The History of the EAAA
The history of our Association begins from the first steps in establishing the system of theological education in the former Soviet Union.
As is well known, prior to perestroika in the USSR there had been only one evangelical program – the Moscow Bible correspondence courses which prepared a little more than 50 pastors a year for the 100,000 member Evangelical Christian-Baptist Union. This non-formal education program at first was for two years and then expanded to three.
Beginning in 1989 when perestroika began to have a serious impact on the church life of the country, theological colleges, schools and seminaries of a new type arose in all corners of the Soviet Union. The first of such seminaries arose in Odessa in August 1989 (known today as the Odessa Theological Seminary), in 1990 in Belorechisk (Kransodar krai) an institute began, which would later become the St. Petersburg Christian University, in 1991 a Bible School was organized in Donetsk (known today as the Donetsk Christian University, near Kiev the work of the Irpen Biblical Seminary began, along with many other schools. All them worked on their own independent of each other. However, their understanding Christian unity compelled them to seek a way of rapprochement.
The first serious attempt o organize a meeting of representatives of the theological and biblical schools was undertaken by the ministry “Association for Spiritual Renewal” which was working in Moscow under the leadership of the late Peter Petrovich Deyenka.
Theological Education – 1
From February 10-12, 1993, around 40 representatives of Bible courses, colleges, institutes and seminaries from various Protestant confessions (Baptists, Pentecostals, Adventists and others) gathered in Moscow. The meeting, entitled “Theological Education – 1”, which was informational in character, was called for leaders of theological institutions to become acquainted with each other and to discuss problems of theological education. Around half the conference participants were from the USA and Western Europe who were interested in establishing contacts. At this conference arose the problems of teachers and teaching aids, of constructions projects and the legal status of schools, as well as the development of libraries and accreditation.
This conference did not come to any decisive conclusions because of the dissimilar makeup of the participants. But the first step in coordinating the system of education was made. For many it became evident that theological education must not develop spontaneously like it had up to that time. But rather according to a well-thought out program with a clearly delineated strategy.
It also became clear that this program must prepare not only leaders for schools, but also leaders for churches, association, and unions in whose interest schools were laboring. So, on June 11, 1993, in Odessa, in a so-called “Round Table” meeting, the leaders of the regional associations of Evangelical Christian-Baptists in Ukraine gathered together to discuss problems of education within the Ukrainian Baptist Union.
The next important stage in the history of cooperation of schools in the CIS was the conference “Theological Education in ECB Unions” which took place October 21-23, 1993 in Moscow. Attending this conference were the representatives of 14 theological schools from various countries in the CIS as well as representatives of theological education from abroad who together discussed academic, juridical, financial, publishing and other problems in theological education. They became acquainted with the work of various schools. One of the most far reaching results of the meeting was the decision to begin work on the creation of a unified system of accreditation, “in which would be worked out the basic demands and contents of theological and general education disciplines, size of libraries, living conditions of the students and so forth”.
Created at this conference was a commission of seven people which would prepare the next meeting which was called for February 1994. Prior to the February conference, utilizing the joint efforts of the St. Petersburg Christian University and the Odessa Theological Seminary, a first project for normalizing the system of accreditation was prepared, which was looked at on February 25, 1994, during the 45th Congress of the Federation of ECB Unions in Moscow.
At the historic session of February 25, 1994, seven schools having formal programs of education having been in existence for no less than one year took an important step: they decided to found their own Accrediting Association. These schools were the following: St. Petersburg Christian University (formerly the college “Logos”), the Odessa Theological Seminary (which was founded on the base of the Odessa Bible College), the Donetsk Bible College (which would later change its name to the Donetsk Christian University), the Kiev Spiritual Seminary (which is presently called the Irpen Biblical Seminary), the Correspondence Bible Institute (formerly the Moscow Bible Correspondence Courses), the Tashkent Theological Seminary, and the Moscow Theological Seminary.
So, the idea of cooperation between schools had taken on a more concrete form.
In order to create the Association, both legally and practically, a new committee was formed consisting of leaders of the above mentioned schools, which in the end had little viability. At the time it seemed that the idea of the Association would find a slow death. However, a powerful impulse for the creation of the EAAA was the conference in Vorzel, near Kiev, put together again at the initiative of the mission “Association for Spiritual Renewal”.
Theological Education – 2
The conference “Theological Education – 2” was held October 10-12, 1996 and was attended by representatives of 35 theological schools from many countries of the former Soviet Union.
