wfn.org | Belarus: Adventist Publishing and Education Breakthroughs

[Christian B. Schäffler (APD Schweiz)]

May 15, 2005
Adventist Press Service (APD)
Christian B. Schaeffler, Editor-in-chief APD
Fax +41-61-261 61 18
APD@stanet.ch
http://www.stanet.ch/APD
CH-4003 Basel, Schweiz

Belarus: Adventist Publishing and Education Breakthroughs

Minsk/Belarus.	   Considered a breakthrough for a protestant mainstream 
church, the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Belarus just released the 
first edition of a church magazine for public distribution. 

Adventists in Belarus have "lately experienced a number of achievements," 
said Valery Ivanov, communication director of the church in the Euro-Asia 
region. 

The Belarus minister of information signed the registration agreement for 
an Adventist missionary magazine, The Christian Family. It is anticipated 
that the magazine will be published four times a year, and its content 
will include articles about children, the Christian family, health, 
church doctrines and about Christianity in general. 

"We believe and hope that in our society this magazine will be a 
lighthouse for those who look for the light in this world, the good and 
who is looking for God," said Vassili Lozhechnik, secretary of the 
Adventist church in Belarus. He added that the magazine will be 
distributed through subscriptions, in book centers, as well as by 
literature evangelists. The Christian Family will be published in two 
languages, Russian and Belarusian, with an international 
territory of distribution. 

Earlier, on in February, the church in Belarus had another major 
breakthrough when the Adventist Theological Institute in Minsk, 
officially received a certificate of registration. 

The registration offers new opportunities for the Adventist faith 
community in Belarus, especially in the development of education for 
Adventists by the Church, said Moses I. Ostrovsky, president of the 
Adventist church in Belarus. 

There are 88 Adventist congregations in Belarus, and 5,041 baptized 
adult church members. A March 2005 report indicated 241 newly baptized 
members of the church. [Editor: Helen Zhadan for ANN/APD]