| | | Russia persecutes Baptists and other evangelicals:
NCMountainGirl
Does the average American evangelical understand that if a person in Russia approached a neighbor or coworker and asked if Jesus Christ is their personal savior, they could end up in a gulag? Only Russian Orthodox priests can talk about religion in public, and then only when it serves the interests of the political state.
Baptists and other religious minorities already facing severe persecution in Russian-occupied portions of Ukraine
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“Since 2014, the situation facing that of religious minorities, including Baptists in the occupied territories, has been horrific. In the last few years, the Baptist hymnal was outlawed as extremist material. Baptist churches in the occupied territories were outlawed and were declared to be ‘a terrorist organization,’ as was the Baptist Union of Ukraine. We’ve heard from pastors in those already occupied territories who were beaten and abused. I remember the pastor who told me when I visited that ‘the persecution we are facing today is worse than anything we lived through during the time of communism.’”
Baptists also have found themselves in the crosshairs not only due to their minority religious status, but because they routinely risk their own safety to help fellow war victims.
With about 2,100 congregations, Ukraine has the second largest Baptist community in Europe. Throughout the war, those Christians have stepped up to do whatever their situation called for, Brown said. “It is humbling how many Baptist pastors and church leaders have chosen to stay and to serve.”
He told about a Baptist pastor captured by Russian troops as he attempted to deliver food to beleaguered neighbors. In another incident, five Baptist leaders were killed when their car was struck by a bomb as they traveled to help others in need.
“All six Baptist churches in Mariupol have been destroyed,” he continued. “Prior to their destruction, these churches were serving as sanctuaries for those whose homes had been destroyed. One Baptist leader from Mariupol said, ‘I beg you, pray for us.’”
Baptists in neighboring countries like Hungary, Poland and Romania have shown the same willingness to provide funds, food, church spaces and their homes to help refugees, Brown reported.
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Baptists and other religious minorities already facing severe persecution in Russian-occupied portions of Ukraine – Baptist News Global
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