| college credit (8 sem. hrs. or noncredit) | $1368 |
| graduate credit (8 sem. hrs.) | $1616 |
| Russian Language House room/board
(8 weeks, 7-day meal plan) |
$1016 |
| registration | $10 |
| application fee | $10 |
For further information, contact: James E. Wenger, coordinator, Russian Language Institute, Box 3122, 7435 Monticello Rd., Columbia, SC 29230-3122; 800-777-2227, ext. 3204; fax: 803-786-4209; or Marc Canner, Russian Language Ministries, Box 14254, Albuquerque, NM 87191-4254; 505-281-1645.
Summer Missionary Institute sponsored by the Euro-Asiatic Federation of Evangelical Christians-Baptists is scheduled for 4 July-26 August 1994 on the campus of the Odessa Theological Seminary, Ukraine. Classes in Russian with English translation will cover Russian language, history, culture, and evangelical church history and theology. Cost: $700 each or $1300 per married couple. Application deadline: 1 May 1994. Contact: Mr. Charles Warner, 816 Michigan, Wheaton, IL 60187; tel/fax: 708-752-9333; or Mr. Mikhail Nakonechnyi, Box 3/4, Odessa 66, Ukraine 270066; tel: 7-0482-549161; fax: 7-0482-520044 or 323459.
In October 1993 Russian Evangelical Christians-Baptists elected St. Petersburg pastor Peter Konovalchik to succeed retiring president Vasili Logvinenko. The new ECB leader stresses the need for Western help for new Bible schools, church construction, Sunday school training and literature, new urban Bible study centers and youth camps, and support for home missionaries.
The Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kievan Patriarchate elected Metropolitan Volodymyr (Romanyuk) as its patriarch in October 1993. Patriarch Volodymyr suffered imprisonment under the communists for his religious convictions. The two other Orthodox jurisdictions in Ukraine are the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate.
In October 1993 the government of Belarus called for the return of the twelfth-century Cross of Efrosonia, currently believed to be held in a private collection in the United States. Authorities in Minsk appealed to Interpol for help in recovering the national treasure which Belarus Orthodox, Roman Catholics, and Eastern Rite Catholics all revere.
The Macedonian Orthodox Church installed 81-year-old Metropolitan Mihail (Metodi Gogov) as its chief prelate, 5 December 1993. He is the fourth head of the church since its establishment in 1967.
In fall 1993 the Bulgarian Directorate of Religious Affairs blocked state recognition of an alliance of five Protestant denominations and reportedly is denying an increasing number of visas to would-be missionaries.
In response to the fall 1993 electoral victory of many left-leaning politicians, Poland's Roman Catholic bishops promised their cooperation "in all matters serving the individual and the common good," but also promised not to remain passive on moral issues and insisted on their church's right to a role in politics, public education, and mass media.
The Albanian Evangelical Alliance commemorated the life of pioneer evangelist Gjerasim D. Qiriazi during January 1994, the centennial anniversary month of his death. Commemorative events included the presentation of historical papers and documentaries, a photographic exhibit, and a commemorative rally, all focused on the life and work of Qiriazi. According to Dwight Gibson, North American Associate Director of World Evangelical Fellowship, "The presence of the Albanian media gave the centennial celebrations and the growing evangelical community national attention." The Albanian Evangelical Alliance, founded in October 1993, drew inspiration for its existence from an evangelical brotherhood founded in 1892 by Qiriazi and other Albanian Christians.
For further information contact John Quanrud, Executive Secretary, Albanian Evangelical Alliance, Rr. Hoxhe Vokrri 13, Tirana, Albania; tel: 355-4242002; fax: 355-42-34708.
Schloss Mittersill, an Austrian castle retreat center owned by InterVarsity's International Christian Student Movement, served as the location for an unusual gathering of 45 Christian artists, 1-8 September 1993. Organized by U.S. sculptress Esther Augsberger and sponsored by the Traditional Media Unit of the International Christian Media Commisssion (Box 70632, Seattle, WA 98107; tel: 206-781-0461; fax: 206-781-0571), three quarters of the conference participants hailed from former Soviet bloc countries, including Albania, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and Russia. Participants expressed a sense of isolation from both church and art groups in their homeland, but left the conference with hope and enthusiasm.
Bible Christian Union (BCU), with offices in Hatfield, PA, and Ancaster, Ontario, merged in January 1994 with The Evangelical Alliance Mission (TEAM), which will retain its present headquarters in Wheaton, IL, and Calgary, Alberta. BCU international director George Murray has been named general director designate of the newly expanded TEAM, with a mission staff of 1,150 working in 36 countries, including Russia, Poland, and Ukraine.
Dr. John Aker resigned as president of Slavic Gospel Association, Loves Park, IL, 1 February 1994. Board of Directors Vice Chairman Harry Leopold now serves as interim president. Peter Deyneka, Sr., founded SGA in Chicago in 1934.
Correction
EWC&MR 4 (Fall 1993), 13, reported an incorrect phone
number for Anatoly V. Pchelintsev, Christian Legal Center, Moscow. The
correct phone number is 268-3988 and 268-0111.
Written permission is required for reprinting or electronic distribution of any portion of the East-West Church & Ministry Report.
© 1994 Institute for East-West Christian Studies
ISSN 1069-5664