressive machine of the communist state. In our time of moral and religious relativism and opportunism Kryuchkov and the Council of Churches of Evangelical Christians-Baptists (CCECB), in whose creation he played an enormous role, remain rare and hitherto unequaled examples of profound faith, principle, and boldness.

Soviet policy in the religious sphere was filled with contradictions and the most amazing situations, which would not be possible in a normal, free, democratic society. Sometimes it is completely impossible to understand what the builders of communism thought to gain by doing some improbable operation.

Within the framework of the All-Union Council of Evangelical Christians-Baptists (AUCECB) believers who had never been able to unite in a single union were united by the efforts of soviet bureaucrats from the Council for Religious Affairs and security forces. For the sake of creating a loyal union the authorities forced Pentecostals to renounce foot-washing, speaking in tongues, and prophecy. And Christians in the Spirit of the Apostles (Unitarians), who believe in baptism in the name of Jesus Christ only and who reject the doctrine of the Holy Trinity, renounced their own doctrinal principle and began baptizing the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, upon joining AUCECB. The authorities managed to unite together Baptists and Evangelical Christians, who from the beginning of the 20th century had not been able to agree on unity, despite liturgical disagreements and differences in ecclesiastical structure. At the same time, forcing them to renounce their convictions, the soviet state still forbade preaching.

One of the most powerful movements that arose in Russia and set itself into opposition to this soviet theatre of the absurd was the Council of Churches of Evangelical Christians-Baptists, a church of believers who refused to register with the state offices and who often are called Baptist-Initsiativniki or Reformists. Gennady Konstantinovich Kryuchkov became the personification of this movement and its leader. He was born 20 October 1926 and died 15 July 2007.

The history of the division of AUCECB began in early 1960, when all the senior presbyters of AUCECB received a "Letter of Instructions" from the council of the union. The letter was inspired by the soviet state, with the goal of increasing pressure on the religious activity of members of AUCECB congregations.  The letter clearly expressed principles contrary to the protestant frame of mind. It forbade evangelism, religious instruction, and any forms of religious activity other than participating in worship services. The senior presbyters were instructed to stop attracting new members into the community, not to preach evangelistic sermons, to restrain "unhealthy evangelistic phenomena," to do no work outside the congregation, to cease baptizing young people, not to baptize schoolchildren, students, and soldiers, and categorically to ban from meetings children of preschool and school age, etc. The instructions contained literally the following words which should naturally disturb any believer:  "In the past some of our congregations have violated soviet legislation on religious cults merely because they do not know it well. Thus, there have been instances of baptizing people younger than 18, providing material aid from the church treasury, conducting Bible studies and other topical meetings, permitting recitation of poetry, organizing excursions for believing youth, creating funds for charity, and conducting meetings for preachers and classes for choir directors. . . . Now it is necessary to exclude all of this from our activity and to act in accordance with existing legislation."

In fulfilling the assignment of the authorities, the supreme leadership of AUCECB was attempting to act through senior presbyters, although many did not submit to the orders of the letter. A great role in the opposition to the AUCECCB leadership was played by members of the Baptist union churches who were dissatisfied with the close and hypocritical cooperation with the state. In addition, the movement of protest within AUCECB was supported by Baptist groups that had been existing previously as independent, illegal societies that did not join any union. According to G. Kryuchkov, since 1956 the Lord had begun opening ways for the brethren to extract the Union of Evangelical Christians-Baptists from the crisis in which it found itself.

