hawkaw,.
i've seen the scan of paul hoeffel's fax over at kent's website.
if i understand it correctly, you created the scanned jpg and sent that file to kent and others.. i'd like to suggest something to improve the credibility of this thing - namely, to create a higher quality jpg from the original document.
Hello everyone,
thanks for your good comments!
I did suggest already before, that to add more "
credibility ", or if you like more " weight " as a
genuine evidence, it would be nice to have the United
Nations' letter - printed as - addendum - to a nice
article on UN, NGO's and the WTBS organisation.
I'm sure that this will happen sooner than we think.
Greetings, J.C.MacHislopp
" One who has an accurate knowledge
of God's Word will have no problem
in refuting false religious ideas".
as of 6:02 pm last night i received a facsimile from paul hoeffel at the un on the wts.. he gave me 3 of the 4 things i requested in two paragraphs.. i have sent a scanned version to steve bates and someone else.. i sent it to kent and randy.
and kent and randy have posted the official united nations letter on their web sites.. here is the letter - put your cursor on the image and then right click on your mouse and hit "save image" to your computer.. .
after you look at kent's web site and you people still think this it is a fake letter, phone paul hoeffel yourself at (212) 963-8070.. hawk
Hello Farkel,
thanks for your comments!
This one "...The UN has dignity and heart and has gracefully and without rancor accepted the "disassociation" of the WTS from its NGOs. On the other hand, the WTS is full of hateful, lying scumbags who will pimp any organization to further their interests of global domination and tyranny."
it's really GREAT and TRUE!
Greetings, J.C.MacHislopp
" One who has an accurate knowledge
of God's Word will have no problem
in refuting false religious ideas".
as of 6:02 pm last night i received a facsimile from paul hoeffel at the un on the wts.. he gave me 3 of the 4 things i requested in two paragraphs.. i have sent a scanned version to steve bates and someone else.. i sent it to kent and randy.
and kent and randy have posted the official united nations letter on their web sites.. here is the letter - put your cursor on the image and then right click on your mouse and hit "save image" to your computer.. .
after you look at kent's web site and you people still think this it is a fake letter, phone paul hoeffel yourself at (212) 963-8070.. hawk
Hello Cecil,
thanks for your appreciation on everything
that's been done - with your part - too.
Btw "..Now, that you've done your "job" - we have to do/have done (part of) ours: So far 17 newspapers in Germany, Norway, Sweden and Denmark have received the news by phone & e-mail (- and still counting!). Autumn is going to get hot this year..."
You see I was right...you've mentioned at least 3
nations named in my answer!! Excellent, thanks.
Greetings, J.C.MacHislopp
" One who has an accurate knowledge
of God's Word will have no problem
in refuting false religious ideas".
just received as ...gift ... this link :.
http://www.wonderwhere.net/.
you can view this:.
Hello everyone,
just received as « ...gift ... » this link :
you can VIEW this:
"We are pleased to provide a Special Report On The Sep 11th tragedy. This report graciously provided by Tvg Online, features E-Mail reports from Brooklyn Bethel interspersed with striking photographs. So grab your tissue and Read On."
No further comments.
Greetings, J.C.MacHislopp
" One who has an accurate knowledge
of God's Word will have no problem
in refuting false religious ideas".
at bill bowen's request, i have put the scan up on the web.
the un/wt official fax scan is available at:.
: http://wtowerun.homestead.com/fax.html.
Hello Esmeralda,
thanks for posting the fax.
It's good quality picture.
Greetings, J.C.MacHislopp
" One who has an accurate knowledge
of God's Word will have no problem
in refuting false religious ideas".
is it your last straw?.
its my last straw.
reading that letter from the u.n. has sealed it for me.
Hello Zev,
it's nice to thank you again for
your collaboration. (Read my last post on the II part).
I do like the many comments expressed here.
On a personal note...whn someone LIES to you,
without any shame, covers it up...continues without
any ...shadow of ..regret...WELL TRUST IS G O N E !!!
What's left??? - this helps me greatly:
Romans 5:5 "... and the hope does not lead to
disappointment; because the love of God has been
poured into our hearts through the holy spirit,
which was given to us."
