Billy Graham Sees Vitality and Dedication among Russian Christians

On his recent Soviet trip, the evangelist preached in crowded churches and shared the gospel with government officials.

Billy Graham returned from his second preaching visit to the Soviet Union with an impression of “vitality and dedication” among Christians there and a sense of “slight optimism” about U.S.-Soviet relations. His 12-day tour last month included more than 50 speaking engagements as well as private meetings with Soviet officials and leaders of Orthodox and Protestant churches.

Soviet leadership is in transition, Graham pointed out at a New York press conference, and there are tentative signals of a willingness to return to arms negotiations with the United States. “I think the rhetoric on both sides is quieting down, for which I’m thankful,” he said.

Graham preached gospel messages to overflowing crowds in four Soviet cities: Leningrad, Tallinn, Moscow, and Novosibirsk. His public appearances were confined to church property, but Graham said he was free to deliver any message he chose.

At Moscow’s Cathedral of the Epiphany, Graham said, “I preached on ‘you must be born again’ from the third chapter of John as strongly as I’ve ever preached it in my life.” When he finished, he was told by a church leader, “This is just the kind of thing we need in our churches.”

At the Leningrad Theological Academy, one of only a few Orthodox seminaries in the country, Graham’s text was copied and distributed. Instead of delivering his prepared address, he was asked to explain to an audience of 400 students and faculty how to communicate the gospel.

The American evangelist was invited to the Soviet Union by the Russian Orthodox Church and the All-Union Council of Evangelical Christians-Baptists (or Baptist Union, which includes other Protestant groups). His trip fulfilled a promise made by Soviet officials after Graham agreed to speak at an international peace conference in Moscow in 1982. That visit was marred by criticism from Christians and others who monitor reports of religious persecution abroad. Graham confounded them by saying there is “a measure of religious freedom” in the Soviet Union and by refusing to speak out publicly on behalf of people imprisoned for their beliefs.

Graham maintains that his observations in 1982 were confirmed by his second visit. “Many churches are open and active, and it is my understanding that they normally are allowed to carry out their work on church premises as long as they abide by the government’s requirements for religious organizations,” he said. “This is the same sort of thing that exists, for instance, in Mexico,” where religious meetings cannot take place in public buildings. That sort of comparison draws fire from people in touch with Soviet believers who refuse to register their churches for fear of government surveillance.

Kerry Ptacek, research director for the Institute on Religion and Democracy, said Graham is guilty of a “radical misunderstanding of the situation.” Under authoritarian regimes such as in South Korea, churches are restricted but they have genuine internal freedom, Ptacek said. But he said there is no “measure of religious freedom” under Soviet totalitarianism because registered churches are watched closely by the state and infiltrated by government officials. Their “internal spiritual life is distorted,” Ptacek said.

At a news conference in Moscow, Graham acknowledged that Soviet believers don’t enjoy complete religious freedom. “The founding of the Soviet state has forced churches to make many changes and adjustments and has not been without its difficulties and problems for believers,” he said.

After he arrived in New York, he told reporters about his talks with Soviet officials. “I brought up to top officials every conceivable issue [about the plight of Soviet believers] that I thought concerned Christians and Jews in this country.” Graham called for more churches and more Bibles in the Soviet Union. He also confronted Soviet officials with the gospel.

He told them about the evangelical resurgence in America and its impact on politics. “Then I would start telling them how I came to Christ, what I preach, what the Bible is all about, and what we believe Christ can do for the human heart,” Graham said. “I think they listened with tremendous interest. You could see the Holy Spirit was speaking personally to them.”

At church services he asked believers to pray for peace and for President Reagan’s meeting with Soviet Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko. “I did not realize I was announcing it to the Soviet public for the first time,” the evangelist said.

Within the constraints of their system, Soviet believers appear avidly interested in the gospel and its application to their lives. Graham observed many churchgoers taking notes during his sermons, and he was asked to give Scripture references whenever he quoted from the Bible.

BETH SPRINGin New York

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