Letter from the senior presbyter of Evangelical Christians-Baptists in the Dnepropetrovsk region N. Melnikov to the senior presbyter of Evangelical Christians-Baptists in the Ukrainian SSR A.L. Andreev
No. 11 February 1956
Peace be with you, dear brothers in Christ!
Knowing what effort it took to achieve unity and how important it is to preserve it, I must inform you of what is occurring concerning unity in Dnepropetrovsk region.
As you know, Bidash, who once signed the unity agreement and then broke it, has now returned home and begun the most active campaign against unity. Although Brother Mitskevich wrote you a letter from my words when he visited me at home about how Bidash is behaving in Pyatikhatki, I have decided to supplement what you know with the latest information.
I had a meeting with Bidash in Pyatikhatki on 14–15 January together with Brothers Ponurko and But, but he did not wish to talk with me; he only greeted me and called me a traitor and the like. He had a lengthy conversation with Ponurko and But, but he absolutely refused to come to unity and reproached them for having hastily joined the VSEKhB. I saw that they pitied him and made every effort to persuade him to unity, but he did not agree.
At present he is distributing copies of letters allegedly written by him to the VSEKhB and to the Council for Religious Affairs. In these letters he especially stigmatises Brother Yakov Ivanovich and other brothers and declares that, because of their actions, supposedly treacherous, he withdrew from unity and calls others to do the same. On 14 January in Pyatikhatki he organised an illegal congress attended by Pentecostals from Dnepropetrovsk, Stalinskaya, Kirovograd, Volyn and other regions. About 50 people were present at this illegal meeting.
He assures everyone that he is organising a congress and a union of Pentecostals, and that the Council for Religious Affairs promised him permission and to open a community in Pyatikhatki. Bidash maintains a special link with Dneprodzerzhinsk, where he has been personally several times and is in contact with the returning Misyura, Zhuravel, Derunov, Yashnik and others. Acting in contact with him is the previously returned Kapustina, who formerly lived in Dneprodzerzhinsk and now lives in Melitopol; she traveled to meet Bidash and was in Moscow with him and at the Council for Religious Affairs.
It is true that Bidash has now received a refusal from the Council for Religious Affairs to his petition, but he does not calm down; on 1 February he was in Dneprodzerzhinsk, and on 31 January in Dnepropetrovsk, and he met with a number of Pentecostals and declared that he would write an appeal to the Supreme Soviet and to the Central Committee of the CPSU, and that he is confident he will achieve his goal.
For my part, together with Ponurko and But, I am working to preserve unity, and so far, thank God, it is being preserved except in Pyatikhatki, where Bidash has severely broken it, and the Pentecostals who remain in the community are waiting to see whether Bidash will achieve anything, but for the time being they remain members of the community. Still, one must fight fiercely and not slumber. Despite a two-time visit to Dneprodzerzhinsk, the only thing possible here is to preserve the previous situation; those who were outside unity are also waiting for Bidash to achieve something for them and are trying to influence others as well. So far I am satisfied with the work of Ponurko and But, but even they need some prompting and correction from time to time, yet for now things are going well. Naturally, I employ Ponurko and But at my discretion, lacking detailed instructions from you on this matter, but following the instructions of Brother Andreev’s last letter – that they should be accepted as brothers and, where possible, drawn into work for the benefit of unity. The travel expenses for January I paid them from the money coming from the communities for the needs of the VSEKhB, but I think that you will clarify this question further. I have not yet written any letters about Bidash to the communities, for I deem it unnecessary to stir up extra noise for now; however, orally through the presbyters something has to be said at local visits.
Ponurko and But explain Bidash’s actions by an illness he suffered, but I do not agree with this, since Bidash is in a perfectly normal state and is fully aware of what he is doing.
I will report on his next actions next time. I will note, however, that he is placing special emphasis on the Kirovograd region, where many sympathise with him.
With a brotherly greeting, your brother in Christ
Senior presbyter of the ECB
for Dnepropetrovsk region N. Melnikov
GARF. F. R-6991. Op. 4. D. 65. L. 151–153. Typed copy
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