"Russian author (Georgi Vins) of 23rd Psalm" dies in exile.

Russian Baptist pastor Georgi Vins, who made headlines around the world in April 1979 when he was taken from prison and expelled from the Soviet Union, died in exile in the United States on January 11 at the age of 69. His funeral was held January 17 in his adopted home of Elkhart, Indiana, where his Russian Gospel Ministries is based. He had been suffering from a brain tumour.

Vins was first arrested by the Soviet government in 1966 when he was serving as secretary general of the newly formed Council of Churches, many of whose pastors and evangelists were to suffer persecution. He was sentenced to three years imprisonment. After his release, he resumed his pastoral work but was forced to go underground to avoid arrest. He was arrested again in 1974 and sentenced to five years in a labour camp, followed by five years of internal exile. Protests poured in from around the world, leading to his dramatic expulsion from his homeland after he had completed his time in the labour camp.

According to Rick Barry, administrative vice-president of Russian Gospel Ministries, Vins faced an unusual accusation during his second trial in Kiev. "When the police arrested Georgi Vins, he had a hand-written copy of Psalm 23 in his possession," Barry said. "The residing judge asked if he was the one who had written that document. Georgi Vins replied that he had copied it from the Bible, but that `King David had written it 3,000 year ago.' The judge's response was: `I don't know any King David. You're the one who wrote this. You're the author.' And so, part of Georgi Vin's second prison sentence was for being the author of Psalm 23." (ENI)