APPEAL
TO PRESIDENT
OF RUSSIAN FEDERATION V.V. PUTIN
Website
of Russian
Union of Evangelical Christians-Baptists, 9 April 2020
V.V.
Putin,
Coronavirus Appeal
Esteemed
Vladimir
Vladimirovich!
In the
name of the
centralized religious organization "Russian Union of Evangelical
Christians-Baptists" (hereafter RSEKhB) I express my concern
about the
fact that against the backdrop of social tension, public
statements of several
officials and journalists are leading to tension within the
nation, inciting
inter-religious strife, and, as a consequence, to attempts to
commit terrorist
acts.
In an
interview on
April 2, 2020, given to news media by the governor of Briansk
oblast, A.V.
Bogomaz, false accusations were expressed against Baptists of
the city of
Briansk that they spread coronavirus infection. These statements
contain
information that does not accord with reality and discredits the
reputation of
our church.
In the
night of 7-8
April, an attempt was made to set fire to the EKhB church in the
city of St. Petersburg
located at No. 27 Bolshaia Ozernaia St.
I
consider that a
mention in news media of the nationality or the religious
affiliation of those
who have had a positive result in the test for the coronavirus
is dangerous and
inadmissible. As a doctor, I know that there is medical
confidence; as a
clergyman I maintain the confidence of the confession, and I
continually work
on creating peace in our society that is filled with
misunderstandings, grief,
disagreements, and conflicts.
Evangelical
Christians-Baptists
have always advocated harmonization and good relations
among various nationalities and confessions.
The
RSEKhB is
extremely concerned about the developing situation. We consider
that in
conditions of the existing difficult social circumstance the
spreading of
inaccurate information arouses hatred and religious intolerance
in society.
We ask
you to
cooperate in the protection of evangelical believers in Russia
and in
preventing incorrect statements in the mass news media.
May the
Lord preserve
you!
With
prayer for the
prosperity and spiritual awakening of Russia
Pastor
Petr
Mitskevich,
President
of the
Union
(tr. by
PDS, posted 9
April 2020)
BAPTISTS
AND
BATHHOUSE ARE TO BLAME: SHARP OUTBREAK OF CORONAVIRUS RECORDED
IN BRIANSK
Obshchestvennaia
Sluzhba
Novostei, 6 April 2020
A sharp
growth in the
number of coronavirus infections has been recorded in Briansk.
In the course of
a few days, SOVID-19 was diagnosed in 60 persons.
According
to
information of the telegram channel Vaza, the "coronation" of
the
city occurred because of a tourist who returned from Spain in
mid-March and
infected a relative. He, in turn, turned out to be friendly with
the pastor of
the local Baptist church.
It was
noted that two
citizens flew in from a European state on 13 March. From the
trip they brought
not only magnets but also the coronavirus.
The
travelers
infected the whole family, a member of which had a long
tradition of visiting
the bathhouse with friends. One day the man invited his friend,
the pastor of
the Baptist church, to "take a bath." It was there, presumably,
the
infection was passed to the spiritual leader of the "Church of
Christians
of Evangelical Faith."
Following
the
clergyman, about fifty of his parishioners were infected, for
whom he prayed
several days later. Before the hospitalization the pastor
managed to travel to
Smolensk, where he also addressed parishioners.
As a
result, as of
today 63 residents of Briansk oblast are in the hospital with
confirmed
SOVID-19. Several of the infected persons have recovered and
others are
continuing in treatment and three persons are in intensive care.
At the
same time,
several dozen more citizens are awaiting results of testing
directly in medical
institutions, where all of those infected are located. (tr. by
PDS, posted 9
April 2020)
DECLARATION
OF SENIOR
PRESBYTER OF RSEKhB IN BRIANSK OBLAST, E.I. VORONIN
Website
of Russian
Union of Evangelical-Christians Baptists, 8 April 2020
E.I.
Voronin,
Coronavirus Refutation of News Media
In
recent days,
unreliable information has been circulated in news media,
including central
television channels, to the effect that Baptists in Briansk
supposedly have
been spreaders of coronavirus infection.
With
regard to this
information, as things stand as of 8 April 2020, in Briansk
oblast not a single
member of the church of Evangelical Christians-Baptists has a
confirmed
diagnosis of SOVID-19.
E.I.
Voronin,
Senior
presbyter of
RSEKhB for Briansk oblast
(tr. by
PDS, posted 9
April 2020)
AMATEUR
ARSONIST AND
SEGMENT ON CHANNEL ONE
Petersburg
Baptists
questioning who tried to set fire to their church and why
The
Association of
Churches of Evangelical Christians-Baptists of St. Petersburg
and Leningrad
Oblast published a video of an attempt to set fire to the church
on Bolshaia
Ozernaia in St. Petersburg. At the same time, they sent to
authorities of the
northern capital an appeal requesting an investigation of the
situation that
led to the attempt.
The
appeal, which the
editorial office of Fontanka received on 8 April, says that
after a session of
the operational staff for combating the spread of coronavirus,
which was held
on 17 March, all services in the central church of Evangelical
Christians-Baptists have been broadcast online since 22 March.
The
report says that
on 7 April, on the First Channel, a segment was released in
which, in the
opinion of representatives of the church, the spread of SOVID in
the region is
connected with the flock of the Briansk Baptist church.
And in
the night of 7
to 8 April, an attempt to set fire to the church in Petersburg
was carried out.
In the
video
recording it is seen that around 5 in the morning a man
approached the fence of
the church. He takes something out of a backpack. Then he begins
to set fire to
it and a flash occurs. The man rushes around and tries to throw
a burning cylinder
through a window of the church. After this he runs off.
As a
result of the
action a window of the building was broken. But the burning
cylinder did not
penetrate the building.
St.
Petersburg police
are conducting an inquiry into the arson attempt and are
searching for the
arsonist. (tr. by PDS, posted 9 April 2020)
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