wfn.org | Russia: Adventist Church and Religious Freedom

["Christian B. Schäffler" <APD_Info_Schweiz@compuserve.com>]

April 3, 1999
Adventist Press Service (APD)
Christian B. Schaeffler, Editor-in-chief
Fax +41-61-261 61 18
APD@stanet.ch
http://www.stanet.ch/APD
CH-4003 Basel, Switzerland

Russia: Adventist Church on the Frontier of 
Religious Freedom

Moscow, Russia - Speaking at a conference of the 
International Religious Liberty Association (IRLA) 
in Moscow March 23-24, John Graz, religious 
liberty director for the Adventist World Church 
identified the vital importance of religious 
liberty, especially in the context of the Russian 
experience.

 "The Seventh-day Adventist Church supports 
religious freedom as a primary right, and urges 
all bodies to recognise and affirm that right," 
said Graz.

More than 100 representatives of different 
religious confessions met at the Russian Academy 
together with lawyers and representatives from the 
Duma (Russian Parliament) to discuss the problems 
of religious freedom in the multinational and 
poly-confessional Russian society. The topic: 
"Facing the Third Millennium: Religious Liberty in 
a Pluralistic Society."

According to figures released at the conference, 
16,000 religious units belonging to 60 
confessional organisations are registered in 
Russia.

"If we consider this and also the fact that Russia 
was developing in conditions of totalitarianism 
for a long time (not only the last 70 years), if 
we bear in mind the imperfection of the law about 
religious organisations from 1997, then it becomes 
clear what a big responsibility lies on the 
International Religious Liberty Association 
(IRLA), in changing public perceptions of 
religious freedom in Russian society," comments 
Bogdan Kachmar, communication director for the 
Adventist Church in Russia.

During discussion at the conference, the challenge 
of the restrictive law in Russia was debated, 
along with its varied practical implementation in 
local districts. According to one report, "most of 
the offences (religious liberty violations) took 
place because of lack of information about the law 
and religious organisations."

"What happens here in Russia has an influence on 
all the former republics of the Soviet Union," 
commented Victor Krushenitsky, religious liberty 
director for the Adventist Church in Russia. "We 
have an important role to play in the development 
of religious liberty in the territory of the 
former USSR."

In a formal appeal voted by the conference, 
delegates called for leaders and members of 
religious organisations in Russia to support UN 
and UNESCO decisions proclaiming the year 2000 as 
an International Year of Peace Culture, turning 
the following decade into the Decade of Peace 
Culture and Non-violence.

"It is necessary to educate believers in the 
spirit of ideals of mutual understanding, 
tolerance and solidarity between people of 
different nationalities and beliefs; to assist the 
creation and functioning in different parts of the 
country centres of peace culture; to counteract 
decisively the attempts of involvement of 
religious organisations in a political struggle;  
to take an active part in the regulation and 
prevention of conflicts," the statement concluded. 
[99/09/03]