Officially the Initiative Movement was born 13 August 1961, when an Initiative Group declared a protest against the Moscow leadership. It stated in sharp terms that the bylaws of 1960 reflected antievangelical principles. The authors of the protest wrote:  "In our days the leaders of AUCECB are executors of Stalin's will." In April 1961 in the church in Uzlov (Tula province) an "Initiative Group for Convocation of a Congress" was formed. The first meeting of the Initiative Group occurred in Moscow on 10 August 1961, with only four persons participating. With their first letter of the Initiative Group for Convocation of a Congress of ECB, the participants in this meeting dispersed throughout the country for discussing this problem in the provinces. From the start the leaders of the Initiative Movement were A.F. Prokofiev and his aide Boris Zdorovets. After their arrest in 1962 the group was led by Gennady Kryuchkov and Georgy Vins (Vins soon afterward was convicted and subsequently, after protest by the world community, was sent directly from the prison camp to America). The Initsiativniki expressed their dissatisfaction with the actions of the AUCECB leadership and tried to conduct an all-union congress, which was not provided for in the Statutes of AUCECB from 1944. When the frequent appeals to AUCECB did not produce results the group began acting autonomously and sent to all the congregations their own letters of a critical nature. The Initiative Group suggested to all who had not joined the AUCECB in apostasy from the truth that they withdraw from the union. In February 1962 the Initiative Group formed the Orgkomitet (Organizational Committee) for Convocation of a Congress, which frequently sent petitions to the Council for Religious Affairs of the Council of Ministers of USSR. On 25 February 1962  the Orgkomitet of Initsiativniki sent a letter of warning to the leadership of AUCECB, giving them time for consideration. However on 2 June 1962 AUCECB responded with an open letter that said that the actions of the Initsiativniki were inspired "by the enemy of God." After this the Orgkomitet excommunicated the AUCECB leadership. This protocol No. 7 was signed by G.K. Kryuchkov, A.A. Shalashov, and N.G. Baturin.

By 1965 about 100 congregations with more than 10,000 believers had left AUCECB for the union of ECB churches formed by the Initsiativniki (CCECB). The 39th all-union congress of AUCECB, held in October 1966, was unable to change the situation. Despite the rescinding of the Letter of Instructions, the adoption of other by-laws for the union, and the effective repentance and acknowledgement of error in caving in to the authorities on the part of the leadership of the official union of ECB, CCECB declared that to cooperate with AUCECB would mean to cooperate with atheists. In 1966 Yakov Zhidkov addressed the congress of AUCECB and asked for forgiveness for his part in drawing up the by-laws of 1961 and secret instructions, although the Initsiativniki did not accept this concession. The union of the Initsiativniki began living an independent existence and categorically refused to register their congregations. By way of implementing their urge for preaching, CCECB published literature that the Initsiativniki distributed free of charge and conducted tent evangelism.

In May 1966 Initsiativniki organized a public demonstration in Moscow in front of the Central Committee of the Communist Party in order to draw the attention of the authorities to themselves, for which all of the participants, including Gennady Kryuchkov and Georgy Vins, were arrested. The most famous ministers of CCECB (effectively all of the leadership), who were constantly pursued by police and security organs, went over to an illegal existence and dispersed throughout the country, visiting and nurturing the congregations. For teaching children, publishing literature, and conducting prayer meetings, about 1,000 persons were repressed by security organs. People who were members of the Council of Churches had to conduct worship services in forests, the wilderness, and other sparsely inhabited places, hiding from alien eyes. During the years of soviet rule, congregations of Initsiativniki acquired a withdrawn nature.   Their pastors shielded their members not only from punitive actions of the state but also from the influence of secular culture. Just about everything was controlled: the manner of conduct and clothing style. Stern moral standards and careful attention to observing all demands of the CCECB by the brethren in the congregations sharply distinguished the Initsiativniki from the "union Baptists."

The uncompromising position of the Initsiativniki evoked their persecution on the part of the state. The Council of Churches engendered a multitude of uncompromising martyrs for the faith who did not wish to submit to the dictates of the state. In Tashkent one of the leaders of the Initsiativniki, Nikolai Khrapov, who had already been imprisioned for his faith for 25 years, received another seven-year term in 1961. He had been printing a samizdat magazine "Vestnik Spaseniia" [Herald of Salvation]. In Barnaul of Altai territory Pastor Nikolai Khmara was brutally martyred. It was after his death in 1963 that a Council of Prisoners' Relatives was formed, associated with the name of Lidia Vins and Galina Rytikova. In the years of the existence of the Council of Churches, around 30 brothers died in confinement, among them N.P. Khrapov, B.T. Artiushchenko, Ya.F. Dirksen, and I.M. Ostapenko. Even very elderly persons among the Initsiativniki were confined to prison (S.T. Golev, P.A. Serebrennikov). After prison, P.F. Zakharov, N.G. Baturin, poet Nikolai Melnikov, and others again worked within the brotherhood.

