What will Church say to Ukrainian Maydan

The Maydan protests have challenged not only the government but the Church, too. Searching for answers, people are turning to the Church, but so far it hasn’t been able to give a clear reply. The society is trying to understand: is there a limit for tolerance when human rights and freedoms are brutally violated by the president and the parliamentary majority? How should we go about demanding justice? How should the society react to the sudden threat of dictatorship arising after more than 20 years of independence? How should we protect our lives and the future of our children in view of the current political situation in Ukraine?

The round table “Maidan and the Church: Mission and Social Responsibility of Christians” took place in Kyiv, Ukraine on Friday, January 17, 2014. The event was initiated by young Evangelical leaders of Ukraine. The Fellowship of Christian Students (known as CCX in Ukraine, part of IFES, the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students) together with the Association for Spiritual Renewal and the MaidanPrayer.org project helped to implement the initiative.

More than a hundred people showed up, and their feedback has been resonating in social media ever since. The discussion was led by the following three groups of speakers: 1) church ministers and missiologists; 2) theologians and scholars, 3) experts and public figures. They represented the Baptist, Pentecostal, Free Evangelical, Lutheran and Reformed churches of Ukraine.

All the speakers raised a serious concern about the violence demonstrated regularly by the Ukrainian government within the last two months.  All churches condemned the violent use of force by the riot police on November 30, 2013 against the students who stood up peacefully for their rights on Maidan. The participants also condemned the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine in its illegal threats to the Greek Catholic Church. Finally, they disapproved the adoption of the anti-constitutional laws issued on January 16, 2014 (already named “Black Thursday” by the Ukrainian people). As a result, the legitimacy of the whole government has come into question, while the right to peaceful protest have been canceled.

Nevertheless, according to the opinion of the round table’s speakers, this unprecedented crisis will purify both the Church and society. “A final ‘desovietization’ of our post-USSR society and the birth of a new generation leaders is taking place,” said pastor Oleg Magdych, a Maydan activist.

The leaders of the Evangelical community declared their readiness to continue Christian ministry even under a new wave of repression or restrictions against religious freedom. “The January laws signed by the president threaten not only our society but Christian organizations, too. We shouldn’t be afraid, but should continue our ministry instead”, said Denis Gorenkov, director of CCX. Dr. Mykhailo Cherenkov, Vice President of the Association for Spiritual Renewal, added: “It’s the Church which is the strongest factor in our civil society today, therefore our responsibility has grown.”

“The barricades of Maydan touched my heart. I saw the birth of a new nation there. People were ready to fight for their freedom and give their lives for the sake of others,” shared Dr. Sergiy Tymchenko, and his testimony impressed many people in the room. Oles Dmytrenko, author of the book Corruption: A Bone in the Throat, reminded the Church of its role as “salt and light” to the world, that is, condemning sin plainly in any political context and giving a clear moral verdict on what’s truly happening in society, while at the same time giving hope and showing the true way of salvation.

The initiative was supported by the following leaders of churches and denominations: Anatoly Kalyuzhniy (Union of Independent Evangelical Churches of Ukraine), Valery Antonyuk (Union of Baptist Churches of Ukraine), Ralph Huska (German Evangelical Lutheran Church of Ukraine), as well as by other pastors of Kyiv churches: Petro Marchenko, Mykola Ponomarev, Sergiy Tymchenko, Denis Kondyuk, Olexiy Satenko. Theologians and seminary professors who made their authoritative contribution to the discussion included Petro Kovaliv, Father Yuriy Chornomorets, and Father Petro Balog. Respected experts and public figures who made contributions included Sergiy Hula, Andrew Shekhovtsov and Oles Dmytrenko. Guests came not only from the capital of Ukraine, but from all over the country: Kharkiv, Sumy, Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, Lviv and other places.

At the end of the discussion, moderator Andriy Shekhovtsov, the Maydan prayer tent ministry’s coordinator, encouraged Evangelical Christians to become more active in their mission and support the peaceful protesters by prayer, witnessing and practical help.

As a result of the discussion, an Appeal to the Evangelical Churches of Ukraine is being made with the purpose of laying a strong Biblical foundation for Christians to be more effective in their mission to reach out to their society at such a critical historical moment for the Ukrainian nation. The appeal will be made ​​public on Monday, January 20, 2014.