Page 7 - Voice of the Persecuted Christians Jan-Mar-2024-125

Christian books by hand. Getting a
Bible was difficult – and dangerous.
‘They [the communists] didn’t want us
to read the Bible, because the Bible can
change your life. They were afraid of
this,’ he said.
Dmitry’s father was interrogated by
the KGB on a number of occasions,
because of his Christian faith.
Eventually the family fled from the
USSR as religious refugees in 1989
and ended up in the United States.
The family had no paperwork and
no money and as a young man
Dmitry lived for eight years without
any passport, until he received US
citizenship.
Having studied theology in America
he felt a calling to go back to Ukraine.
His friends thought he was crazy to do
so, and he expected that it would be
for a relatively short time. That was 30
years ago!
‘We established 58 churches in Ukraine.
Eventually I took pastoral charge of
a church in Crimea which was having
some problems. Then, in 2014 the
Russians came in – suddenly, quietly.
Everything changed. We tried to stay
there, but they said I would have to
renounce my [US] citizenship. They
gave us ten days to leave, so we left
all of our belongings and moved to
Melitopol, which is about 100km from
the Crimean border. I started working
with churches there.’
‘Every day I thought it
could be the last day
of my life’
And then, in February 2022, Dmitry
found himself – for the third time in
his life – confronted by hostility, as
the Russians began their invasion of
Ukraine.
‘At 5.30am rockets came to our city.
We all woke up and said, “It’s war.”
Everything changed. Within a week
our city looked like Armageddon. No
gas, groceries, telephone lines, internet,
electricity. It was crazy: in the middle
of Europe! I had a church of 500 people.
I had a business. I was doing good until
the Russians came to free us up! They
freed us from everything. Now we are
completely free – we have nothing!’
in organising a Baptist church
movement in Ukraine and south
Russia. But when communism took
over life became difficult.
‘Lenin initially thought Christians
were an asset; but eventually realised
Christians were a problem. It was a
difficult time under the Soviet Union;
many people were killed. Christians
were frequently targeted most because
they always think freely: because they
know the truth that sets you free.
Communism is not just political: it is
more of a religion – but a religion that
hates God and his Son, Jesus Christ.’
He recalls as a youth, back in the
1980s, Christians having to write out
parts of the Bible and other valued
Dimitry, pictured with his wife,
Helen, has experienced Russian
persecution on three separate
occasions in his life yet continues
to serve an underground network
of churches in Ukraine
© Release International 2024
7
In the Russian-dominated regions
of Donetsk and Luhansk Dmitry was
involved in running a rehabilitation
centre. ‘The Russians took all of our
workers there and put them in a
basement. They spent almost a week
there. They beat them and finally let
them go, but they took the building,
cars, everything.’
In Melitopol Dmitry says there
were numerous protests against the
Russian invasion. ‘We were praying
with other ministers. In the first week
they began investigating the churches
and then started forbidding us to
pray in the city square. They started
attacking the church and arresting
people.’
On March 19 Dmitry himself was
arrested. ‘They came into our house at
6.30 in the morning. We saw soldiers
jumping over the fence into the
backyard: about 15 of them. They got
into the house, separated me [from the
rest of the family], took computers and
everything. Then they took me to the
church. They searched the building;
took everything: computers, data,
everything. Then they put a black bag
over my head and took me away.’
During the next few days Dmitry was
interrogated on a daily basis. ‘The
first couple of days were really tough.
In the first interrogation they told me
they had a command to kill me. I said,
“What for?” They replied, “First, you
are working for the CIA; second, you
are in charge of all the protesters in
the city; third, you are supporting the
Ukrainian army. You are also receiving
money from other countries.” I said,
“Well, if you know all this, why are you
asking me questions?”