Baptists-Initsiativniki soon became a part of the general dissident movement of the Soviet Union, which was one of the first manifestations of protest against the soviet system. Initsiativniki began maintaining constant contacts with rights organizations. In 1976, immediately after the creation of the Moscow Helsinki group, Baptists turned to this group with a complaint about removal of children from believing parents.The Moscow Helsinki group issued a document on this matter, "Concerning repression of religious families." On 5 December 1976 Petr Vins, the son of Pastor G. Vins, who had been exiled from USSR, participated with a group of youths in a traditional demonstration by rights defenders on Pushkin square in Moscow. They threw a bouquet of red carnations to Andrei Sakharov, who had been surrounded by security agents. In 1977 Petr Vins became a member of the Ukrainian Helsinki group.

All the way up to 1988 CCECB operated illegally.  Gennady Kryuchkov appeared openly at a congress of CCECB only in 1989 in Rostov-on-Don. Until then believers had feared new persecutions and thought that merely short-term, counterfeit freedom had arrived. In the words of one of Kryuchkov's coworkers, Mikhail Khorev, who spoke at his funeral in Uslov, Kryuchkov lived "in a small, unnoticed house, in the attic, from 1970 to 1989. I was there with him. Four or five sisters were with him, engaged in publishing work. And he had nine children! His daughter said yesterday at the funeral: 'I envied those children whose fathers were in prisons. They could be visible when they went for a visit. But it was impossible for us because of surveillance. Some suggested that we travel to father's house.' Some left the country, emigrating to where it was better. But it was necessary to be where one is more needed, where God has placed him. The great struggle begun in 1961 was not over. But since God began it, he will also bring it to completion."

It was thanks to Gennady Kriuchkov that CCECB both afer Perestroika and after the fall of the Soviet Union remained a movement that was extremely conservative, closed to the world and refusing registration with the authorities. In the 1990s new converts began joining the congregations just as in soviet time as a result of preaching on street corners, in schools, and hospitals, and the distribution of free Bibles and CCECB magazines in tent evangelism. The Council of Churches unfurled a massive evangelistic campaign in a majority of the regions of Russia and even conducted their own national mission among peoples of the Far North.

Confronting the liberal and modernized (both in ideology and in methods of work) American evangelistic missions and preachers, the Initsiativniki feel mistrust and nonacceptance of the western missions as a whole. They even fear sending their representatives to study abroad. The Initsiativniki are convinced that western protestants are bound to a corrupt culture that flourishes in this world. At the same time, Initsiativniki cooperate with a few conservative western organizations. For example, with the West Germany Fridenstimme mission, which invites Initsiativniki to their conferences and helps them with literature. For the same reason the Initsiativnniki are negative about the ecumenical movement.

The distinguishing trait of adherents of CCECB still remains rejection of all contacts with the state and involvement in any political questions, because, in their opinion, this inevitably confronts believers with the problem of submitting to illegal, if not atheistic, requirements from the state. Baptists of the Council of Churches think that AUCECB was created with the help of the authorities on the foundation of a criminal agreement by those brothers who had been freed from prison specifically for this. The Initsiativniki from the soviet era do not permit any state registration for their congregations. They have developed a firm conviction that this is a means of state pressure on the congregation. Separation from the world is facilitated by another trait that comes out of the soviet period. Literally from 1961 Initsiativniki have had to operate conspiratorially and to hide from the authorities.  In order to strengthen their loyalty and the strengthen simple believers who are ordinary workers, maintaining faith in God, the Initsiativniki have developed the conviction that they alone live a proper life in accordance with the Word of God, and cooperation with the authorities and with the world is beneath and unworthy of a Christian. This was necessary for life in the underground and in an illegal condition as well as, what is probably most important, withstanding persecution on the part of the authorities. Many specifically got into conflict with representatives of the police and went to jail several times. Now the Initsiativniki state that they are prepared for new persecutions if they occur. Some of them do not expect that and they are not striving for it, but other say that the armistice with the state has been dragged out too long.

The refusal of registration with the state has acquired mystical, theological significance for the activity of the church. The same thing has happened in another protestant movement which had refused registration, the United Church of Christians of Evangelical Faith (Pentecostals) [OTsKhVE]. Unregistered Pentecostals began organizing their union back at the end of the 1940s in Ukraine, and in Russia the organized unregistered OTsKhVE brotherhood became active at the start of the 1970s, led by Russian bishop Ivan Fedotov. If Gennady Kryuchkov hid in believers' atics for 18 years without seeing his family, Ivan Fedotov endured hard time for 18 years. The OTsKhVE, like CCECB, thinks that the church is a spiritual organism and thus registering it is interference in the internal life of the church and evidence of worldliness. However, unlike CCECB, where despite the wishes of the leadership individual congregations have dared to register, Fedotov's church found its own way out in the 1990s and began intentionally registering missions within churches.