Greetings, James Charles MacHislopp
" One who has an accurate knowledge
of God's Word will have no problem
in refuting false religious ideas".
the current world situation and the wt dealings with the un result in some bigger problems the wt leadership has to solve.. firstly, the war.
an event as big as the attack on the wtc so that people say this has been an historic event comparable to the events of 1914: if this has not been prophecied in the scriptures what should be expected to be?
the wt's only chance is an application of the "pushing" between the king of the south and the king of the north.
Hello German JW,
very good points and well supported.
The point reamin as to the identity of the King of the North.
Lot of debate...the Bible is silent...no more speculations
besides..now with the UN affairs...it is rough time!!
Comment: "I doubt the Society will ever drop its belief that Jehovah's Witnesses are the one true religion. That approach, especially in their minds, would be too fraught with hazards.
A more realistic thing to hope for is that they will continue to proclaim they have the one true religion, but *in practice* will permit members to carry on relatively normal lives."
I'm more inclinde to think in a similar way. I do believe we are
not alone in this.
Eyebrow: "I can hear it now from the JWs who may have been around for a while, "see, we are being persecuted in the press because we are no part of the world...we really are the TRUE religion!"
Possibly ...the only excuse left. It won't explain the many and
many articles written in the last 50/70 years against
the "wild beast ..and its image - scarlet colored beast "
in very defaming, derogatory and abusive words, in public
and also in printed form and in many languages.
To Trilobite: "However, the decision was more likely a panic decision than a conscious choice. It could backfire very badly. If that happens there might be an opportunity for substantial reform."
I do agree with you...very bad indeed - for them -!
As for the reform...I have great doubts.
To Bridgette: "I don't see them surviving as the world's populace gets ever more educated if they do not mainstream HARD and FAST. "
An aventuality...time will tell.
Greetings, James Charles MacHislopp
" One who has an accurate knowledge
of God's Word will have no problem
in refuting false religious ideas".
as of 6:02 pm last night i received a facsimile from paul hoeffel at the un on the wts.. he gave me 3 of the 4 things i requested in two paragraphs.. i have sent a scanned version to steve bates and someone else.. i sent it to kent and randy.
and kent and randy have posted the official united nations letter on their web sites.. here is the letter - put your cursor on the image and then right click on your mouse and hit "save image" to your computer.. .
after you look at kent's web site and you people still think this it is a fake letter, phone paul hoeffel yourself at (212) 963-8070.. hawk
Hello to Hawk, Kent, Biblexaminer and all the others,
INCREDIBLE, GREAT, ....EXCELLENT, WHAWWWWWW,
WHAT........ A....... S H O T !!!
YES, After almost 43 (Fortythree) days,
from the beginning of the main thread " United Nations,
NGO's and WTBS " ...the major event arrived!
Who would have thought that " that ...insignificant
date i.e. 27th August 2001 " would have become the
BEGINNING of something...beyond our imagination ..
at least mine !!!
Thanks to ALL , who participated in this ...EVENT, including
those like the Offices of the DPI at the United Nations,
and Steve Bates who published that excellent article on the
"Guardian" .
Everything has been saved for the "ARCHIVES ", a future
reference for those...who will research, including that
piece of art ..." The United Nation's " official letter
on the 11 October 2001, and signed by Paul HOEFFEL, the
Chief NGO Section Department of Public Information.
Some questions - just for those WTBS die hard:
*** Can ANYBODY cast doubts on the AUTHENTICITY
of such a letter??
*** Can ANYBODY claim, with reasonable elements
that the letter is a FORGERY?? A trick from
"..those apostate"??
*** Would it help to add POWER to his authenticity,
if " THE LETTER " is reproduced on a newspaper
article...should we say ... "The Guardian "???
Thanks you all, and let's wait for
comments, reactions and news ...from
U.S.A, Canada, Great Britain, Holland
France, Belgium, Italy, Germany, Norway
and Sweden, just to mention a few.
Greetings, J.C.MacHislopp
P.S. I'll come back with more comments.
" One who has an accurate knowledge
of God's Word will have no problem
in refuting false religious ideas".
flash - major breaking!!!!!!!.
i just talked to paul hoeffel 1:35pm - he phoned me.. okay people.
i can now confirm that the watchtower has provided a letter in writing to dpi indicating that the wts has "disassociated" themselves from dpi - ie the wts has made it offical that they have quit.. i can also confirm that the wts has been updating dpi regularily as they are suppose to over the last 10 years.. i can also can say that something is in the works that i can disclose by hopeflly tomorrow.
