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.

Christmas Greetings from the Prosecutor's Office in St. Petersburg: the Detention and Beating of Believers

While conducting probes into the activities of the Protestant church Exodus, law enforcement officers raided the apartments of churchgoers. As a result, five people were taken to the police station, where one of them was beaten.

On the day after all around the world, Catholics, Protestants, and the Orthodox celebrated one of the major religious holidays —the Nativity,—prosecutors decided to investigate the activities of one of the Northern capital's Protestant churches.

On the evening of December 26, law enforcement officials virtually simultaneously descended on the apartments of parishioners of the Exodus Church of St. Petersburg. In three apartments, contact with the authorities proceeded generally civilly and without excesses. However, in one case matters escalated to the use of force. Unhappy with the statements of those subjected to the raid, the local police and prosecutor early on issued a summons to appear and then dispatched the believers to Division 66 of the Krasnogvardeysk Office of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia in St. Petersburg. In the end, a group of five underwent further interrogations at the division. Failing to uncover grounds for detention or incriminating evidence on the activities of the religious organization, the prosecutors decided to take the fingerprints of the detainees. During this procedure, the prosecutorial worker taking the fingerprints did not like it that one of the detainees had his hand in his pocket. Seeing in this disrespect for authority, the officer hit the believer in the genital area. The victim noted the badge number of the officer, and now statements will be sent to the Internal Security Directorate of the Police regarding the abuse of authority while conducing police duties.

Not until after 1 AM were the believers allowed to return to their homes.

The Local Religious Organization Church of Evangelical Christians "Exodus" is officially registered and has been operating in St. Petersburg for more than a year. Up to two hundred people attend divine services every Sunday. One of the important activities carried out by the Church is to work with people belonging to risk groups and to help addicts. Several of the current congregation staff overcame this pernicious addiction in the past and are now trying to help those who are still enslaved by narcotics. The Church operates three rehabilitation centers in the Leningrad District. The Church belongs to one of the largest Protestant denominations of the Russian Union of Christians of the Evangelical Faith [ROSKHVE] (Pentecostals).

According to Attorney Nikolai Semenov, the Director of the Legal Department of ROSKHVE and Member of the Moscow Chamber of Advocates, the abuse of power by law enforcement agencies is obvious: "In addition to the use of force, this raises question about the grounds for detaining believers and bringing them into the division," said the lawyer, "And also the general thinking behind the prosecutor's decision to investigate an officially registered church is not entirely clear."

Source

November 3 - International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church

Every year, churches around the world join together to pray for and offer help to those who serve the Lord while faced with persecution. And this year, too, on the week of November 3, a worldwide prayer will be held for the persecuted church.

Russian Ministries established the Foundation for Religious Freedom to support the brothers and sisters facing persecution as they serve the ministry in the countries of the former Soviet Union. We are doing all that we possibly can to spread the word about the persecution, to mobilize churches and the public to defend the Right to Religious Freedom and to provide practical assistance to those who find themselves in bondage.

It's no secret that the status of religious freedom in Central Asia, the Caucasus, and in regions of Russia continues to deteriorate. Changes in legislation aimed at stifling religious freedom under the pretext of fighting extremism have swept across all the countries of the former Soviet Union. This has resulted in raids on the assemblies of believers, the confiscation of literature, administrative arrests and fines, a ban on preaching the Gospel, the repression of members of the indigenous population who converted to Christianity, and prison sentences for ministers. Unfortunately, a growing number of countries are beginning to engage in these methods of dealing with the Christian Church. And the following illustrates what our brothers and sisters are forced to deal with:

One of the most egregious cases right now is in Kazakhstan, where Pastor Bakhytzhan Kashkumbaev has been arrested and detained on absurd charges. The Pastor has been subjected to abusive treatment, forced to submit to punitive psychiatric practices, and despite the lack of any intelligible charges, each month the judge continues to extend his incarceration. 

