March 6, 2007
Dear Friends in Christ,
“What changes have you observed since your first visit
to Russia in 1999?” a fellow elder asked me after my recent
trip to Russia and Ukraine. Like many Christians in America, my
friend had heard news of the steady movement away from the democratic
reforms introduced in the 1990s. Beyond his stated question were
the implied questions of “What’s really happening
in Russia?” and “How goes the renewal of the church?”
The Economy
Moscow and St. Petersburg are awash in wealth generated by the
international sale of oil and gas. The signs are everywhere: fleets
of black, window-tinted American SUVs and Mercedes carrying their
occupants about the cities; the construction of countless upscale
apartment buildings.
There is a “trickle down” affect in the Russian economy,
at least in the major population centers. A middle class is reemerging
after the economic collapse of 1998. The seven IKEA stores in
five cities are jammed with shoppers purchasing furniture and
household products. The 103 McDonald’s spread across the
country are a sign of increased disposable income.
Most rural communities and small cities are seemingly untouched
by the concentration of economic power in Moscow and St. Petersburg.
Young people seek jobs elsewhere. The old stay near the land.
The roads, apartment buildings, and municipal facilities continue
to deteriorate. Were it not for electric lines and an occasional
automobile, the villages look identical to photographs of the
late 1800s.
Population
Russia’s population decreases each year by over 500,000
people. It is the only “developed” nation with such
a dramatic decline. Today’s 143 million persons may dip
to 125 million by 2050. The compound affects of alcoholism, drug
abuse, stress in daily life, declining health care, abortion as
the birth control method of choice, the world’s highest
rate of increase of HIV/AIDS, and environmental degradation all
combine to shrink the population.
All across Russia, churches once used by the communists as warehouses,
factories, or clinics are being refurbished as houses of worship.
The Church
The church stands against these maladies of secular life. Particularly
strong in their resistance are our Baptist, Orthodox, and Lutheran
partners. During eight years of visits, I have seen churches and
congregations move into whole new realms of outreach and activity.
In 1999, eight years after the collapse of the Soviet Union,
our partners were still struggling with basic survival questions:
Could they legally register to meet the letter of a 1997 law?
Could they establish effective seminaries and training programs
to equip congregations and parishes? How were they called to counter
the social problems plaguing the nation?
The Hope
Since my first visit I’ve thought that the hope for Russia
is in the renewing churches of Jesus Christ.
Across the nation, our partners continue to refurbish old church
buildings and build new ones. The process is agonizingly slow,
but the physical renewal of houses of worship continues. Unlike
our American model of a capital campaign and a secured loan from
a local bank resulting in a remodel or new building in six to
18 months, Russian churches save a little, buy a few materials,
labor in the short summer inching buildings skyward, then protect
the site against the snows of winter and the mud of spring. Annually,
I see rows of red brick on a new Christian education building
in Klin, Russia, move higher. From start to finish, the project
could take 10-15 years, but once completed it will be used to
the glory of God for centuries!
Seminary education is adapting to new realities as well. Godeke
von Bremen, the rector of the Lutheran seminary in St. Petersburg,
described the ongoing extension program: Twice a year, 30 students
from across Russia and former Soviet republics come for two weeks
of intensive study. Pastors and lay leaders engage in focused
Bible study, lively conversations, and interaction with faculty.
These Christian leaders return to their congregations better prepared
to preach the word and lead into the future.
Social ministries
Likewise, Father Boris Balishov in Klin proudly lifted up the
example of Deacon Yevgeny’s new seminary curriculum. Yevgeny,
like many priests-in-training, now combines social-work training
with classical theological education. This format, new to Russia,
better equips these future leaders to meet a full range of spiritual
and social needs of their congregations.
With questions of the basic survival of the church answered,
our partners are actively testing new models of social ministry.
Pastor Peter Mitskevich of Golgotha Church in Moscow and vice
president of the Baptist Union asks the question “How did
you Presbyterians first start hospitals in so many cities in America?”
Such a question about future outreach by his denomination in Russia
was unthinkable a decade ago. Father Mefodii, abbot of a small
monastery on the banks of the Volga River, leads other monks in
a drug rehabilitation center for addicts seeking to change lives.
Using a model of spiritual reflection, film therapy (viewing movies
and discussing the Christian responses to crisis), and counseling,
young men are preparing to take up productive lives, perhaps for
the first time.
What changes have I seen? More than I could ever recount in a
newsletter. Please know that the mission co-workers of the Presbyterian
Church (U.S.A.) continue “to come alongside” our partners
in Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, and Poland as the church renews itself
from the destruction of communist rule. They serve you; they serve
our partners; and, they serve the Lord. It is great joy to be
about such service!
Yours in Christ,
Gary Payton
Regional Liaison for Russia, Belarus, Ukraine and Poland
The 2007 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p.187
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