Hello Hawk and all the others,
thanks for the lates update on the subject.
I’m pleased to notice that you’ve named ... » II PART «
Excellent ! It’s only logical and fair that now this thread
should contain all the informations , quotes, comments about
United Nations, NGO’s and the WTBS.
I wanted to suggest new « ...name « for the topic, but ...
you have been faster.
Btw, I wanted to add that in mho, at the moment we all should wait
for informations from you and /or Bilexaminer. It COULD be
confusing , at this stage, to rush to do things on our own .
Btw, « Without the DPI associate status they have lost a "optics" weapon they use with other governments and courts. « a very good point !!
Hawk, please , keep in mind that I’m prepared to give any help,
for informations, researches, contact and my email is always
at your disposal and , following this kind of comments from you :
« Remember its the official word from the UN that is way more important than the WTS words. »
and,
« Watchtower has provided a letter in writing to DPI indicating that the WTS has "disassociated" themselves from DPI - ie the WTS has made it offical that they have quit. «
I’m eagerly waiting.....like all the others , of course,
for other GREAT and interesting news.
To Abaddon :
« The paperwork of the UN (I am sure) is for the large part in the public domain, probably has to be under, and as such 'we' will have concrete proof available of the JW's association for a decade, and suspeciously timed withdrawl, possibly proof (if this was the case) that they were asked to go).
Keep on rocking in the free world.. »
Excellent comment !.
To Map :
« ... prove that application for DPI associative status was part of an overall global PR scheme to snuggle up to the UN, various Human Rights NGOs, and Governments, and NOT just some isolated "mistake" only trying to gain info from the UN's PR dept. »
A very good observation indeed !
To Mr Bates,
Thank you for taking some of your precious time to post here.
I also would like to thank you , personally, for your interest in this matter. I do feel that your article was written very well and in this particular issue the fact that an – independent –British newspaper has published something...for all to see, it is really, a great thing for all lovers of freedom. Thanks also for informing us of about
another article on nex Saturday. I won’t miss that one either !
from Love Dubs:
« And now their efforts to COVER IT UP only make them appear all the more guilty. If there was NOTHING WRONG with their being a member there...why the hasty removal?? Why no explanation to the press? Why the hush hush?? »
Very logical conclusion.
from Chasson:
« ... which of course was never answered but usually resulted in a visit from elders which wanted to know if we believed that the WTS was "God's" organization. “
“ ... How true is this statement, and it is international. »
I do agree with you 100% !!!
To Somebody and Sean :
I'd like to thank kent, Mac, and zev for bringing to all our attention what the WBTS were doing behind the Jehovah's Witnesses' backs, and the U.N.'s backs. I am now thanking hawkaw and ALL OTHERS who were able to take the time and effort in bringing it more out in the open and (in my opinion) forcing the WBTS to stop the hypocrisy and decietfullness it has shown to it's members and the United Nations. «
« ... I add my thanks to Hawk, MA, Mac, and all the others who worked on this UN/NGO angle. Great job! «
Thanks, Somebody and Sean !
As I have already commented, this has been and continues
to be ...a UNITED EFFORT to uncover LIES and DECEIT !
from SUNSPOT :
« Don't you find their "TIMING" a bit peculiar?? If they felt there was nothing wrong with their membership---WHY resign at all? No, I don't think (as you put it) it's wrong for them to be a member and then NOT be a member.......but you've GOT to admit it smells REAL fishy for them to resign RIGHT after the news came out, wouldn't you say? «
Very logical comment...we shall see the outcome !
from GermanJW:
"Pay Attention to Yourselves and to All the Flock", p. 111:
In cases where it is established that a serious sin was
actually committed, the judicial committee should consider such factors as these: [...]
Was his confession voluntary, or did he have to be ac-
cused by others before confessing?
Was his reluctance to speak more a result of deep shame
than of lack of repentance?”
Great, dear German friend!