In Uzbekistan, the recently converted Tohar Haydarov continues to serve a 10-year (!) sentence resulting from fabricated criminal charges.

In Azerbaijan, one of the largest churches in the capital city of Baku, the Greater Grace Protestant Church, was closed. This country, in which 98% of the population is Moslem, has only two registered churches. The rest are forced to congregate "illegally," risking criminal prosecution.

In Turkmenistan, Pastor Ilmurad Nurliev, who served a prison sentence based on a trumped-up case, is again under pressure from the authorities.

In Russia, no action is being taken for the plundering and destruction of the Church of the Holy Trinity in Moscow.

Neither the leaders of these countries, nor Western governments are willing to strengthen the freedom and security of the Christian communities in Muslim countries and the countries of the former Soviet Union. While Western leaders express their enthusiasm over the "Arab Spring" that swept across many Muslim countries, no one even remembers the "bloody winter" for Christians that occurred at the same time in the same countries. The interests of big business rank higher today than do the life and security of Christians in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and other countries of the region.

“Today more than ever, what is important is the unity of Christians in supplicatory prayer and intercessory action for those who are persecuted for their faith,” said the President of Russian Ministries, Sergey Rakhuba. “The World Day of Prayer on November 3 – this is a great opportunity to ‘remember them that are in bonds’ (Heb. 13:3). This is also a great time to join with Russian Ministries to take practical steps to promote religious freedom and to protect our brothers and sisters from persecution." 

We call upon all to join in prayer for the persecuted Church.

-       That they may always find hope in God

-       That the Holy Spirit may strengthen them

-       That their days of persecution be shortened

-       That they may always have access to the Bible

-       For help to the families that remain without means of livelihood

-       For the funds needed by the Foundation for Religious Freedom to continue this ministry.

-       For God's grace toward the persecutors. 

You can contact us by using the information bellow:

P.O. Box 496 
Wheaton, Illinois 60187
USA

phone: 630.462.1739

e-mail: wade@russian-ministries.org

You can support the Foundation for Religious Freedom right here

Pastor Kashkumbaev in Astana is released and immediately arrested again

On October 8, an event occurred in the saga of the 67-year-old Astana Pastor Bakhytzhan Kashkumbaev that few could have foreseen. As soon as he was released from his five-month detainment, the Pastor was taken into custody, right there at the exit of the Astana pretrial detention facility (SIZO). Azattyk [Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty] has learned that a new criminal case has been launched with allegations of extremist activities.

Recall that the Pastor was initially placed under arrest in May of this year on the charge of causing bodily harm to one of his parishioners through hypnosis in his sermons, writes Kazis Toguzbaev for the Radio Azattyk website.The decision to transfer the Pastor to house arrest was made just before evening on Monday, October 7. The release from SIZO was processed the next day at noon. But what kind of a blow it was to the pastor's relatives when, after three hours of waiting for their family patriarch, he was immediately placed under arrest.

A brief video of the moment of the new arrest was captured by one of the Pastor's family members via mobile phone. Pastor Bakhytzhan Kashkumbaev is showing the people surrounding him his injured leg. Next to him a woman is crying – his wife, Alfia Kashkumbaeva.

Relatives of the Pastor and his lawyer say that the 67-year-old suffers from numerous health issues and requires constant medical care. The Pastor himself asked the authorities to at least transfer him to house arrest if there was no way to drop the absurd, in his opinion, criminal charges.

And now Kashkumbaev, immediately upon exiting SIZO, is once again taken into custody. According to Nurlan Beisekeev speaking by telephone to Azattyk from the scene of action, he was detained by officers of the Municipal Department of Internal Affairs (DVD) on new charges of extremism. The officers, dressed in civilian clothes, agreed  to allow the Pastor to be transported to the police station in the private car of Nurlan Beisekeev. "I was behind the wheel, and behind me sat the two officers with Bakhytzan between them. Upon arrival at the DVD he was taken to the office of Investigator Glazkov. I also made my way there. The investigator explained his reason for the detention: new charges have been filed against Kashkumbaevfor alleged extremism: article 233. I saw the ruling and read it," said the attorney Beisekeev.

