Russia: Church Leaders Express Concern Over Religious Extremism

News Brief

Russia: Church Leaders Express Concern Over Religious Extremism
December 31, 2002 Moscow, Russia .... [ANN/Moscow Bureau]

An knife attack on the son of a Seventh-day Adventist pastor Nov. 27 in Nizhnekamsk, republic of Tatarstan, Russia; a killing of a night guard at an Adventist Church in Cheboksary Dec. 13; and an attempt to burn an Adventist Church in Saransk Dec. 21 bring heavy concerns for Adventists in the region.

Murderers of 63-year-old Vitaly Petrov were caught, but so far it is not known who attempted arson on the church building. Police noticed the fire before it got out of control and were able to save the building.

Church leaders in the region suspect religious extremism. "In Russia such events are not normal or systematic, but sometimes [they] happen when provocation [is] forced into religious animosity," says Valery Ivanov, communication director for the church in the Euro-Asia Division, or region, of the church.