I do agree with you. To whom, besides
us, shall we apply this statement....???
from Cirona_Celtic:
« In the wake of this, I phoned the UN myself, and I was told that there is a new NGO directory coming out in 2 weeks. How convenient for the WTS! They will be removed by then, and can refer to it when pulling the wool over the dubs eyes. «
Thanks for the information. We’ll be patient and see the result.
from Prisca:
« Thank you Hawkaw for your persistance and hard work! Thanks also to Zev and the others that investigated this great work... »
You’re right on target ! - Hypocrisy, Lie and Deceit !!!
To Alan : Thanks for your informative and accurate answers !
I do appreciate them very much.
Kent : I’m still preparing more « ...things « that you’ll receive
via one of my friends. Thanks for all your excellent work.
Greetings, to you all, James Charles MacHislopp
" One who has an accurate knowledge
of God's Word will have no problem
in refuting false religious ideas".
we have been told about the persecution .
on the j.w.s as a sign of the true religion .
but according to these news items, .
Hello everyone,
we have been told about the persecution
on the J.W.’s as a sign « of the true religion «
But according to these news items,
… already the « world empire of the false religion,
…Babylon the Great ...is currently persecuted.
But...why
also the Jehovah’s Winesses...in the SAME TIME ???
from this link:
http://www.stetson.edu/~psteeves/relnews/0105g.html
Mormons' newly occupied church shut down
MORMON TEMPLE OPENED IN UFA
Mir religii, 29 May 2001
Adherents of the Church of Latter Day Saints (Mormons) of Ufa officially opened their worship premises, one of the first in Russia, AiF Novosti agency reports. The building, erected near the city hall of the capital of Bashkiria, was constructed according to western standards and is equipped with modern security systems and valued at 2.5 million dollars.
Speaking at the ceremony, the chairman of the Council of Religious Affairs of the republic's cabinet of ministers, Anvar Muratshin, noted that it is possible to pose technical questions in various inspections to owners of new buildings, and they should not be taken as restrictions upon believers on the part of authorities. By a strange coincidence, on the same day the worship facilities were closed by the state inspection board. The basis for this was uncompleted construction on neighboring property. However, in the words of the head of local Mormons, Dmitry Egoshina, this was an unfortunate misunderstanding and the question will be resolved in the next few work days. (tr. by PDS, posted 31 May 2001)
Russian Religion News Current News Items
Prosecutor dogs Jehovah's Witnesses
MOSCOW PROSECUTOR PURSUES BAN ON RELIGIOUS FREEDOM
from Jehovah's Witnesses, Office of Public Information, 29 May 2001
On 30 May the Moscow City Court will hear an appeal by the prosecutor’s office in Moscow’s Northern Administrative District against Judge Yelena Prokhoricheva’s historic decision on 23 February to dismiss charges against Jehovah’s Witnesses.
Mr. S. Belikov, Senior Counsellor of Justice, called for a re-trial, arguing: "I consider the court ruling illegal, unfounded, and subject to reversal." The prosecutor’s office is using their interpretation of the 1997 law on Religious Freedom in an attempt to ban Jehovah’s Witnesses in Moscow.
On 15 March 2001 the Russian newspaper Kommersant quoted the first Russian judge of the European Court of Human Rights, Vladimir Tumanov, as being "severely critical" of the methods employed by the prosecutor’s office in trying to ban Jehovah’s Witnesses in Moscow. He "warned" the chairman of the Supreme Court of Russia that the Court in Strasbourg has ruled in favour of Jehovah’s Witnesses against other European countries in a number of cases.
Artur Leontyev, lawyer for Jehovah’s Witnesses, pointed out that "the elongated trial process is delaying re-registration and preventing 10,000 Witnesses in Moscow from renovating and building places of worship." Jehovah’s Witnesses were re-registered in Russia by the Russian Ministry of Justice on April 29, 1999. However, Moscow has persistently refused to come in line with the Federal Government and 360 communities across Russia which have already legally recognised Jehovah’s Witnesses.
"The case has attracted international attention because it indicates whether Russia is willing to live with a variety of faiths and abide by its international agreements", said Vasilii Kalin, chairman for Jehovah’s Witnesses in Russia. (posted 30 May 2001)
MOSCOW'S JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES FACE NEW CHALLENGE
Agence France Presse, 30 May 2001
Moscow's Jehovah's Witnesses are facing a new ban after an appeals court on Wednesday overturned a lower court's ruling allowing them to practice in the Russian capital, the RIA Novosti agency reported.
