Protestant churches, including the Seventh-day Adventist, Baptist, and Lutheran denominations, are traditional religions in Russia and should be treated equally with other faiths, says regional government official V. Lukovnikov.
Protestant churches, including the Seventh-day Adventist, Baptist, and Lutheran denominations, are traditional religions in Russia and should be treated equally with other faiths, says regional government official V. Lukovnikov.
As director of religious affairs for Russia’s Irkutsk region in Siberia, Lukovnikov recently invited clergy members from five faiths to explain their beliefs during a seminar for government administrators and city mayors in Irkutsk. Included in the meetings were Russian Orthodox, Catholic, Baptist, Adventist, and Muslim representatives. Lukovnikov’s goal for the seminar was to acquaint area officials with the major religions in their territory.
Representing the Adventist Church was Ivan Khiminets, a pastor and president of the church in eastern Russia. He described Adventist beliefs about the Sabbath, tithing, Biblical prophecy, and other subjects. He also mentioned the church’s emphasis on healthy living and good family relationships.
“[Your church] is doing a meaningful work,” Lukovnikov said after the seminar. He also praised the strong spiritual atmosphere he had found during a visit to an Adventist institution in Tula, Russia.
In an interview with Irina Supryaga, regional director of communication for the Adventist Church, Lukovnikov urged small church denominations to make themselves more prominent in society to avoid being labeled as sects. Lukovnikov also discussed a biased newspaper article against Adventists that recently appeared in the Siberian city of Bratsk. The problem, he said, is that newspaper editors and the public are poorly informed about the Adventist Church.
“What charitable activities are [you] doing for our region?” he asked. “We need to be aware of these activities and cooperate more closely with you. Proclaim yourselves more often and more boldly.”
Adventist leaders expressed enthusiasm after participating in this dialogue between religious and government leaders. “We want to believe that this remarkable event will help many citizens of our region to view God and the Adventist Church in a new light and destroy barriers to preaching the gospel in Siberia,” says Supryaga.
Adventist believers have been present in Russia for more than a century, and the majority of current church leaders in the country are citizens of Russia or nearby former Soviet nations. However, Adventists and other Protestant groups often face government restrictions on their activities on the grounds that they are not native Russian churches. [Translation: Helen Timoshchenko]