Religious freedom, which believers acquired at the end of the 1980s, has radically changed the fate of many religious associations:  AUCECB effectively fell apart and in its place appeared the Union of Baptists, the Union of Pentecostals, and autonomous evangelical unions that are independent from the Union of Baptists. One could have expected that CCECB, under Gennady Kryuchkov's leadership, also could come out of the underground and begin a new stage in the history of the initiative movement. However, an opening to the world on the part of Kryuchkov's CCECB has occurred only partially. Initsiativniki began freely conducting their evangelistic activity, as they did previously in the soviet era; periodically conflicts with "union Baptists" have arisen, who dislike criticism against them for stealing believers, and with authorities who, like in the Brezhnev era, have tried unsuccessfully to control the meeting of people in private homes. One can say that up to the present no kind of liberalization has touched CCECB. The pious Christian must by all means avoid the world that is lying in sin and the unrighteous secular state. In the postsoviet period Initsiativniki have inevitably rethought the history of the Baptists of the soviet period, while the image of AUCECB in the eyes of conservatives of the old breed has acquired an even more evil contour. Initsiativniki do not recognize any of the congresses of AUCECB and thus they think that there has not been a free congress of Baptists since 1926. And the congress at which the creation of AUCECB was declared is described in the magazine of the Baptists of the Council of Churches in this manner:  "The powers that be, following their own designs, sought in the prison camps surviving ministers, set them free, and suggested: create a religious center. These agreed and declared: a Union is organized!  But the initiator was not the Lord and not children of God."

On one hand, in the 1990s Initsiativniki enticed believers out of the Union of Baptists, which they even now think is the heir of the criminal AUCECB. In connection with sharp criticism on the part of CCECB, the leadership of the Union of Baptists sent out in 2004 a statement "Concerning the departure of the Council of Curches from the doctrine of Evangelical Christians-Baptists." It noted that, while they consider CCECB believers as their brethren, "we are forced to conclude painfully that the Council of Churches has not responded to our suggestions and in many regions of Russia is conducting work directed to the destruction of our congregations and in several matters has departed from the teaching of the Bible and the bases of the doctrine of Evangeical Christians-Baptists."

On the other hand, CCECB itself has ceased to be in the postsoviet period a monolithic association. Some of the churches began making contacts with "union Baptists." Thus, after 2000 the Rybinsk congregation in Yaroslavl province, headed by Presbyter Evgeny Leonidovich Kravtsov, left CCECB and became an autonomous church more open with regard to "union Baptists."  Pastors of the Russian Union of Evangelical Baptists (RSEKhB) preach in the Rybinsk church and former Initsiativniki participate in conferences and seminars conducted in Yaroslavl by the association of RSEKhB.

Very important significance for the process of changing the image of the Union of Baptists resulted from the election of Yury Sipko as president of RSEKhB in 2002, who has acquired the reputation of a courageous and principled religious leader who has dared to express criticism both with respect to the state's attitude toward individual rights in Russia and with respect to the clerical initiatives of the Russian Orthodox church. Sipko was one of the first religious leaders who responded to Kryuchkov's death. In his condolences Sipko said:  "Gennady Konstantinovich devoted all his life to the service of God, the church, and his family. To his lot fell many of life's trials, which he overcame with honor, dignity, and profound faith in the Lord, and he remained faithful to Christ and his church. He firmly and selflessly enduring the horrible time of the war, years of soviet persecution, and he raised nine children.  We know and bear witness that Gennady Konstantinovich's life was an example of service to the Lord and it bore fruit."