At the conference, after many long and multi-sided discussions, the decision was finally taken to create the EAAA. A new committee was approved for preparing the organizational, legal, financial and academic basis for the Association. Serving on the committee were: A. G. Brinza, S. V. Sannikov, P. F. Penner, F. M. Mokan, S. P. Rybikov, R. A. Khaibulin, A. I. Prokopchuk, N. A. Kornilov, A. I Melnichuk, V. S. Ryaguzov, and A. V. Glukhovsky. Sergei V. Sannikov was chosen as the chairman of the Preparatory Committee.
The Preparatory Committee had three meetings: in Kiev – October 12, 1996; in Moscow – November 26, 1996; and again in Moscow – May 12-14, 1997, at which, over the course of many hours of work, was put together a proposed model for the future Association: its structure, goals for its existence, functions it would carry out, its financial structure, and so forth.
In order to work more effectively and to involve as many of the participants as possible, the decision was taken to divide up the work into five committees: sub-committee on standards and criteria, sub-committee on finances, sub-committee on legal questions, sub-committee on information and relations, and the sub-committee on personnel.
In the capacity of full-time consultant from churches included in these deliberations was the Executive Secretary of the Euro-Asian Federation of ECB Unions, Yuri Apatov. Also, to ensure that the future Association would be compatible with other international evangelical associations the Preparatory Committee had regular contact with the secretary of ICETE (until May 1997), Roger Kemp.
It is also important to note the help given by the mission “Association for Spiritual Renewal” in bringing national schools together in order to cooperate with each other. Thanks to their unobtrusive but continual help from 1993 the work of the committee: “The Bible Pulpit Series” began, which not only selected and assisted in the publication of dozens of books and textbooks, but also helped school leaders to know each other better through co-laboring together and in deepening their understanding of the advantages of cooperation. It's also important to mention the great help provided by the Overseas Council International which was an instrumental part in the founding of the EAAA. Working especially closely with the Preparatory Committee were OCI representatives Manfred Kohl and Jack Graves, amongst others.
Theological Education – 3
By God's mercy on October 13, 1997, in Moscow, the final session of the EAAA Preparatory Committee was held. Beginning on October 14 in Mitishchi (near Moscow) the conference “Theological Education – 3” began. Attending the conference were 68 Russian-speaking representatives and 26 foreign guests. They represented 49 Protestant schools as well as 16 missions, unions, and other organization interested in the development of theological education in the countries of the former Soviet Union.
At this first meeting of EAAA members the official and authoritative decision was made to create the Euro-Asian Accreditation Association. There were 37 organizations which were the founding members of the EAAA, of which 31 were theological schools including 15 from Russia, 13 from Ukraine, and one each from Moldova, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. Six organizations became Associate members of the Association. The EAAA Board was chosen consisting of 12 members. A. I. Melnichuk was chosen the Chairman of the Board, his assistant P. F. Penner, and the Executive Director, S. V. Sannikov. One of the main achievements of this conference was the approval of accreditation Standards for schools having a formal mode of education.
Theological Education – 4
From October 11-14, 1999, the Euro-Asian Accrediting Association held its second General Meeting of members, “Theological Education – 4”, in the recreation zone of Vorzel (near Kiev), a place already familiar for representatives of theological schools
More than 115 delegates attended the conference from the countries of the former Soviet Union and Baltics including delegates from: Russia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Moldova, Belarus, Lithuania, Kazakhstan, Kirghizstan, and Armenia. Twenty-one representatives came from abroad including from: USA, Canada, Germany, Norway, the Netherlands, and other countries.
The conference heard and approved the reports of the President and the Executive Director of the EAAA, approved the budget, and made decisions on current questions effecting the daily life of the Association. Much attention was paid to discussing perspectives on theology and theological education in the post-Soviet arena. The General Meeting took another important step in the development of the accreditation process: Standards for schools with formal – non-formal forms of education were approved after many years of discussion.
One of the most striking moments of the meeting was the approval by all the members of the Association of full accreditation for programs at three institutions: St. Petersburg Christian University, Donetsk Christian University and the Odessa Theological Seminary.
Representatives of these three schools were presented with an official “Certificate” attesting to the status of full accreditation for their programs. These were the first three theological schools in the former Soviet Union which had fulfilled all the demands of the accreditation standards for receiving full accreditation.
All those present at the General Meeting greeted with much enthusiasm the official announcement made by Dagfin Solheim, the Vice-President of ICETE, the worldwide organization which unites all the regional accrediting agencies of the world, on the acceptance of the EAAA into the worldwide family of evangelical accrediting associations. This was a testimony of international recognition of the accrediting work being carried out in Eurasia.
