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At a meeting in Moscow on 23 February, Alexei Vasilevich Smirnov was elected Secretary and head of the “Public Council”. Though Smirnov is a pastor in a congregation belonging to the “Association of Brethren Congregations” in Dedovsk near Moscow, he has also served as Director of the “Russian Union of Evangelical Christians-Baptists’” Pastors Department since 2006. |
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In the Western Russian city of Smolensk, forces allied with the powers ruling in Russia have discovered a new means of eliminating formidable opposition candidates: simply label them Baptists. A fake newspaper using the logo of the evangelical, once-Baptist periodical “Protestant” and featuring mismatched names and faces surfaced in the city in mid-February. |
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After a break of nearly a year, the Russian Union of Evangelical Christians-Baptists Moscow offices are back on the road again with a motorised, missionary expedition. A 10.000-kilometre-expedition entitled “Many-Coloured Russia” departed from Moscow on 12 February headed for Kyzyl in central Siberia just north of Western Mongolia. |
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European Baptist and Orthodox scholars convened Feb. 8-11 in talks aimed to promote understanding between two Christian groups often at odds over issues like proselytizing and the separation of church and state. |
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“Christians should not settle their problems with each other in court.” Quoting from Matthew 7:1, Nikon, the Orthodox Bishop of Lipetsk and Yelets added: “Judge not, that ye be not judged.” The occasion was the first visit of an official delegation of the Russian Union of Evangelical Christians-Baptists to the Bishop in Lipetsk on 9 February. |
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Russian minority churches have voiced cautious optimism about their prospects under the country's new Orthodox patriarch, Kirill I, after messages of welcome from church leaders worldwide following his installation on Feb. 1. |
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