Meetings in the Soviet Union (1)

Already for a number of years the Deputies for Special Needs and the Deputies to Spread the Word of God have provided assistance to Christians in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union. For many years this could take place strictly through secret channels about which little could be published.

In providing aid, our committees made use of the organizations, “Friedenstimme” and “Kom Over en Help,” on the one hand because people of our Netherlands Reformed Congregations are also employed in these organizations, and on the other hand because these organizations have the necessary knowledge and experience in these countries. Due to the tremendous changes in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union, reconsideration has taken place within the committees concerning the question whether and to what extent there lies a task for our committees with regard to the churches in the Eastern Bloc, especially since these now are able to function in relative freedom. For that purpose a Committee of Advice was formed with representatives of our Netherlands Reformed Congregations out of the previously mentioned organizations.

The borders which have been opened now present possibilities for our committees personally to investigate the situation which has come into existence recently, the manner in which aid is provided, and how this should be realized in the future. So I travelled with a food-transport to Romania in February 1990, organized by “Kom Over en Help.” We made acquaintance with various ministers of Reformed persuasion. From these contacts it became apparent how necessary our help and assistance is to these Reformed churches in Romania, Hungary, and the Unterkarpaten in Russia, among which the organization “Kom Over en Help” mainly has its field of work. We deem it of great importance to strengthen especially the Reformed confession in these congregations which have been weakened by persecution. We have seen that “Kom Over en Help” does much good work there.

Consequently, this past February we made a trip to the Soviet Union with Mr. M. J. Uijl of Friedenstimme, who also is a deacon in our congregation at Bodegraven. In connection with the tremendous size of the Soviet Union, the large number of hours of travelling, appointments which had to be made ahead of time in the Soviet Union, a long time of preparation preceded this. The organization Friedenstimme has contact especially with the non-registered Baptists, a group sorely persecuted until just recently.

Objective of the trip was to get to know, in as short as possible a time span, various aspects of the life of these congregations which now put much effort into acquainting the Russian population with the Word of God.

Upon arrival in Moscow, we left the next day by train (twelve hours) for Kanasj, east of Moscow, from where we still drove for two hours to Tsjeboksary. In this area the Tsjoewasjes live, a people with their own language and culture, with accompanying habits and customs. The area is approximately as large as The Netherlands and 1.6 million people live there, of which 400,000 live in the city of Tsjeboksary. Ten years ago a Christian congregation came into existence there, which, in the past years, has grown to a total of 320 members. Until a few years ago all were unfamiliar with the Word of God. From Moscow we were accompanied by Slawik, a Tsjoewasj, who went into the villages with us in order for us to become acquainted with the still primitive way of life of the Tsjoewasjes. In these villages pagan customs are still practiced and people speak Tsjoewasjish exclusively.

The area of the Tsjoewasjes borders on the much larger and more well-known area of the Tartars, a mostly Islamic people, which are known for their cruelties. The Christian Tsjoewasjes are very much aware of their responsibility to spread the Word of God among their people, which is hindered by the lack of reading material in their own language. This is a problem which we would also meet in other areas later on.

We had, for example, a discussion with a girl from the congregation who is involved with the work of the street libraries. This is a method of evangelism which is practiced by many congregations in Russia. Because it is such a vast area, street libraries have been set up in two other places besides Tsjeboksary. By lending out Bibles, children’s bible histories, Pilgrim’s Progress and other available spiritual literature, they come in contact with many unbelievers.

By means of the street libraries in Tsjeboksary, 1900 readers have become acquainted with the Bible, and with 700 people personal contact has been established. This comes about because the readers come with questions, discussions develop, and they invite them to attend the meetings. The library has thirty New Testaments in Tsjoewasjish and there are 150 copies of the gospel of John in their own language. Actually these belong to the members of the congregation, however, who have given them to the street libraries.

In the evening we were present at a meeting of the congregation which consisted of 90% Tsjoewasjes. Shortly before that we met a Tartar who hailed from a strict Islamic generation. This man had learned to bow under the truth of God’s Word after much strife. We would have liked to speak a little more with this man, who had been cast out by his family, but there was no time for that. During the meeting, which took place in one of the houses, most of the people present had to be satisfied with a place where they could stand. The house was filled to overflowing; in the living room, the hallway, even in the kitchen, people were packed together. There were approximately 180 people there.

