The Doors of Opportunity Will Not Stay Open Forever

By Andre Bouravnev, M.Div., ITEM Media Director

It is a delight to know that for the most countries of the former Soviet Union are still open to the Gospel and theological education. ITEM has seen such tremendous growth in its 10+ years of existence and it has sought to make the most of the opportunities to theological education there. We are very thankful to the Lord Jesus Christ for allowing us to be used as a tool for setting up and supporting Christian schools providing sound biblical teaching and finances. It is imperative, however, to recognize that the doors of opportunity most probably will not stay open forever. In fact, in several countries of the former Soviet Union it has already become increasingly more difficult for Christian missions both to work and to proclaim the truth of the Gospel. Be mindful of the events that transpired there in the last decade and how it affects the Church in Russia, Central and Eastern Europe and our ministry.

History Bits
Russia was originally a pagan nation, but adopted Christianity under Prince Vladimir of Kiev in 988. Russia's baptism laid the foundations for the rise of the Russian Orthodox Church. In 1448, the Council of the Russian higher clergy elevated Bishop Iona of Ryazan to the cathedra of the Metropolitan of Moscow and All Russia, independently of Constantinople, making the Russian Orthodox Church autocephalous. Since then the Russian national identity was so deeply rooted in Orthodox Christianity that the Reformation was never able to fully reach and take its root in Russia. The early years of the Soviet regime were particularly trying for the Church in Russia. A decree of 1918 separated the church from the state and school. As a result, all church organizations lost the powers of legal entity and the right to own property. Many church buildings and relics were destroyed. The Church also suffered atheistic infiltration as the newly uncovered KGB archives indicate: many bishops and high church officials were commissioned agents of the state. Sadly, many of them remain in power even today.

In the late 1980s, with attempts launched to restructure the country's economic and political system, major changes were made in the relationship between the state and the Church in the hope of revival. The millennium of Christianity in Russia in 1988 was celebrated on a grand scale. 1,610 new religious communities, most of them of the Orthodox belief, were registered in the country that year.

In 1990, a series of laws were passed on the freedom of religion, under which many of the existing restrictions were removed from religious communities, allowing them to step up their activities.

Today
Religion plays a prominent role in the public and spiritual life of today's Russia. It always has. The culture is permeated with Christian sayings and aphorisms. For example, the word Sunday literally means “Resurrection” and “Thank You” in Russian is derived from an old phrase “May God Save You”. After the fall of Communism the spiritual void in people’s hearts needed to be filled. The social and political conditions, such as collapse of the Communist ideals, newly found freedoms of democracy and globalization, appealing Western lifestyle and ideas, including Western evangelicalism – all contributed to the openness to the Gospel and theological education. Russia was welcoming outsiders who could help them establish churches and teach them theology. Yet this is no longer the case. Socially, Russia has moved further away from the Center of Europe and is now becoming a Moscow-centered system, just like in the imperial czarist Russia. Politically, it has become a power to reckon with again, especially after Sep 11 and the oil crisis, which allowed Russia to gain power and influence it has not had since 1970’s. Religious freedoms have been slowly but steadily restricted for all religious groups, except the Russian Orthodox Church, which is heavily favored by the state. For example, as of September 1, a new subject has been introduced in public schools, the Fundamentals of the Orthodox Culture, often taught by an Orthodox priest, yet Commission and other religious organizations can no longer work in public institutions, including schools, as before. Some members of Russian Duma (Parliament) openly state that “sects are extremist groups which create mechanisms of psychological influence on people.” They say that it is in the interest of national security to make laws stricter in the area of religious and non-profit activity. A recent law now impedes the foreign sponsorship of religious non-profit organizations and church groups. Literally this means that non-profits’ bank accounts are now monitored by the state and must be independent from the Western influence. The work of foreign missionaries is getting more and more difficult. Fewer and fewer are able to get their religious worker visas. Some are being accused of being instigators or spies. Another law of 1997 dictates that a religious organization can legally register only after it has existed for 15 years. In many cases, the local authorities interpret this law in a very particular way that prohibits many legitimate organizations from registering. One prime example is the Salvation Army which is centrally registered with the Russian Federation, and yet in many regions it has not been permitted to function because it is viewed as a para-military organization.