Theological Education – 5
In the cold days of October 2001, the fifth meeting of representatives of evangelical theological schools was held in St. Petersburg, Russia, the result of which could be summarized as follows: at the beginning of the third millennium A. D. the system of theological education in Eurasia was already formulated.
The work of the conference, “Theological Education – 5”, involved the participation of 56 schools and organizations which sent 105 representatives from the CIS and Baltics and 32 foreign guests. Attending from the countries of the former Soviet Union were representatives from: Armenia, Belarus, Lithuania, Moldova, Russia, Uzbekistan, and Ukraine. Foreign guests came from Austria, Belgium, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and the USA.
The Opening Ceremonies took place in the evening of October 23rd in the main auditorium of the St. Petersburg Christian University where the participants had the possibility to get better acquainted with one another, pray with one another, and worship the Lord Jesus.
The main theme of the conference was: “The Church and Theological Education”. Dr. Millard Erickson, well-known author of works on systematic theology, brought gave the morning Bible Study. The first plenary session was on the theme: “The Church and Theological Education in the Third Millennium” and was given by Dr. Ralph Alexander who gave biblical and historical perspectives on the interrelations of Church and School. Those representatives of schools and churches attending the meeting discussed the many practical problems and the means for solving these problems given our sociological context.
The next session examined the role and participation of the EAAA in the development of theological education and its effectiveness for churches. Reports were given by the President of the EAAA, A. Melnichuk, the Executive Director, S. Sannikov, the leader of the publishing project “The Bible Pulpit Series”, P. Penner and other leaders in the Association. They told of the dynamic development of the Association and of its collective and qualitative growth. Since early 2001 the Association has had its own office in Odessa. It also has a more stable international position amongst the seven other international association which encompass all continents. Dr. Ken Newton, the President of ICETE, greeted the conference on behalf of the international association of accrediting agencies.
The conference approved the status of full accreditation on programs at two more schools. So that by the end of 2001 there were five theological schools in Eurasia which had programs that had been awarded the status of full accreditation: St. Petersburg Christian University, Donetsk Christian University, Odessa Theological Seminary, Chishinau Theological-Pedagogical College, and the Krasnodar Bible College – “Lampados”.
Decisions were made to make several corrections to the Standards, approve the list of those eligible for accreditation teams (42 people altogether), and to select a new EAAA Board. The Board now turns over 1/3 of its members at each General Meeting. At this meeting four young specialists were added. The President of the Association for the next two years is again the Rector of the Donetsk Christian University, A. Melnichuk and the Executive Director, S. Sannikov.
Seminars were given each evening of the conference. There were six seminars presented including: “The History of the Evangelical Movement”, “Computer Software for Libraries”, “The Bible Pulpit Series”, “The Eurasian Theological Society”, and others. Of special interest to those attending was the seminar: “ Non-Traditional Education and New Technologies”. During these seminars participants could not only listen to the latest and most modern means of education, but could also share their opinions on their effectiveness and possibilities for use in Eurasian schools.
Theological Education – 6
From October 14-17, 2003, the General Meeting of members of the Euro-Asian Accrediting Association entitled – “Theological Education – 6” – was held at Kiev Christian University's southern camp – “Living Hope” – in the village of Kiilov, just south of Kiev, Ukraine.
More than 40 schools and organizations were involved in the work of the conference, with a total of 92 delegates. Included in the conference were 68 official representatives of EAAA schools and 24 guests. Also attending the conference were 11 foreign guests. Attending from the countries of the former Soviet Union were school leaders from Russia, Ukraine, Moldova, Belarus, Armenia, Uzbekistan, Lithuania, and from abroad from Austria, USA, Czech Republic and Jamaica.
The conference opened on the evening of October 14th
in a church in the village of Kiilov. At the opening worship service encouraging
words from the Scriptures were shared by a long- time member of the evangelical
brotherhood of Ukraine and a co-worker of Yakov Dukhonchenko, Vladimir Glukhovsky.
Greetings were given to the conference participants by official representatives
of various evangelical unions. After the service, the guests moved to the fireplace
room where an informal get-to-know-each-other session was held.
