Grigori Komendant
The Coming of Freedom The period of religious freedom in post-Soviet countries was inconsistent in that many opportunities were far from successfully implemented. Freedom came as an unexpected gift, and we were not able to fully manage it. Ukraine still enjoys a unique level of religious freedom. It is another matter that this is not perceived by everyone as a treasure that must be protected. Additionally, we do not always understand how to make use of the opportunities presented by freedom.
Missionary activity has become the primary activity engaged in by the church in conditions of freedom. In 1988, profound changes took place. Before then, everything was predictable and formulaic. I remember when the possibility of a visit by Billy Graham was discussed in the Council for Religious Affairs. At that time one of the generals said: “Hair will grow in the palms of my hands before this Billy Graham comes to the USSR.” And then in 1988, at the invitation of the Russian Orthodox Church, Billy Graham traveled here for the millennial anniversary of the Baptism of Russia. As Gorbachev grew stronger and perestroika gained momentum, unprecedented opportunities opened up.
No one knew in what direction things would develop. I remember one meeting with Gorbachev at the beginning of 1991. He asked, “Will the USSR continue to exist, or won’t it?” He then talked about his family, how his father was an atheist and his mother was of Molokan descent; how in his house an icon with a Ukrainian rushnyk (an embroidered, ritual cloth) hung on the wall between the classics of Marxism. Unexpectedly for everybody, I said, “So it was, Christ was crucified between thieves.” The silence lasted for two minutes; no one knew what to say. After this meeting, one of Gorbachev’s aides approached me to make my acquaintance and said, “Grigori Ivanovich, I already know you from Ukraine. It was my job to watch your activities.” Afterwards, this man helped me organize the Billy Graham Crusade. Such were the heady changes that came to us. Back in February 1991, Gorbachev asked if the Soviet Union would or would not exist, and in August it was all decided – there was the hard-liner Communist coup that failed. We could see on television the trembling of the drunken organizers of the abortive putsch.
The National Question
The disintegration of the USSR put before the leadership of Evangelical Christians-Baptists the question of the need to divide the all-union structure into national associations. Prior to this, our church was, in a sense, Soviet, that is, it encompassed all the republics. The end of the USSR exacerbated the national question. But to this day our churches have not yet fully acquired a national character, and this limits their role in the formation of national statehood, civil society, and culture. After the collapse of the USSR, we implemented a difficult decision – we set up independent national alliances of churches and a Eurasian federation of unions. Many were not ready for this, but the time was ripe. The older generation did not accept these changes. They were even less able to comprehend the concept of the mission. Why? We have the church, and this is enough. Everyone was accustomed to the church living its inner life.
At this time, international missions were beginning their work, such as Slavic Gospel Association (SGA), and then Peter Deyneka Russian Ministries [now Mission Eurasia]. Churches that began cooperation with the missions began to develop rapidly. Partnerships produced good results. I remember the ministry of Peter Deyneka, Jr.: He collaborated with everyone. I won’t forget how he stepped out from behind the pulpit in really muddy shoes, having just returned from a mission trip that was, apparently, somewhere in the woods. People were very open, the so-called spiritual vacuum tormented them, people flocked to repentance, and they reached for the Bible. Unfortunately, today, 20 years later it is as if we have come full circle. A kind of nostalgia is emerging for the USSR, and a return to ideas and methods with a Soviet flavor. Collectively, we could not see the matter through. Each of us became lost in our own affairs and dispersed our strength on petty matters. Society was not changed because no unifying goal existed.
Russia and Ukraine In the light of prophecies of the Bible, Russia will play a negative role in global politics, and the other post-Soviet countries will be led by it. I cannot foresee that Russia will let go of Ukraine. Russia will remain a world power, and Ukraine will remain transitional and problematic. We must defend Ukraine, but Russia will not willingly let go of her. And this is the political posture of Putin.
And what, given this situation of enforced dependence on Russia, can Ukrainian Christians do? We should be strong and active; we should do everything in our power. One of the problems of our Russian brothers is weak mobilization, the weakness of the church. We know how much ministry effort was invested in Russia. And the results are negligible. Ukrainian evangelical churches are the most powerful, not only in comparison with Russia, but also with Europe. Hundreds of our missionaries are in Russia, Portugal, Italy, Spain, Greece. Ukraine is a donor country. Even in Soviet times, many state leaders and church leader were from Ukraine. Ukraine has a strong base in its western regions where the church retained its spirit.