A recent addendum to the law of 1997 would even further restrict religious freedoms and the work of missionaries, if it is signed into law. But even socially, Western-style Christianity has become much less attractive. People are getting tired of easy believism coupled with little follow-up and discipleship. They need someone who is there to stay long haul and invest their lives in the culture. Commitment is the key word here.

Religious groups
The majority of Russia's population has no religious affiliation due to the antireligious ideology of the Soviet Union. The Russian Orthodox Church has about 60 million adherents; the numbers have grown rapidly since the end of Soviet rule. There are also large communities of Old Believers, a group that broke with the Orthodox Church in the 17th cent. Other religions include other Christian churches, various sects of Islam, Lamaist Buddhism, Judaism, and neopaganism.

Partly in reaction to proselytizing by Protestant evangelicals, Mormons, and others, a 1997 Russian law granted superior status to the Russian Orthodox Church (and other older Russian religions). Statistically, the majority of believers belong to the Orthodox Christian denomination. With nearly 5,000 religious associations and over 5,000 churches, the Russian Orthodox Church accounts for over a half of the total number registered in Russia. Next in numbers come Moslem associations, over 1,000, Baptists, 450, Seventh Day Adventists, 120, Evangelicals, 120, Old Believers, over 200, Roman Catholics, 200, Krishnaites, 68, Buddhists, 80, Judaists, 50, and Unified Evangelical Lutherans, 39. Some statisticians estimate the percentage of believers at 40 per cent of the entire Russian Federation. Close to 9,000 communities belonging to over 40 confessions had been officially registered in the country.

The nineteen million Muslims, the second largest religious community in Russia, have over 800 parishes and mosques. Buddhism is widespread in the Far East. The Russian Federation has 42 Jewish communities, with three synagogues in Moscow. The two million Protestants have 1,150 communities; of these about 60% is Charismatic. Around 15,000 religious organizations are currently active in Russia, although only less than two-thirds of them are registered.

Protestants have gained the most churchgoers since the Iron Curtain fell and they remain the most faithful in attendance of all Russian believers.

Religious Freedom
Believers of Christian confessions other than the Russian Orthodox Church are increasingly discriminated against in Russia. There is also an increase in the negative attitude towards Muslims in Russia.

The government earmarks substantial sums to the Russian Orthodox Church while other confessions are denied financial aid. Money to build religious edifices is allocated from the federal and local budgets overwhelmingly to the Russian Orthodox Church. Today we see that the hierarchy of the Russian Orthodox Church drives around in Mercedes and is provided with a federal security service at the expense of taxpayers. According to the constitution, Russia is a secular state, where all religious groups are equal before the law. Yet the rights of religious groups are regularly violated. The authorities frequently create obstacles for many of these groups to rent out or buy premises to practice their faith. Lately, visas have also been denied to an unusually large number of foreign religious representatives. There has been a tendency to forbid joint prayer with foreigners of the same confession. Only in the past few months, many foreign representatives of various confessions have been denied entry in Russia. There is also an emerging sign of growing religious intolerance, Baptist churches and synagogues have been vandalized in Russia in recent years. Hate crimes increased and the country now numbers over 50,000 skinheads.

Open Still
Despite of all these reports and setbacks, Russia is still open to Christianity and theological education. The Russian culture holds education in highest esteem and that is precisely what Reformed faith and the mission of ITEM is about: equipping reliable Christian leaders in sound biblical doctrine – this requires high level of education, theological depth, and long term commitment. It also lays a foundation for the future of the nation because we are investing into the lives of future Christian leaders who will apply it in their lives and will in turn teach others the biblical doctrines of truth.

God is at work in Russia just as He was a thousand years ago. He is involved in the culture with deepest Christian roots. God never fails to be present to His people, with or without our help. Yet, He invites us to join faithfully in His work that will bear its fruit in this generation and in generations to come.

Andre Bouravnev, December 2006

Sources used: Library of Congress Country Studies, Open Book Systems, RussianEmbassy.org, www.christianitytoday.com, Nezavisimaya Gazeta., news.bbc.co.uk: country profiles, washingtonpost.com.