However, Nurlan Beisekeev, it would seem, is no longer the attorney for Pastor Kashkumbaev. "The investigator took away the document with his indictment of Kashkumbaev, saying as he did so that I am not Kashkumbaev's attorney in this new case and evicting me from the office," says Nurlan Beisikeev. At present it is a matter of urgency that Beisekeev resolve some legal formalities in order to become the Pastor's attorney in the new criminal case. Investigator Vyacheslav Glazkov told a correspondent of Azattyk that the charge against Kashkumbaev has not yet been filed, but that a new criminal case has indeed been opened  on suspicion of criminal activity meeting the criteria of the article on extremism: article 233-1, part 1.

And so Kashkumbaev is being held. "We've taken him into custody," said Investigator Vyacheslav Glazkov, explaining that the law permits them to hold suspects for three days. Human rights organizations have called for Astana to release Bakhytzhan Kashkumbaev and drop the politically motivated, in their view, charges. During the previous detention, Kashkumbaev was forced to undergo a psychiatric examination, which also provoked criticism from human rights advocates.

Punitive psychiatry is coming back to Kazakhstan

Judge Nurlan Bayahmetov of Astana City’s Almaty District Court extended the custody of Pastor Kashkumbaev another month —until October 17.

The  basis for extending custody was the investigator’s warrant, supported by the prosecutor, stating that this was essential given that the results of the in-patient psychiatric examination are not known.  The results of the examination might be expected around the end of September (according to the prosecution).

His lawyer asked the court to change the measure of restraint to house arrest or personal recognizance that he will not leave, but the judge dismissed this request.

From the conduct and words of the decision, it is increasingly clear that Judge Bayakmetov is on the side of the prosecution.

In his decision, he stated that the arguments put forth by the defense were not of sufficient weight to enable the court to deny the motion for an extension of custody. This is utter rubbish!  After all, the motion stems from the charges, which means the onus is on them to provide convincing evidence.

“We are anticipating the results of the examination. Just wait, one of these days we’ll have them.", sputtered the prosecutor in court. He didn’t even provide an exact date. His replies in court were hesitant, the judge had to “pull” the words out of him.  

But the defense attorney spoke for 30-40 minutes! He cited violations made during the investigation and by the prosecution of International Covenants, and of the Criminal Procedure Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Constitution of the Republic of Kazakhstan, referring to Articles. Meanwhile, the judge was flipping through something, and reading.

The consequences of "punitive psychiatry":

Bahytzhan Kashkumbaev spent several weeks in the Republican Center of Psychiatry in Almaty, where he was subjected to a forced psychiatric examination.  During this process he was cut off from contact with the outside world, neither his lawyer, nor his family were allowed access to him, and he was not allowed to make or receive phone calls.

On September 7, he was taken back to the detention center.

In a conversation with his lawyer in the isolation unit, Pastor said that there were 6 or 7 (patients) in his room at the psychiatric ward and they were kept in the basement where there were no windows. The people who were with him in the psychiatric ward wondered why he was summoned so often (19 times over the course of his confinement ), while they were summoned only 2 or 3 times each.

For the 5 days before the board hearing he was subjected against his will to take an intramuscular injection of a certain drug on a daily basis and they did the  first injection, which made him ill. He vomited, his heart started beating irregularly, and he lost consciousness. If no one else had been there on the ward, then there would have been no saving him. They elected not to give him the remaining injections.

Two thoughts come to my mind from this: either they deliberately wanted to “prepare” him for the review board so that pastor would appear abnormal, or their intention was to kill him, as the doctors knew about his prior heart attack and that he must not use these drugs.