The appeal was brought by the state prosecutor's office and a group called "Defence Committee against Sects," made up of relatives of people belonging to the organisation.
After a trial lasting over two years, a Moscow court in February refused to ban the city's branch of Jehovah's Witnesses despite support for such a move by experts.
The Moscow branch has been accused of "breaking up families, inciting its members to suicide and harming their life and health" through not allowing its members to have blood transfusions.
The group says its members number 250,000 in Russia, some 10,000 of them in Moscow. (Copyright 2001 Agence France Presse, posted 31 May 2001)
00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
From this link :
http://www.unesco.org/most/vl2n2rou_en.htm
part of this document:
"MOST Journal on Multicultural Societies, Vol. 2, No. 2
ISSN 1564-4901 © UNESCO, 2001
The challenges of religious pluralism in post-soviet russia
by
Kathy Rousselet
Centre d’Etudes et de Recherches Internationales (CERI)
Fondation Nationale des Sciences Politiques
56, rue Jacob
75006 Paris
FRANCE
Original text in french
……………………………………………
"2.7 It would seem that the kind of tone and measures adopted with respect to the so-called “sectarian” groups during the Soviet period have resurfaced since the mid-1990s. Thus, in a document of the Ministry of the Interior dated 23 October 1996, more specifically, in a paragraph setting out measures to combat “organized crime”, a number of “foreign sects” are considered to be undesirable as they could contribute to social disorder.
This document, drawn up on the basis of contributions from the Ministry of the Interior, the Federal Security Service (FSB), the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Social Welfare and the services of the Procurator General of the Russian Federation, contains references to the True Orthodox Church, Jehovah’s Witnesses, the Unification Church, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and the New Apostolic Church.
These sects “are accused of being ‘asocial’, of rejecting constitutional obligations, of endangering the moral, psychological and physical health of citizens and of having attracted children into their ranks and broken up families”.
According to the document “the religious groups use humanitarian aid to attract into their ranks Russian citizens, particularly young people, and infiltrate educational, military and scientific institutions” (Dennen, 1997). There are also accusations of espionage, which was the classic charge during the Soviet period (17). In addition to the argument based on national identity – the True Orthodox Church being that much more vulnerable since it rejects, within Orthodoxy itself, the identification of the Russian Orthodox Church with Russia itself – there are two other political lines of argument used in the past: the need for the State to control religious movements and, a specifically Soviet argument, the “besieged citadel” argument based on a fear of the incursion of movements from abroad.
Missionaries are still often seen as agents of imperialism and as the destroyers of national unity, particularly in the Caucasus, in the Far East and in the European frontier regions, such as Kaliningrad. More recently, a directive from the Ministry of National Education dating from summer 2000 repeated the same kind of accusation against 700 foreign religious groups, including the True Orthodox Church, the Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Salvation Army and requested the principals of educational establishments to show the greatest vigilance against the risks of infiltration.
This traditional perception of the so-called sectarian religious groups reflects a particular view of the relationship between the religious and political spheres and the continuing force of the model of the relationship between the dominant national church and the State."
°°
NB Have you noticed ? « .. a number of “foreign sects” are considered to be undesirable as they could contribute to social disorder. «
Quite a good company from « ... Babylon the Great... »
Strange ???
and from this link:
http://www.stetson.edu/~psteeves/relnews/0104g.html
Opposition to non-Orthodox religions; church arson
INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE "TOTALITARIAN SECTS--21st-CENTURY THREAT" HELD
Sobornost, 26 April 2001
An international conference, "Totalitarian sects--21st century threat," was held 23-25 April 2001 in the St. Nicholas Orthodox Educational Center in the city of Nizhny Novgorod. The first deputy director of the Department on Relations with the Public of the administration of Nizhny Novgorod, Igor Simonov, delivered greetings to the conference from the head of the city, Yury Isakovich Lebedev.
In addition to Orthodox participants, addresses of greetings were delivered at the conference by the head of the Ecclesiastical Board of Muslims of Nizhny Novgorod and Nizhny Novgorod province, Mufti Umar-khazrat Idrisov, and the head of the Jewish religious community of Nizhny Novgorod province, Eduard Mikhailovich Chaprak. The conference was attended by Catholic representatives, the pastor of the Evangelical Christians-Baptists church, Nikolai Sergeevich Bichkov, and the secretary for issues of religious freedom of the Volgo-Viatsk conference of Seventh-day Adventist Christians, Vitaly Semenovich Bakhtin.
