Britannia Radio

	Steel On Steel Persecution Update  February 15, 2010           Edited by:  Donald McElvaney, www.missionbarnabas.org Evangelical Christians at risk from Russian government From: Mission Network News - 2/2/2010 Russia (MNN) ―  Evangelical Christians may be at risk in Russia as Orthodoxy gains more and more  governmental  favor.  The Liberty of Conscience Institute recently discovered that the Russian government is cozying  up to the Russian Orthodox Church in ways that may inhibit religious freedoms.  Joel Griffith of Slavic Gospel Association says there is reason to be concerned.  "Russia's president taken the initiative to permanently assign orthodox priest army units, and  they're  also wanting to introduce  religious education classes at state schools."  The more power the Orthodox Church gains, the more risk there will be to the religious  freedoms  of all minority religions, no  less evangelical Christianity. Griffith says history proves that  evangelical Christians may well be targeted if such legislation is  passed.  A sizeable evangelical movement would well be viewed as an encroachment on Orthodox  territory, and would consequently not be taken lightly.  If this is the case, evangelical movement could be very much hindered in Russia.  As it now stands, some evangelical churches experience virtually no opposition at all from  the government, while others experience a great deal. If a national legislation should pass,  opposition will likely extend to every evangelical church.  "If this becomes a policy of the national government to freeze out evangelicals, obviously  that's  going to have a pretty big  impact not only on freedom of worship," cautions Griffith,  "but also on the proclamation of the Gospel."  Fortunately, in order for any such government-orthodox partnership to be enforced via the  military and education, it would have to pass through a significant number of hoops.  As it stands, this sort of breach on the separation  of church and state goes  directly against  the Russian constitution, not to mention Western ideals.  "The West is concerned with human rights and the freedom of conscience and the freedom  of worship," notes Griffith. "And  officially under the constitution, there's supposed to be  freedom of religion and freedom of  worship in Russia. So any moves  to do this certainly fly  in the  face of what the Russian constitution would say."  Unfortunately, many Russians consider Orthodoxy as a given. Historically, the Orthodox  Church has, more often than not, been considered an arm of the Russian government.   Pray that the obvious infringement of  government policy on the basis of  the constitution  would be enough to stop Orthodox alliances with the Russian government from being nationally  enforced. Slavic Gospel Association helps equip churches in Russia with training and materials to  prepare them for every situation as evangelicals. (To learn more or to help financially, visit the  SGA website.) Above all, intercession through prayer is needed for our Russian brothers and  sisters.  Mission Network News   Slavic Gospel Association:  Website: www.sga.org Email: info@sga.org Address: Slavic Gospel Association 6151 Commonwealth Drive Loves Park, IL 61111 Telephone: 800-BIBLE-50 (800-242-5350)