Stephan Bilak

Epifanius Stephan (Epi) Bilak, was a Ukranian evangelist who had a radio program based in Lausanne, Switzerland, "The Messenger of Truth," heard throughout Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union for more than 30 years. He was the minister of the Old Park Church of Christ in Ternopil, Ukraine and with the L'Eglise du Christ in Lausanne. At the age of 15, Bilak was taken by the Nazis to forced labor camps in Germany. Following World War II, he studied at the Bible Institute in Nogent, near Paris, France. Stephan graduated from Lipscomb University (Nashville, Tenn.) in 1957, did mission work in Canada and in Plattsburg, New York, taught at Rochester College (Rochester Hills, Mich.), before settling in Lausanne. He translated a few hymns from Ukrainian to English, the best-known of which is "While on the Sea."

Monty Lynn