CHRISTIANS IN RUSSIA

Te Awamutu Courier, Volume 65, Issue 5494, 6 July 1942, Page 3

CHRISTIANS IN RUSSIA

A LETTER FROM MOSCOW According to a recent, issue of The Baptist Times, a letter has been received from Moscow by Dr. Rushbrooke, President of the Baptist World Alliance, from the “All Union Council of Evangelical Christians.” The letter has been three months on the way but (comments the British Ministry of Information paper, “The Spiritual Issues of the War,” which reproduced the paper (the fact that it had been sent at all is significant of the changed conditions which are not only bringing Governments and Trade Unions into intimate contact, but are also opening up the way to communication between members of Christian communions. The letter includes the following passages:— “The historic agreement between the Governments of the U.S.S.R. and Great Britain on common action in the war against Germany has inspired us, esteemed Mr President, to approach you with this letter. Above all, we wish to express our great joy on the occasion of the drawing together of our brave nations in the face of the common enemy. This drawing together, which is so ardently welcomed by the nations of the whole civilised world, we the Evangelical Christians of the Soviet Union, welcome as well. Particularly we Russian believers consider Great Britain as the citadel of living Christianity. We believe that the alliance concluded by our Governments will also serve to further closer co-operation between the disciples of Christ in our two countries. In your person we wish to greet all God’s children in Great Britain. Together with them we pray for help and strength from Heaven for victory over the trials which have fallen upon our peoples, and also for victory over the enemy of all humanity—Hitler and Hitlerism. May Christ be near us in the great trials which have fallen upon our countries! May he bless our Governments and our peoples!”