After this service of two and a half hours we took leave of the Tsjoewasjes and travelled back to Moscow by train at night, where we arrived the next day at 12 o’clock. Saturday afternoon a baptism service took place (people here know of adult baptism exclusively) in a tributary of the river Moskwa.

A girl spoke which was cast out by her parents. By coincidence I had a discussion with the mother of this girl, before the baptism service, who had threatened her, “If you really have yourself baptized, then I am going to hang myself.”

This was an impressive event, as it concerned seven people who had come from a life totally in the world. With several of them I had opportunity for a personal discussion. I am thinking of a student, twenty-three years old, an intelligent boy who spoke English well. He said that two years ago he had come in contact with the Word of God for the first time in a striking way. He became an unhappy and seeking person and ended up in the Russian Orthodox Church. Since there is hardly any proclamation of the Word there (the service consists virtually of singing in rounds and liturgical prayers only), he found no satisfaction there. By means of the street-library he obtained a Bible for the first time. He read and read, and finally due to his questions, ended up with the non-registered Baptist congregation. This boy is still in need of much instruction; nevertheless, he has been privileged to come to the firm choice to serve the Lord. This creates much resistance with his parents.

A girl I spoke which was cast out by her parents. By coincidence I had a discussion with the mother of this girl, before the baptism service, who had threatened her, “If you really have yourself baptized, then I am going to hang myself.”

Baptism in the icy-cold water (it was -12° C there) was administered by leader Peter Peters, also known in the Netherlands.

At night we had a thorough discussion with this leader about the practice of congregational life in these congregations, where it was also possible to speak in an open but at the same time congenial manner about the theological differences which certainly exist between our views and those of the Baptists. Keeping in mind the fact that the Reformation has virtually by-passed the Eastern Russian churches completely, it was good to hear this man say that some of their starting points are that when a person goes lost this will be 100% his own fault, and if a person is saved, this is 100% God’s grace alone. To this he added that a believer daily has to go bankrupt again, and must learn to live by grace only. In preaching, a strong emphasis is placed on regeneration and conversion.

On Sunday we attended the service in the congregation of Dedovsk, a small suburb of Moscow, a congregation which in the past has suffered much under the terrorizing acts of the government. We spoke with several people there who had finished more than four penal terms. We ourselves were privileged to administer the Word out of the gospel of Matthew on the storm at sea. On Sunday night we attended a home meeting in Moscow where many people from the world (unbelievers) were present. The room in the apartment was filled to overflowing; even the hallway and the kitchen were filled with people. Here also I was asked to speak a word, which I was privileged to do out of 2 Chronicles 30:8, “...but yield yourselves unto the LORD, and enter into His sanctuary.” Usually the services here last two and a half to three hours, and it is remarkable with how much attention and interest even the children and young people listen, while most of those present had to be satisfied with only a place to stand.

Next our journey went to far-away Siberia. From Moscow we went by national flight by way of Omsk to the city of Irkaetsk. Irkaetsk has a time difference of five hours (later) with Moscow, so with the travel time of eight hours, we lost a day. Our purpose in Siberia was to meet the Joedintsev family, who have gone to live in Moechorsjibir to proclaim the Word of God among the people of the Boerjaten. It is a small place to the south of the capital of Boerjatia in the border area of Mongolia and China.

Prior to this we had a meeting in Irkaetsk with David Pievnjov, a leader who also belongs to the greater Council of Brethren of the non-registered Baptists. He is responsible for all the congregations in the vast region of Siberia. Even though there were only a few hours available to exchange thoughts, this man had travelled twenty-eight hours to meet us. It seemed to me that he is a man in whose life God’s Word had been powerful. He informed us in an honest way about the blessings, but also about the many needs in these congregations. There is a great lack of preachers here, so that this man travels for days and sometimes weeks to administer the sacraments from time to time in the many small (home) congregations.

Rev. L. Blok is pastor of the Gereformeerde Gemeente at Nunspeet, The Netherlands. Translated from “De Saambinder” and extracted from the Lethbridge, Alberta bulletin.

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