The courageous witness of evangelical pastors

Not only are ordinary Russian Orthodox priests protesting Putin's war, but so are many evangelical pastors across the country who have signed an open letter condemning the invasion: Hundreds of Russian Pastors Oppose War in Ukraine. An excerpt:

The open letter is available on the website of Mirt Publishing House, a small evangelical publisher in St. Petersburg, and is signed by mostly Russian Baptists and Pentecostals affiliated with churches or seminaries in Moscow, St. Petersburg, and more than 40 other cities.

“This is an extraordinarily courageous step compared to evangelical timidity previously under Putin,” said Mark Elliott, editor emeritus of East-West Church Report, a journal focused on explaining Eurasian Christianity to Christians in the West for 29 years. “I am amazed and heartened that these brave people are defending Ukraine. They will suffer for this unless Putin is dethroned. Lord have mercy.”

“The letter is not a typical reaction by Russian Protestants. Staying away from politics has been their primary stance for decades,” said Andrey Shirin, a Russia-born Baptist seminary professor in Virginia. “They have been routinely accused by Soviet authorities of being anti-government. In response, they said they were believers, not politicians.

“Many Russian Protestants are maintaining this stance in the current conflict,” he said. “But some desire greater social involvement, and the tragedy developing in Ukraine has struck a raw nerve.”

One cannot help recalling the Barmen Declaration of 1934 drafted by a group of Confessing Church pastors and theologians in Germany after Hitler had come to power. Let us pray for the safety of these Russians who are risking all for the sake of justice and do what we can to help those caught up in this war.