Much attention was paid at the plenary sessions to the general conference theme: “Conclusions and perspectives on theological education in Eurasia and the tasks facing the evangelical community”. The theme was addressed by Peter Mitskevich and Igor Kobyakovsky and others, and in a quite animated panel discussion led by Nikolai Kornilov with representatives of various evangelical groups. The conference participants listened with great interest to reports given by official representatives of ICETE (International Council for Evangelical Theological Education), an organization which brings together all accrediting agencies for evangelical theological schools worldwide, including the EAAA. ICETE Director, Dr. Dieumeme Noelliste from Jamaica and the chairman of ICETE's Board, Dr. Larry McKinney, who is also the leader of the accrediting body in North America (Accrediting Association of Bible Colleges) told of the current development of theological education worldwide.
A lively discussion followed the reports given by Toivo Pilli and Greg Nichols of IBTS in Prague on the Bologna Agreement which has set up a new official body for higher education within the European Union and to which educational systems in Eastern Europe will become more and more oriented. This new direction in higher education will undoubtedly have an important influence on the system of theological education in Eurasia.
Participants representing various theological schools and evangelical churches discussed many practical problems and possible solutions given the socio-cultural conditions of Eurasia. It's interesting to note that this was of the first international conferences of this type where the Bible Study hour and the main reports were given entirely by national believers. It's also interesting to note the financial ability of representatives from national schools in Eurasia. Only 18 participants from the far reaches of Eurasia received sponsorship support for their transportation costs, while the rest paid their own way. That is, it possible to trace the growing independence of national schools and their partners in relation to foreign sponsorship.
At the following plenary sessions at which the role and participation of the EAAA in the development of theological education was examined reports were given by the EAAA President, Alexei Melnichuk, the Executive Director, Sergei Sannikov, the Coordinator of the Bible Pulpit Series, Fyodor Mokan, and other workers with the Association. They told of the Association's dynamic development, its quantitative and qualitative growth, and gave their perspectives on its development. Since its inception six years ago, the EAAA has grown by 65% and now has 59 theological schools as full members and 9 organizations as associate members. Over 8,200 students are studying in EAAA member schools. On average an EAAA member school's library contains 2,000 individual titles in their national language with seven schools having over 8,000 individuals titles in their own language. It is also important to note that at the present time EAAA member theological schools are developing their national faculty well. Only one-third of the academic teaching load are taught by foreign guest teachers, and not less than half of all teachers are nationals, most of whom are part-time.
The Association has its own office in Odessa, Ukraine and has set up its own material and international situation amongst the seven other international associations from all continents.
Further emphasizing the growing development of EAAA schools were the decisions taken to confer the status of “Full accreditation” on 9 new programs in which 273 students are studying. Also, approved were the continuing accreditation status of 6 other programs. So as of October 2003 15 programs have the status of full accreditation in which are studying 563 students. Another 5 programs at four schools have “Candidate” status. After the graduations of the 2002-2003 academic year, 353 students have received a “Certificate” of having completed an accredited program. Conference participants warmly congratulated those who are able to provide such a high level of education to their students. Certificates conferring their level of accreditation were handed out by the EAAA President, Alexei Melnichuk.
During the business meeting several changes to the Standards and Charter of the Association were approved, the accreditation team pool of experts was approved, the new EAAA Board was elected as was a new President of the Association. Once again the Board turned over at least one-third of its members adding five new members. The EAAA President for the next two years, who was selected by secret ballot, is the Rector of the Kuban Evangelical Christian University, Gennady Pshenichniye. The Executive Director remains Sergei Sannikov. The conference participants warmly thanked those Board members rotating off the Board for their years of service.
Five seminars and round-table discussions were also held during the conference including: “Studying in the Old Testament town of Beer-Sheba”, “Teaching Theological English”, “Standards for Non-Formal and Distance Learning Programs”, “The Development of the Eurasian Theological Society”, and “The Lord's Prayer Across Cultures”. On October 17th participants listened to reports of the Eurasian Theological Society on the theme: “The Phenomenon of Eurasian Protestantism”, given by M, Nevolin, M. Chernikov, A. Sinichkin and others, as well as to an overview of the Internet discussion on the same topic.
On display at the conference were new theological publications including those published by the Association. Surrounded by beauty of the Dnepr River flood lands and forests with simple but nice accommodations and a pleasant and helpful staff the participants had a nice place to hold their meeting. After the conference concluded the EAAA Board held another session, including for the first time the five newly selected Board members.
So in only four short years of its official existence the Association had grown by 56% and now consists of 58 members from eight countries. During this time was created an overall structure as well as an office for the Association, the forms and methods of its work elaborated, and most importantly, the process of accreditation had actively begun.
The History of the EAAA continues…