Evangelical Christians on Maidan: ‘Repentance Must Start with President, End with Criminals in Prison’

On March 10 on the Maidan in Kyiv, heads of Evangelical churches addressed the Ukrainian people.

The Evangelical Christians prayed for Ukraine's liberation from enemy forces, from the spirit of division and war.

“We seek help from the East and West, but help will come from heaven, for prayer is a great power and a great weapon,” said Bishop Mykhailo Panochko of the Church of Christians of Evangelical Faith of Ukraine (CCEFU).

Repentance and purification of their own sins and affirmation of faith in the saving power of the Lord Jesus Christ is what is needed now above all, said Bishop Mykhailo Panochko. In his address, he called on all to pray for the families of those killed in the Maidan.

Anatoliy Havryluk, President of the Association of Charismatic Churches of Ukraine, spoke about the power of the spiritual awakening of our region. Repentance is always a force against evil, the minister said. “Without repentance there is no forgiveness. We must all understand that everyone has to repent of all his sins, starting with the president, ministers and MPs and ending with those sitting in jail.”

“Christ is our peace,” said Pylyp Savochka, senior pastor of the “Salvation” churches. He said that peace is precious and it is not easy to maintain both in the family and the country. “A high price must be given for peace, for unity,” said the minister. “It is peace and unity as a great blessing and gift that we must ask for from our heavenly Father, in the name of Jesus Christ for our families and for all regions and countries.”

Serhiy Datsko, chair of the Association of Missionary Churches in Ukraine, also spoke about the relationship of peace in the family and the country continued. The minister hails from Kharkiv and saw firsthand the division that the country is experiencing. In his address, he asked the believers to pray for peace in the family as the foundation of peace throughout the country. “We are witnessing the emergence of a new country,” the minister said.

With prayer the church can destroy all sorts of enemy plans and intentions with respect to Ukraine, said Valeriy Reshetynsky, a bishop of the Ukrainian missionary church. Reflecting on the events in the Crimea and eastern Ukraine, he recalled the biblical archetypes of the Old Testament, when God miraculously put down evil. The heavenly army can stop inciting civil war or any external attacks, said the bishop. “Kremlin spin doctors took into account that after the revolution the country was weakened and that it hadn’t formed a government, organized the system, it took into account that the army was disarmed,” he said. “But one thing they greatly miscalculated: Ukraine has great patriotism and a powerful living church, which raises its voice.” Calling on Ukrainians in the west and east of Ukraine to pray and fast, the minister expressed hope that the church will be able to stop the warhorse.

“Every great victory costs a great price – the price of prayer, suffering, and even blood,” said Oleh Abaturov, pastor of the Cathedral of Independent Evangelical Churches of Ukraine. The falling of statues of Lenin is the falling of idols, the falling of the spirit of communism, said the minister. “Those who do not believe that man was created in the image and likeness of God can shoot at him like monkeys,” said the pastor.

Vyacheslav Nesteruk, bishop of the Church of Evangelical Christian Baptists, recalled the helplessness of the Soviet authorities, who once tried to eradicate the church. The truth of God prevailed, and those who embraced evil and destroyed truth disappeared, said the bishop. “Today is not the time to fight. We must forge plowshares from our swords, he said. “Let’s stand on God's side, on the side of good and let our prayer reinforce good. Remember that regardless of nationality or country, today many people are grieving, and all because there were people who stood on the side of evil.”

The prayer assembly ended with a joint prayer. Everyone who came to the Maidan, asked God for truth to reign in Ukraine, and for every Ukrainian to stand on the side of good.

Iryna Naumets

With material from the CCEFU press service