VANCOUVER — A pair of B.C. politicians are appealing to Prime Minister Stephen Harper to act in the spirit of Christmas and allow to stay in Canada a former KGB agent who's taken sanctuary in a church.

Mikhail Lennikov has lived in a Vancouver church since the government denied his application to stay in the country six months ago, though he's resided with his wife and son here for 12 years.

MPs Ujjal Dosanjh and Don Davies stood beside the man Sunday and made the public request to grant the 49-year-old permanent residence.

Lennikov has repeatedly said his work in the 1980s as a translator for the Soviet security agency was innocuous and commenced under pressure.

Last week, he produced 3,500 pages of documents from government departments in an attempt to show there is nothing to back up claims he is a national security threat.

Border officials have so far respected a convention not to enter the church and arrest Lennikov, who says he's unsure how long his stay will last.