That Kryuchkov's heroic activity still led to essential changes in the circumstances of Christians churches in contemporary Russia is stated in the obituary written by the International Council of ECB Churches (around 2700 congregations in Russia and CIS; in Russia there are around 400 congregations and groups), that he led for more than 30 years. It stresses the role of the founder of the church and his accomplishments: "For Gennady Konstantinovich, the words of Jesus Christ himself, 'If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also; if they observed my word, they will observe yours also' (Jn 15.20) were extremely precious. The blessed promise of the Savior was accomplished to the glory of the Lord who redeemed us in the independent brotherhood to the fullest extent:
--the antievangelical restrictions and prohibitions introduced by AUCECB workers were rescinded;
--the all-union congress of ECB churches, which had not been permitted for 36 years and for which believers had petitioned, was held;
--the publishing house "Khristianin," independent of the world was organized by Gennady Konstanntinovich and printed the New Testament, Bible, and other religious literature, which forced the powers that be to permit even the official AUCECB to produce literature;
--numerous free societies of Christian youth in the persecuted churches, where hundred of young souls were converted to God, forced the powers of this world to remove restrictions on youth in the registered congregations also;
--the bloodly legislation on religious cults of 1929, that directly contradicted the basic law of the country, the Constitution, which believers asked to rescind, was rescinded."

Meanwhile, Baptist Initsiativniki continue to suffer discrimination on the part of the authorities, primarily in the provinces during the conduct of tent outdoor evangelism and distribution of literature. In addition, officials of law enforcement agencies often disperse Baptists who gather in private homes without registration and without giving any notice to the authorities. Doubtless these persecutions do not at all compare with soviet repressions, when believers' children were taken away and they were imprisoned. Current suspicions and attempts to restrict the activity of CCECB are evidence of the fear of bureaucrats in the face of a powerful organization of believers who did not give way to the soviet state machine, did not want to live by the rules of atheists, and maintained a degree of freedom that was unique in the time. The existence of strong movements that are autonomous and independent from the state has so far been viewed by representatives of the state as some kind of danger, but in postsoviet Russia, as before, it is not the believers who are afraid, but their persecutors. None of the persecutors has ever understood why Gennady Kryuchkov preferred not to see his own family and children for 18 years but to methodically build up a church organization with strict discipline and evangelists who traveled all over the Soviet Union. As the founder of Keston Institute, Michael Bourdeaux, noted in his obituary for Kryuchkov in the British paper "The Guardian," "all his life Gennady Kryuchkov was firm in faith and turned out to be stronger than the KGB."  (tr. by PDS, posted 23 October 2007)

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Protestants in Far East Russia feel discrimination

REPRESENTATIVES OF CIVIL AUTHORITY OF REPUBLIC OF SAKHA IGNORE FIRST CONGRESS OF YAKUTIA EVANGELICAL CHURCHES
Slavic Legal Center, 19 October 2007

Representatives of civil authority of the republic of Sakha (Yakutiia) continue to ignore the evangelical churches and their positive effect upon society. This was reported to the press service of the Slavic Legal Center by the deputy director of the Association of Evangelical Christian Churches of Yakutiia, Valentin Nikonenko. On 15 October in the city of Yakutsk the First Congress of Evangelical Churches of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutiia) was held. Around 200 delegates and guests participated in the work of the congress. The theme of the congress was "The Evangelical church and its role in the life of the republic of Sakha." Ministers who gave addresses belonged to a great variety of denominations:  Evangelical Christians, Pentecostals, and Evangelical Christians-Baptists. A representative of the Consultative Council of the Heads of Protestant Churches of Russia, Pavel Timchenko, participated in the work of the congress.

Speakers at the first Yakutiia evangelical congress touched on the topic of the social problems of society and means for resolving them from the positions of the evangelical churches. In particular, the pastor of the "Benediction" church, Dmitry Cherviakov, described in detail the work of protestant congregations among prisoners. The congress adopted a resolution in which the evangelical churches expressed a united position with regard to the social and evangelistic ministry in the republic of Sakha.

In his letter sent to the Slavic Legal Center, Valentin Nikonenko noted:  "It is no secret that representatives of the civil authority in the republic of Sakha (Yakutiia) ignore the evangelical church, as such, and also the positive effect on society that it has. Thus one of the goals of this congress was an attempt to draw attention of the public of the republic to the reality of the existence and activity of the evangelical church in Yakutiia. Unfortunately, despite an invitation, the state structures were not officially represented at this congress."

The Slavic Legal Center has previously reported that the Interagency Commission on Matters of Religious Associations of the Republic of Sakha has taken an aggressive position with regard to all religious minorities of the region, and its representatives do not hide the fact that they intend to support the Orthodox church only in the republic. That the "sectarians" only divide society and supposedly act in accordance with the policy of USA has been expressed in speeches and interviews by both the vice-chairman of the Commission on Matters of Religious Associations of the republic of Sakha, the director of the Department for Affairs of Nations and Federal Relations, A.V. Migalkin, and the executive secretary of the commission, Afanasy Nikolaev.

