Ukrainian church leaders called on the global Christian community to show solidarity with the people of Ukraine at an April 28 consultation in London.
Sixty delegates from faith-based and humanitarian agencies in Ukraine, Russia, the United Kingdom and across Europe grappled with questions about how the Church should respond to ongoing conflict being viewed by some as a holy war, according to BMS World Mission, which was founded in 1792 by Baptists in England and today is closely tied to the Baptist Union of Great Britain.
The delegates adopted the London Consultation Resolution on Ukraine which described “serious challenges in areas of religious freedom, human rights and religious diversity” in Crimea and parts of eastern Ukraine occupied by pro-Russian separatists.
‘Monopolizing ideology’
The religious leaders are concerned that a “pan-Slavic Orthodoxy” ideal of restoring the so-called “Russian world” to the center of Eastern Orthodoxy prior to Communism “is now monopolizing ideology and practice in these regions.”
“Orthodox confessions that are not affiliated with the Moscow Patriarchate face the constant threat of discrimination and persecution,” the resolution said. “Catholics, Protestants and other religious minorities are likewise suffering violent persecution and are in need of our solidarity and advocacy.”
Tony Peck, general secretary of the European Baptist Federation (EBF), toured eastern Ukraine in April with Ukrainian Baptist leaders. While the EBF delegation did not enter the areas occupied by pro-Russian separatists, Peck said, they met with pastors from the region who traveled up to nine hours to get to a meeting after being turned back at several checkpoints.
Nearly all the pastors reported that their churches opened doors to people displaced by the conflict. While some were initially reluctant, Peck said, attitudes changed — and so did churches.
“I reflect especially on the strained relations between Russian and Ukrainian Baptists at the present time and what we can do as the EBF to provide a space for a coming together and, ultimately, healing and reconciliation,” Peck said.
The resolution encouraged the global Christian community to respond to appeals for humanitarian assistance and urged relevant agencies “to collaborate more closely with the Church in Ukraine at the grassroots level to enhance the carrying out of relief efforts.”
Delegates appealed to Christians worldwide “to demonstrate solidarity with the Ukrainian people, particularly with Christians who are suffering persecution in the occupied territories of southern and eastern Ukraine” and committed to “the development of formal and informal partnerships that will advocate for religious freedom and social justice in Ukraine through international networking and the sharing of resources.”
(BNG)
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