This edition of A Public Witness looks at the troubling entanglement between the Russian government and the Russian Orthodox Church. For U.S Christians, this close association is a cautionary tale about the dangers of Christian Nationalism for both democracy and the vitality of our Christian witness.
More than a dozen faith leaders offered prayers for a peaceful resolution to the escalating conflict between Russia and Ukraine during an online vigil Wednesday hosted by the Episcopal Church and the Friends Committee on National Legislation.
Religious leaders and members of the Ukrainian diaspora in the United States are growing increasingly concerned over the threat of a dramatic escalation of the nearly decade-old conflict and have stepped up efforts to show support for family members and their Eastern European homeland.
We highlight the spiritual, physical, and legal trials facing minority religious groups in both Russia and Russian-controlled parts of eastern Ukraine. We then urge politicians, pundits, and preachers to recognize the extent of the Russian threat as Putin’s troops amass on Ukraine’s borders.
Baptists in Western Ukraine have made plans to shelter fellow believers in the case of a Russian invasion at Ukraine’s eastern border, a Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary graduate who now leads a Baptist seminary in Ukraine told Baptist Press.
The U.S. State Department has added Russia to its list of nations it considers among the world’s most egregious violators of religious freedom. Russia joins Myanmar, China, Eritrea, Iran, North Korea, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan on the list of “countries of particular concern.”
In light of a buildup of Russian troops on the Ukrainian border, Baptists in Ukraine called on Christians around the world to pray for peace in their nation. Read full piece
A female Jehovah’s Witness has been sentenced to two years in a Russian prison for practicing her faith, marking the first time the country has imprisoned a woman since a 2017 ruling that declared the faith group “extremist.” Valentina Baranovskaya, 69, was sentenced Wednesday along with
The secretary-general of the Russian bishops’ conference defended his church’s right to speak out during police repression, as the country’s Catholic archbishop demanded “substantial, concrete answers” to societal problems that are the subject of current massive protests. Read full piece
Catholic Church officials in Russia criticized planned religious law changes that will require all clergy who studied abroad to retrain in a Russian college. Read full piece