Evangelical Christians now being targeted in Russia

Moscow - As the Russian Orthodox Church gains more and more favor from the Russian government, unease has set into other churches in the country. Their fears were not unwarranted, as armed Russian police with dogs have invaded an Evangelical Lutheran service.

Historically, Evangelical Christians have been known for very aggressive proselytising, even in war torn areas. According to Spero News, the Russian Orthodox Church has fought proselytising in what it views as its own back yard. It has been a year since the Russian government, under the leadership of President Medvedev moved to instill moral and religious values in young people, targeting those whose age is between 14 and 30 years. Medvedev maintains that this generation must rediscover their religious roots after the loss of values during the Soviet era, reported Spero News last March. The Liberty of Conscience Institute says the Russian government is "cozying" up to the Orthodox Church in ways that could inhibit religious freedom and feels there is cause to be concerned. The Justice Ministry proposed to amend the federal law on “freedom of conscience and religious organisations” this past November. If the legislation goes into law it would effectively make it illegal for people to pray together without government authorization and would also ban religious organizations from admitting people with criminal records. In an interview with the Christian Telegraph, Joel Griffith of the Slavic Gospel Association said, "Russia's president has taken the initiative to permanently assign orthodox priests army units, and they're also wanting to introduce religious education classes at state schools." Griffith says that while some churches experience no opposition others have been experiencing a great deal, such as Jehovah's Witnesses and now an incident with Evangelical Lutherans. Griffith says if this national legislation should pass, opposition will likely extend to every evangelical church. The most recent incident against the Evangelical Lutherans happened on February 28 in Kaluga where 11 armed police with dogs burst into the Church of St George Evangelical Lutheran during worship service. The government agents locked the doors and refused entry to those still arriving. The commander of the police unit reportedly said, “there were indications that terrorists were gathering here, and distributing terrorist literature.” The church clergy were unsuccessful in persuading the group that the Bible and other books had no link to "terrorist literature." On March 17, in the town of Tambov, south-east of Moscow, the homes of Jehovah's Witnesses were raided by police, and in one case children were not able to attend school. Investigator Igor Avdeyev, who is leading the investigation in Tambov, and who initiated the search warrants told Forum 18 on March 22, that a criminal case has been opened under Article 282 Part 1 (incitement to hatred or hostility or denigration of an individual's human worth on the basis of religious affiliation). The charge carries a maximum 2 year prison sentence. Avdeyev said the case is over the "fact of distribution by Jehovah's Witnesses of extremist material".