CELEBRATING BAPTIST 400 IN UKRAINE
By Tony Peck

A spectacular celebration of 400 years of Baptist life was held in Kiev, Ukraine, on Sunday, August 30. Nearly
4,000 Ukrainian Baptists were joined by 250 delegates from more than 20 Slavic Baptist unions.
A three-hour program reviewed the history of Baptists in general and Slavic Baptists in particular and was
punctuated with testimonies, drama, video and superb music by a combined choir and orchestra.
Greetings from the world Baptist family were brought by Tony Peck, Baptist World Alliance (BWA) Regional
Secretary for Europe, and European Baptist Federation (EBF) General Secretary. Representatives of other
Christian traditions in Ukraine were also present.
The well-known evangelist Victor Gamm gave the challenge for the future, and the handing on of the Baptist
tradition was symbolized by the passing of a Bible and a communion cup from older to younger leaders. The
director of the event was Pavel Urguryan, lawyer, member of the Ukrainian Parliament, and a key younger Baptist
leader in the region.
The celebration was preceded by a three-day conference, from August 27-29, for the delegates from the
Slavic unions in Europe, Central Asia, the USA and Australia. Different aspects of Baptist identity were explored,
with particular reference to how they had developed in the Slavic context. A speech was given on the current
religious freedom situation in Ukraine by the First Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine, Alexander Turchinov, who is
a member of one of the Kiev Baptist churches where he preaches regularly.
In a speech given at the conference, Peck spoke about the roots of the Baptist concern for freedom of
conscience in Scripture and early Baptist writings. Peck applied this to several areas of Baptist life today including
evangelism, which should be carried out in a way that respects the individual conscience, and religious freedom
and human rights, to which Baptists should commit themselves, even for the freedom of those with whom they
disagree.
Peck also highlighted the relationship of church and state, which had been a critical issue during the days of
Soviet communism, when obedience to the government as advocated by the Apostle Paul in Romans 13 had to
be balanced by Peter’s words founded in Acts 5, “We must obey God rather than men.” Finally, Peck asserted
that Baptists need to allow and encourage freedom of conscience among themselves, and not separate from one
another on matters that are not central to the Gospel and to Baptist identity.
In celebrating this historic Baptist concern for freedom of conscience and religious liberty, the conference was
very concerned to hear about those places in the region where these freedoms were denied. In particular, prayer
was offered for the leaders of the Baptist union in Uzbekistan, where there is a deteriorating situation regarding
religious freedom.
It is not often practically possible for these Slavic unions to meet together, so the events in Kiev were a great
means of encouragement, especially to some of the smaller Baptist unions. It was also a worthy continuation
of the BWA and EBF celebrations of 400 years of Baptist life in Amsterdam and Ede, Netherlands, held a few
weeks earlier.
Slava Bogu! (Praise God!)
(Tony Peck is BWA regional secretary for Europe and general secretary for the European Baptist
Federation.)

PHOTOS: Tony Peck with interpreter Rostyslav Semikov of Ukraine;
4,000 Ukrainian Baptists joined with delegates from more than 20 Slavic Baptist unions for a Spectacular
Celebration

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