Russian authorities in an occupied area of Ukraine ordered a Protestant pastor to leave, even though he has lived all of his 66 years there.
Forum 18 News Service reported that officials from Russia’s Migration Services told Vladimir Rytikov on March 21 that he was being expelled from the occupied Luhansk region in Ukraine. They said if he did not leave within 15 days, he would be deported.
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Though his residence permit has been nullified, his wife’s was not.
He told Forum 18 that, after praying about it, he decided to stay.
‘Illegal missionary activity’
Rytikov has been the pastor of a Council of Churches Baptist congregation in Krasnodon for 30 years.
“Council of Churches Baptist congregations choose not to seek official registration in any country where they operate,” explains Forum 18. Russian authorities, therefore, consider the churches’ activities illegal.
“Courts have repeatedly fined [Rytikov] for ‘illegal missionary activity’ for leading the unregistered congregation,” Forum 18 says.
The news service says Russian authorities have taken action recently against other Council of Churches Baptist congregations — raiding one in Slavyanoserbsk, fining pastors of congregations in Krasny Luch and Khartsyzk and escalating a case against a pastor in Mariupol.
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