At the end of 2006 sharp criticism on the part of the commission was directed not only against Pentecostals but also Evangelical Christians and representatives of the Association of Evangelical Christian Churches of the republic.  On 31 October the heads of the protestant churches appealed to the president of Yakutiia with regard to a conference on the "Bases for the spiritual security of the Far Eastern region" that was conducted on 24-25 October 2006. In their appeal to the president of the republic, Viacheslav Shtyrov, leaders of evangelical associations expressed their alarm with regard to the active participation of the state apparatus in the conference, where anticonstitutional calls for a struggle with "sects" and missionaries resounded, along with calls for introducing "Foundations of Orthodox culture" into the schools and an antisectarian policy was declared to be a necessity for assuring "spiritual security."  The appeal of the protestant churches was signed by the head of the Association of Evangelical Christian Churches, M.P. Trubchik, the head of the Council of Churches of Christians of Evangelical Faith, V.V. Fedoseenko, the head of the Churches of Seventh-day Adventist Christians, M.V. Avramenko, and the director of the regional association of the Russian Church of Christians of Evangelical Faith, D.N. Petrov.

The authorities' reaction to the letter of the evangelical believers turned out to be unexpected. On 27 November 2006 the director of the Department for affairs of Nations, A.V. Migalkin, in an official answer to members of the protestant churches leveled the accusation that evangelical believers were themselves exerting pressure of government offices and were discrediting the "traditional" religion, that is, Orthodoxy. And then on 5 December 2006 the Federal Registration Service conducted an investigation of the Association of Evangelical Christian Churches of the republic of Sakha. At the same time, an official of the republican FSB directorate, N.N. Ignatiev, and an official of the Department for Affairs of Nations and Federal Relations of Yakutiia, I.I. Prokopiev, tried the conduct an illegal inspection of the Association. (tr. by PDS, posted 22 October 2007)


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Church's moral input welcomed

ALEXANDER CHUBARIAN:  "HARMONY BETWEEN STATE AND CHURCH SHOULD NOT BE DISRUPTED
Religiia i SMI, 18 October 2007

The director of the Institute for World History of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Alexander Chubarian disagrees with the opinion of his colleagues, the authors of the "letter of the ten," to the effect that in Russia society is "being deluged by clericalism."

"We have an abundance of moral problems. The church may participate usefully in the rebirth of moral and ethical values, and this is in accord with society's expectations. Despite strong polarization, it basically welcomes this idea," Chubarian stated in an interview published Thursday in the "Izvestiia" newspaper.

He stated that he does not see anything bad  "when the church, as Metropolitan Kirill said, does not want to be outside society and is seeking its own 'niche.'"

"Harmony in the relations between the secular authority and the church must not be disrupted. The main thing is to follow the constitution, according to which the church is separated from the state. At the same time one must not forget that morality of society greatly depends upon the morality of the authorities," the academician added.

According to Chubarian, although morality is a "historical category," is "nevertheless is several generally accepted, unchanging principles which were enunciated well back in the Bible."  (tr. by PDS, posted 22 October 2007)

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Orthodoxy losing edge in Ukraine

IN WESTERN UKRAINE NUMBER OF PROTESTANT CONGREGATIONS CATCHES UP WITH ORTHODOX
proUA, 19 October 2007

In Volyn, Rovno, and Chernovits provinces the number of congregations of protestant churches has equaled the number of parishes of Orthodox churches. This was reported today during a conference by the first vice-chairman of the State Committee of Ukraine for Religious Affairs, Nikolai Novichenko, according to a report by a "proUA" corresondent.

"Three provinces are effectively 'fifty-fifty': Volyn, Rovno, and Chernovits. This is effective equality between Orthodox and protestant churches. In first place are the Evangelical Christians-Baptists and the Christians of Evangelical Faith Pentecostals," Novichenko said.  (tr. by PDS, posted 22 October 2007)

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Alternative Orthodoxy under attack

OFFICIALS AND SECT FIGHTERS INCREASE PERSECUTION OF BELIEVERS OF APOSTOLIC ORTHODOX CHURCH AND THEIR CHILDREN IN VARIOUS SETTLEMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF BURIATIA.
Slavic Legal Center, 9 October 2007

