Page 6 - Voice of the Persecuted Christians Jan-Mar-2024-125

Pastor Dmitry, who faced interrogation at the hands
of Russian invaders displaying the same mindset
as their communist forebears, was forced to escape
Ukraine but continues to minister to underground
believers there. Kenneth Harrod heard him share his
inspirational story
Church leader Dmitry is
familiar with fleeing from
Russian persecution of
Christians. During the course
of his life it has happened not once,
not twice – but on three occasions.
The first of these was as a young man,
when his family fled from the former
Soviet Union. Years later, as a pastor,
he was forced to leave the Crimea
HELPING
CHRISTIANS
IN FLIGHT
‘We hate Americans,
evangelicals and Nazis
– and you are all three!’
that there is no value in human life: it’s
all about the country. Humans are just
instruments to build something great.
Evangelical theology is different: it’s
about human life because Jesus died
for you and me; not for a building or
an organisation. He’s not building a
structure. He came to save people.
‘Everywhere where communists are
there is always a problem for the
evangelical church,’ he said. ‘They
always want to take the Word of God
from you. They want to control, even
though they try to be your friend and
convince you they care for you.’
Dmitry describes himself as a fifth-
generation Christian. His great-
grandfather played a leading role
6
when the Russians took over that
part of Ukraine. Last year it happened
again, when the Russian invasion of
Ukraine saw him once again suffering
for his evangelical faith.
Although the communist regime of
the old Soviet Union collapsed in the
early 1990s, Dmitry sees the same
mindset among the Russian invaders
today. ‘In communism the mindset is