Conference participants included scholars and religious leaders from Germany, France, Cyprus, Denmark, and China. Among the foreign participants were the chairman of the Inter-ministerial Commission on the Struggle against Sects of the prime minister of the French republic, Alen Viven, and the American writer Gerald Armstrong, the former personal archivist of R. Hubbard who later broke with Scientology and published a lot of critical material about the activity of this organization. Among the Russian participants in the conference were the publicists Deacon Andrei Kuraev and Professor Alexander Dvorkin.
The conference adopted a "Concluding Document," a "Special Determination," pertaining to the neo-pentecostal charismatic movement and containing a negative assessment of it, as well as a second "Special Determination," devoted to issues of Orthodox evangelistic work on the diocesan level.
In the concluding document conference participants expressed concern that "totalitarian sects (destructive cults) are actively attempting to penetrate and invade agencies of education, health services, governmental administration, manufacture, and commerce. In doing so they often change their names and disguise themselves, take recourse to confessional anonymity and pseudonyms, and often operate under the cover of false organizations they create that do not advertise but rather conceal their ties with the sect." They also began an initiative "for introducing amendments and additions to legislation of the Russian federation or adopting new legislative acts for the purpose of introducing strict control, limitation, or complete prohibition of the activity of totalitarian sects (destructive cults) and groups that fall under that definition. In doing this it would be possible to use the legislative experience of such European countries as France, Belgium, Germany, and Austria." The authors of the document emphasized especially that "in speaking of totalitarian sects (destructive cults), we do not have in mind new religious movements but are talking about groups whose ideology and practice are dangerous for the individual and society."
A list of the most dangerous sects in the view of conference participants was published in an appendix to the document.
It included in particular the "Church of Scientology"
and other Hubbardist organizations
(centers of dianetics, "Narkanon," "Crimanon," and the like),
"Jehovah's Witnesses,"
"Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Mormons),
"Unification Church" and other Moonie organizations
(Federation of families for peace in all the world," etc.),
"Society of Krishna Consciousness" and other
neo-Krishnaite missions in the West,
the "New Acropolis,"
"Sinton of Koslov,
"Church of the Last Testament" (Vissarion sect),
cult of Porfiry Ivanov, "Reiki,"
and many other organizations.
During the entire three days of the conference picketing of the Orthodox Educational Center was conducted by a group of Scientology adherents from Moscow, led by the secretary for public communications of the Department on Official Questions of the Hubbard Humanitarian Center, Yuliia Azbenova. Near the center the picketers conducted a pantomime, tying a person to a tree with a sign on his chest saying "Scientologist," which symbolized, in the thinking of the Scientology adherents, the persecution of this organization. Scientology adherents who were present in the meeting room interrupted conference speakers about ten times. (tr. by PDS, posted 26 April 2001)
IN THE MOSCOW OBLAST CITY OF CHEKHOV, ILL-WISHERS BURN AN EVANGELICAL CHRISTIAN CHURCH TO THE GROUND
Blagovest-Info News Agency, 18 April 2001
On the evening of April 17, unknown ill-wishers burned to the ground the Chekhov-based "Grace of Christ" church of Evangelical Christians.
As the pastor of this church, Pyotr Barankevich, informed Blagovest, on April 17 at exactly 11:30 p.m., three bottles filled with flammable liquid were thrown into the church building from the street. At that time, the 73-year-old mother of the pastor, Mariya Barankevich, was in the building. She was able to inform her son about what was happening over the phone. Arriving at the scene in a car, Pyotr Barankevich pulled his mother out of the burning building and then took her to the hospital with signs of smoke inhalation poisoning.
At the same time, members of the church asked the Chekhov OVD for help because they connected the arson with threats that Pyotr Barankevich had received on April 9 over the phone. An anonymous caller expressed his anger at the active evangelization efforts of the protestants in the "Orthodox city." According to witnesses, the police "responded to the call, but only stood aside and watched the fire."