Local authorities, prosecutor's offices, and representatives of the Chita and Transbaikal diocese of the RPTsMP have intensified persecutions of believers of the Apostolic Orthodox Church (APTs) of the Far East and Siberia, which has existed since the beginning of the 1990s on the Baikal-Amur Mainline (BAM), the press service of the Slavic Legal Center reports. Hounding of members of the church began in 2000, when a church building was set on fire in the settlement of Taksimo, of Muisk district of the republic of Buriatia, where one of the largest parishes of APTs is located. In addition, articles of an antisectarian nature began appearing, in which parishes of APTs were accused of religious extremism and nationalism. Whereas earlier in newspapers produced in Taksimo, Severobaikalsk, or Ulan-Ude representatives of the Buriatia deanery of the Chita-Transbaikal diocese called APTs simply a "sect," now a great variety of accusations against the believers are being advanced, including even criminality.

As the vice-chairman of the church council of APTs, Irina Tissen, told the SLC press service in an interview, not one of the lawsuits regarding protection of honor and dignity has yet been accepted by the courts. On various pretenses, for example, that a suit has supposedly been drawn up incorrectly, the church's claims have not been admitted either in Taksimo, where the society of APTs is registered, or in Ulan-Ude city court, where the newspaper that published material offensive to believers is located.

In Taksimo, leaflets of antisectarian contents are regularly distributed, in which APTs is mentioned, and the church is accused in the press of "zombeeizing" people and of totalitarianism and drug distribution. According to Irina Tissen, the chief "sect fighter" of the Buriatia deanery of the Chita-Transbaikal diocese, Priest Mikhail Litvinov, who is the director of the Informational Consultation Center on Problems of Sectarianism in Ulan-Ude, regularly comes to Taksimo with statements. Fr Mikhail Litvinov is one of the authors of the article "Apostolic church tries to return BAM to itself. APTs initiated an international scandal with regard to infringement of its rights in Buriatia," in the "Nomer odin" newspaper (28.11.2006). The article, which was written on the basis of Fr Mikhail's words, appeared immediately after publication of a press release of the Slavic Legal Center, "Apostolic Orthodox Church reports that its believers of being subjected to persecution in republic of Buriatia" (02.11.2006)  The article in "Nomer odin" maintained, in particular:  "In its totalitarianism, according to priests, APTs does not lag behind the notorious White Brotherhood of Vissarion." As Irina Tissen noted, subsequently similar articles appeared also in 2007, although the church still has not been permitted to refute Fr Mikhail Litvinov's accusations in legal proceedings.  Earlier, in this same newspaper, Fr Mikhail Litvinov accused the Pentecostal "Word of Life" church of "zombeeizing" people and causing psychological disorientation. In its turn, APTs began distributing statements about discrimination with regard to its believers on the part of the "twenty-first century inquisition."

According to Irina Tissen, what is especially troubling is that throughout all the time of APTs' existence the children of members of the church have suffered from antisectarian accusations.  In the schools they announce who is Orthodox and who is not and what church the parents of school children attend, following the statements of Fr Mikhail Litvinov and other priests of RPTsMP. Very often in fights boys stand up for their rights to be Orthodox believers, and not sectarians, Irina Tissen emphasized. Children of members of APTs churches are compelled to participate in classes of "Foundations of Orthodox culture" that often lead to arguments with the teachers, because the children who attend APTs churches know very well the teaching and liturgy of the Orthodox rite.

Besides this, the officially registered APTs churches are constantly subjected to inspections on the part of various state agencies. There are regular fire inspections in the churches. In Taksimo an inspection was conducted by officials of the Federal Registration Service, who noted that APTs was subject to investigation by the Federal Security Service.

