A Brief History of the AUCECB – the Evangelical Christian Fellowship
«For God, who commanded light to shine out of darkness, has shone in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ» (2 Cor. 4:6)
Few people know that the All-Russian Fellowship of Evangelical Christians (VSEKh) has a long, glorious, and dramatic history in which the Lord Himself has been present with His mercy, wisdom, and love. Attempts to create an organized all-Russian evangelical movement go back 127 years.
In 1884, the first Russian missionary and evangelist from among the highest Russian aristocracy, Vasily Alexandrovich Pashkov, attempted to convene the First Congress of Evangelical Christians and there to form a Union of Evangelical Churches of Russia. But the authorities arrested the delegates, dispersed the congress, and expelled Pashkov and his chief associates from Russia forever. The churches of Evangelical Christians were disbanded. The first attempt to create an all-Russian consolidated evangelical movement was suppressed.
Later this ministry was taken up by the great Russian evangelist, church and public figure, Ivan Stepanovich Prokhanov. He was a comprehensively educated and active missionary. He had advanced technical and theological education, experience in journalism, publishing, and organizing not only religious but also political, social, and economic associations. Twenty-five years after the first unsuccessful attempt, when in 1905 the Tsar’s Manifesto of Liberation lifted for the first time the bans on creating alternative religious organizations, Ivan Prokhanov, rallying associates around himself, began to form an all-Russian association of Evangelical Christians.
At the end of 1909, the First All-Russian Conference of Evangelical Christians was held in St. Petersburg, at which the All-Russian Union of Evangelical Christians was established. The first president of the VSEKh, its initiator and organizer, was I. S. Prokhanov, who by that time had already become a well-known religious and public figure, the initiator of the evangelical movement in Russia. Later he was repeatedly re-elected to that post. The Evangelical Union, personally led by I. S. Prokhanov for over 22 years, had a decisive impact on the formation of the entire Russian evangelical brotherhood during its initial establishment and subsequent development, right up to our days.
However, even this second historical attempt to create an organized evangelical movement in Russia was suppressed, this time by the Soviet authorities. In 1928, I. S. Prokhanov left Russia forever into forced emigration, where he died (in Berlin) in 1935. Most of the VSEKh churches were forced to go underground, and the activities of the Union itself were virtually paralyzed.
In 1942, representatives of the Baptist Union, which had been completely dissolved, approached the VSEKh, their brothers in faith, the Evangelical Christians, with a proposal to take the surviving Baptist communities under their care. In 1944, the Soviet authorities themselves initiated this merger: the Union of Evangelical Christians (VSEKh) incorporated Baptist churches. As a result, a new Union emerged with a new unifying name—the All-Union Council of Evangelical Christians and Baptists (VSEKhB), where the majority of churches were precisely the Evangelical Christian ones.
When the Soviet Union collapsed, a process of disintegration of the VSEKhB began. In August 1992, the Union of Evangelical Christian Churches (UECC) was created in Moscow, but it included only an insignificant part of all the Evangelical Christian communities in Russia.
The Lord continued to bless the evangelical movement in Russia. At present, there are over 700 churches of Evangelical Christians in the country, belonging to more than 20 different unions and associations. In essence, they all represent one of the most powerful Protestant denominations in Russia. These churches are now in the process of creating an independent Russian association of Evangelical Christians.
Several objective reasons underlie the move toward cooperation and interaction among evangelical churches. In their spiritual values, moral and ethical principles, in the culture of communication with God and with one another, in the practice of in-church and missionary ministry, different communities of Evangelical Christians are very similar to one another.
But small churches and associations are sometimes unable to carry out productive ministry, to withstand pressure from external forces and unfavorable conditions. Their thoughts are directed primarily toward survival rather than expanding the scope and improving the quality of their ministry. Weak coordination and organizational frailty among evangelical churches weaken their authority and undermine the civil potential of the Russian evangelical movement in the eyes of both friends and foes. In Orthodox and secular circles, talk is growing about the failed evangelical project in Russia that I. S. Prokhanov once dreamed of.
Nevertheless, God’s plan for the evangelical church in Russia continues to unfold. In 2008, leaders of large and respected associations of Evangelical Christians decided to create an all-Russian evangelical association. They formed an initiative group and began a process to achieve closer spiritual, church, and organizational interaction and cooperation.
Over the past three years, this process has gained momentum and a concrete direction: The First Congress of the VSEKh was held, the All-Russian Fellowship of Evangelical Christians (VSEKh—an unregistered organization) was created, its governing body—the Council of the VSEKh—was formed, and since 2008 the Coordination Council of the VSEKh has been operating. During the same period, the “Declaration of Fraternal Churches of Evangelical Christians of Russia” was adopted, numerous conferences, coordination meetings, as well as thematic, organizational, and educational courses and seminars involving believers from VSEKh churches have been held.
At the same time, each association that is part of the All-Russian Commonwealth of Evangelical Christians (VSЕKh) retains its legal independence, identity, and the unique missionary practice and internal church life inherent to each union and association. We want to multiply the rich experience we have accumulated during our period of independent development. We want to begin a process of cooperation and interaction and continue it steadfastly, so that on its basis we may strengthen our churches and labor fruitfully in the Lord’s field.
The II Congress of Churches and Unions of the All-Russian Commonwealth of Evangelical Christians (April 2011) set for itself the following tasks:
- To comprehend the scope and directions of the long-term goals and vision of our ministry within the framework of VSЕKh.
- To explore the possibility of creating new forms of cooperation and interaction both at the level of associations and local churches.
- To define the strategic tasks of local churches, their main characteristics necessary for fulfilling the Great Commission.
- To discuss possible ways of development for the entire evangelical movement in Russia, the prospects and challenges facing evangelical churches in the coming 5-10 years.
We are determined to continue the process of evangelical consolidation, so that on its basis we may strengthen our churches and bring more fruit in the Lord’s harvest.
Alexander ZAICHENKO
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