Russia Goes Dark
Many of you may have seen the news story in today’s papers (here’s the DesNews version) that North American missionaries will no longer be sent to Russia. As a former Russian missionary (I served in St. Petersburg), this is sad news, but I can’t say unexpected. Last year when I was with my wife in Russia, the government was in the process of implementing a ban on any form of open proselytizing. Putin has a long track record of abusing religious freedom and has used the Orthodox church as a means to strengthen his power by making it harder for other religions in Russia.
I hope those in the media here in America do a better job highlighting these abuses. In the mean time my thoughts and prayers go out to all those (mormons, baptists, jews, etc.) who now find their practice of faith, other than Orthodoxy, increasingly in the cross hairs of the Russian government.