We recall that the first congregation of APTs arose in 1991 in Severobaikalsk quietly, when believers who had decided to become Orthodox gathered together, prayed and read the Bible. The founder of APTs was a priest of the catacomb church, Fr Anatoly Zhoga. For some time APTs existed autonomously, and then it turned to the Old Believer church of the Belokrinitsa Accord. Some members of the first congregation organized a church that entered the jurisdiction of the Moscow patriarchate. APTs accused members of the RPTs parish of moral impurity, and in their turn believers of RPTs declared that the Apostolic congregations were extremist "sects." For several years APTs was under the omophorion of Old Believer Bishop Siluian until it was revealed that the liturgy and strict church life of APTs did not correspond to Old Believer tradition fully. Parishes of APTs were thrown out of the Old Believer Church, although Bishop Siluian still managed to consecrate two priests for APTs parishes. Originally APTs churches were scattered along the Buriat branch of BAM, where there still were not any parishes, including RPTsMP, although rather quickly they spread beyond the borders of Buriatia and groups of APTs began to appear mainly in the territory of Krasnoiarsk and provinces of Chita and Irkutsk. At the present time, APTs has 8 officially registered societies and more than 20 groups. In 2007 there remained parish complexes in Taksimo, Severobaikalsk, Uoian settlement and the village of Ust-Mue.  While six churches in the villages of Tunka, Mue, Ulkan, Angoe, Umbell and Kuanda were either demolished or seized by authorities and turned over to dioceses of RPTsMP for use.  Illegal congregations exist in large citiesÑKrasnoiarsk, Irkutsk, Cheliabinsk, and Moscow. Since 2004 the Apostolic Orthodox Chruch has been a member of the Russian centralized organization "Association of Orthodox Communities of the Apostolic Tradition." APTs is headed by a church council consisting of laity chaired by Archbishop of Irkutsk and Ulan-Ude Dionisy (Vladimir Agapov). (tr. by PDS, posted 10 October 2007)

Background article:

ORTHODOX PRIESTS TO FIGHT SECTS
by Anna Maveeva
Nomer odin, 31 March 2004

The Information Consultation Center for Problems of Sectarianism has begun its work in the city of Ulan-Ude. The purpose for its creation is to inform and consult with people whose relatives and neighbors have fallen under the influence of totalitarian sects and destructive pseudoreligious organizations. The organizers of the center are Orthodox priests. Although the center has been operating only a few days, already people have turned to the priests for help.

Priest Mikhail Litvinov:  "We are prepared to help people whose relatives and neighbors have become victims of sects.

"Today a man came to us. His wife has for two years now been a member of the 'Word of Life' neo-Pentecostal sect," the director of the center, Fr Mikhail Litvinov says. "In these two years the woman's behavior has changed a great deal, and her psychological health has caused serious concerns for her relatives. The man also reported that, despite the modest income of the family, every month his wife pays a tithe, that is, one tenth, of the family's income into the treasury of the sect. None of her relatives knows what to do, and this is why they decided to turn to us, and we are trying to help as much as we can."

According to Fr Mikhail Litvinov, the chief weapon in this case is giving to the head of the family complete information about the activity of the particular sect, and how it "zombeeizes" people, and to explain what kinds of counteractive resources exist. In ideal circumstances it is planned to meet with victims of sects themselves. But as the saying goes, it is easier to prevent than to heal, and therefore the center's priority is prophylactic interviews with people. In this regard priests of the center are prepared to deliver lectures on the subject of sectarianism in educational institutions of the city, if such a request comes from the education board. This already has been done.  Quite recently in the village of Turuntaevo a class was conducted for school children on this topic. The children were told about all the pseudoreligious organizations existing on the territory of Buriatia and about how to avoid being drawn into them. (tr. by PDS, posted 10 October 2007)


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Moscow-Constantinople quarrel over Estonia renewed

RUSSIAN CHURCH DELEGATION QUITS SESSION OF COMMMISSION ON ORTHODOX-CATHOLIC DIALOGUE BECAUSE OF DISAGREEMENTS
Interfax, 10 October 2007

A delegation from the Moscow patriarchate departed on Tuesday from the meeting hall of the Joint Commission on Orthodox-Catholic Theological Dialogue, whose session opened yesterday in Ravenna (Italy).

"Upon arrival in Ravenna, the Orthodox delegates discovered that representatives of the so-called 'Estonian Apostolic Church,' created in 1996 by the patriarchate of Constantinople on the canonical territory of the Moscow patriarchate, had been included in their group," the head of the Russian church representation in Europe, Bishop of Vienna and Austria Ilarion, who is a member of the commission, told "Interfax."

He noted that representatives of EAC were invited by a co-chairman of the commission, Metropolitan of Pergama Ioann (of the Constantinople patriarchate) "as a unilateral action, without consultation with other local Orthodox churches."

"I sincerely regret the situation that was created. Constantinople is positioning itself as the guarantor of inter-Orthodox unity; however the steps they took, unfortunately, have harmed this unity," the bishop emphasized. (tr. by PDS, posted 10 October 2007)

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