Appearing on April 18 at the scene of the blaze, Inspector Vasily Shchitov, along with an inspector of the Chekhov fire department, inspected with Pyotr Barankevich the remains of the building and the area surrounding the church. In the course of their inspection in the yard, two more bottles were found. As the police officer suggested, the arsonist, in throwing one of the bottles, broke one against the doorway of the building. The second bottle, for some reason, was not broken. Thus, three bottles filled with flammable liquid were thrown into the building; their remains were found within the reception room and the nursery. Pyotr Barankevich believes that the attackers knew that he, his wife and his four children occasionally spend the night in the church. That is why, says the pastor, the bottles were thrown specifically into those rooms. According to Pyotr Barankevich, the inspector informed him that the record of the inspection will be handed over to an investigator of the Chekhov prosecutor's office.
At noon on April 18, the second pastor of the Chekhov-based "Grace of Christ" church of Evangelical Christians, Igor Rakov, met with one of the most influential Orthodox priests of Chekhov, the rector of the St. John the Forerunner church, Father Georgy, and held a 30-minute conversation with him. He informed him of the arson and the anti-protestant threats that Pyotr Barankevich received. The Orthodox priest called the arson an act of vandalism, while noting that among the Orthodox clergy of the Chekhov district there is "anti-sectarian sentiment." However, he doubted that any Orthodox priest would "bless" the arson.
The Chekhov-based "Grace of Christ" church of Evangelical Christians was founded in 1997 as a result of a schism within the local Evangelical Christian-Baptist church. The reason for the schism was differences over questions of evangelization. Pyotr Barankevich, being a proponent of active evangelization among the populace, founded the independent "Grace of Christ" church of Evangelical Christians. (tr. by Nikolai Butkevich, posted 26 April 2001)
HOUSE OF PRAYER TORCHED IN CHEKHOV
Radiotserkov, 26 April 2001
On 17 April a residential dwelling in which the service of the Evangelical Christian church of the city of Chekhov was set afire. The mother of the pastor, who lived in this building, received burns and spent twelve hours in the resuscitation ward. Near the burned-out building on Soviet street the district inspector and fire department investigator found bottles with flammable liquid and ignition fuses. Nevertheless, according to some reports, the police insist that the building caught fire by "self-combustion."
The "Grace of Christ" church of Chekhov was registered by the Department of Justice of Moscow province in 1997 and was reregistered in 1999. Services have been conducted at the premises of the city theatre, although because of the onset of harassment of "nontraditional" religious association, the church was denied rental of the premises and was forced to conduct its meetings in the aforementioned private home. Believers have met regularly there since 1966 (sic-?).
Previously the administration of the city of Chekhov prohibited the showing of the "Jesus" film in movie theatres (an event in whose planning various evangelical association of the city participated). Initially the prohibition was justified on the basis of a flu epidemic, but later there appeared in the local newspaper an article, "Beware, Sect!," in which all these associations were called "destructive and totalitarian sects," that are simply trying to "destroy the foundations of the holy Orthodox faith," and the "Jesus" film was called sacrilege.
According to the pastor of the "Grace of Christ" church, Petr Barankevich, on 9 April 2001 an unknown person telephoned his home and said that if the pastor did not cease his activity, "he would very much regret it," On 17 April the building was set afire.
The Slavic Legal Center is concerned about the recently growing instances of extreme manifestation of religious intolerance. In just the past month a protestant church in Lipetsk was fired upon and a Baptist pastor was killed in Ivanovo. The burning of the building in Chekhov in which an innocent woman suffered is just another link in this chain. Attorneys of the Slavic Legal Center view these events as a direct consequently of the "educational": activity of sect fighters, of which the best known is the American citizen Alexander Dvorkin. In particular, in one of his recent publication he included among the destructive cults the Baptists ("Vidnovskie vesti" newspaper, 31 March 2001), which is a new page in sectarian studies, a "science" that this activist promotes with evident persistence. As experience shows, such publications are by no means harmless and the have produced tragic incidents in our country. (tr. by PDS, posted 26 April 2001)
Russian Religion News Current News Items «
-------------------
Astonishing, surprising ?
Well I’m sure that these informations
are quite interesting.
Greetings, J.C. MacHislopp
" One who has an accurate knowledge
of God's Word will have no problem
in refuting false religious ideas".