“It is Not Possible for Us to Stay in a Cave”
In other words, the influence of Ukrainian Christianity can be manifested through a strong church and its active mission, including within Russia. Indeed, the impact of our missionaries is changing Russian Christianity by its good example, and is spurring it to activity. And yet, why, given such great potential, has so little change been implemented in the surrounding post-Soviet society? I believe a role has been played by negative influence from the West. The West overestimated us and overrated us. Yes, we endured a lot in Soviet times, toughed it out, survived. But in recent times we have seen little progress, and few outstanding leaders have emerged. We need a reassessment of ourselves, selfcriticism. We have falsely idealized ourselves. We need to soberly assess things. When performance is overrated somewhere, then later it backfires.
I will say this: We should not be afraid to harness youthful vigor. Over the past years we have let a lot slip away. I remember how we formed the Creative Council in our Evangelical Christian-Baptist Church, and how young people brought their ideas there, their energy. Now barriers have gone up and little understanding exists between the young and the old. We have thus far been unable to realize the potential of our churches, our missionary movements, and our young leaders to realize a great social transformation.
I recently met with all the former presidents of Ukraine. The first of them, President Kravchuk, said, “What do we do?” I replied, “We must all, without exception, repent.” The earth trembles under our feet. All our castles, riches, and we ourselves are negligible. The church’s task is to remind us about what is most important: the eternal and the spiritual. We should remind politicians that all empires have fallen; all emperors have perished. Sooner or later, everything ends. It is worth remembering the eternal. The church’s task is to reveal the role of eternal truths and spiritual values for all of society, including politicians, businessmen, and bureaucrats. And we are doing this, but more often in our church circles, while we need to be speaking more on a public and even global scale. Today, the church cannot again close in on itself, as we did 50 years ago when we would congregate, pray, and disperse. It is not possible for us to stay in a cave.
How can we help our people? How can we exert influence over the authorities? I am very interested in hearing the thoughts of Yuri Sipko, under whom the Evangelical Christians-Baptists of Russia actually ceased to support a relationship with the authorities. We cannot change the situation dramatically, but we can continually exert influence. Even our mere presence changes the situation.
Neutrality: Not an Option Some evangelical leaders speak of neutrality as the only true social position. Neutrality is permissible for personal emotions, but not for principles. We cannot be neutral because we cannot say that black is white. It is very important to be true to oneself. In the early 1990s I suffered from aggravated asthma. I often flew from Moscow to Crimea to regain my health. In those years many opportunities came my way to engage in politics and business, and it would have been possible to discredit myself and the Gospel. However, God with the help of illness put me aside and spared me mistakes. Last year, my illness again gained strength. Only now am I coming back to life, it would seem for some new purpose. Thus, God saves us so that we do not cause harm through our activities.
It seems to me that evangelical churches have put all their activities into evangelistic missions, but do little for the transformation of society, culture, politics, and socio-economic relations. We have a catastrophic deficit of leaders. In this respect, the Eastern-Rite Catholics have overtaken us. They have managed to establish high-quality training of personnel. The difference is immediately evident. I am sorry that even our successful Christian politicians have become somewhat confused. They have engaged themselves in major politics, but do not know what to do, how to manage these opportunities. Materialism has captured the church and instead of seizing the opportunity for Christian influence, Christians have turned into competitors in business and politics. I appeal to our American brothers and to the international Christian community and ask for your prayers and support for Ukrainian churches and missionaries. I also ask for God’s mercy for the people of Ukraine in these days of civil strife.
Edited excerpts published with permission from an address presented at a U.S. Congress Briefing on Religious Freedom Issues in the Former Soviet Union/Eurasia, Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, DC, 5 February 2014.
Grigori Komendant is president of the Ukrainian Bible Society and a member of the All-Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations. He formerly served as general secretary of the Moscow-based All-Union Council of Evangelical Christians-Baptists (1990-1994), president of the Ukrainian Union of Churches of Evangelical Christians-Baptists (1994-2006), president of the European Baptist Federation (2001-2003), and vice-president of the Baptist World Alliance (1995- 2000).