January 2001

Courage, Faith, and Three Women in Russia

Dear Friends,

Not long ago I met three women. Each one bears a distinctive Slavic name. Each one named by parents years ago in the then Soviet Union. Each one a portrait of courage, faith, and with a love of Christ that sustains them and lifts them up amidst the challenge that is Russia today. I met Zoya, Elena, and Katya.

My journey to Russia came as part of a Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and Church of Scotland staff group visiting Moscow, St. Petersburg, and the arctic city of Salekhard to explore ways our churches could better walk in partnership with Russian Christians.

Sandwiched between conversations with church officials about theological education, congregational "twinning," and spreading the gospel to unreached peoples, the human face of three women of faith emerged. Their images brought a quality to our visit that moved us far beyond formal discussions dominated by agenda and schedule.

Zoya pastors a small Reformed congregation in the city of Vyborg tucked just south of the Finnish border northwest of St. Petersburg. Six years ago, First Presbyterian Church, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, aided the establishment of this congregation. While working full-time as an engineer designing maritime life-support systems, Zoya leads her flock through the challenges that dominate small church life in the post-communist era: legal registration to meet the requirements of a 1997 law intended to curb new church development, legal entanglements that discourage the easy purchase of property for religious purposes, and periodic property damage inflicted on the church by bored youths yet unreached by the good news. In the face of it all, Zoya exudes a spirit that steadies her congregation and lets them move faithfully out into the world with a ministry to deaf persons and a weekly outreach meal for their community.

Elena assists in the Department of External Affairs in the Russian Orthodox Church. Her life is shaped by one thousand years of Christianity in her native land and by the traditions of her Church regarding the roles of women and men. Each day, she faithfully addresses the issues of ecumenical contact with the few Protestant denominations in official dialogue with the Orthodox Church. Women’s issues are important in her life and in her faith, but she is disturbed that Western women do not take the time to understand the Orthodox positions on ordination and the role of women in the church. On her salary of the equivalent of $120 a month, she took two extra jobs so she might purchase a personal computer to aid her access to the world beyond Russian borders. As her Russian Orthodox Church struggles with defining itself in a "free" society and with the tensions of tradition versus change, Elena worships God and serves to advance the Kingdom through her faithfulness to the traditions of her church.

Katya, a lawyer, established and leads a legal information center dedicated to aiding Christian churches register under the 1997 law and avoid having their churches closed. This remarkable Baptist woman is dedicating her life to helping believers by applying her legal training and her considerable networking skills. She also assists foreign missionaries, including those from the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), with information about registration, regulations, and new laws passed by the Duma (Russian Parliament) affecting Christian mission outreach. Besides her busy life of legal service and teaching, she also serves as the chair of the Moscow Council of Baptist Women seeking to strengthen sisters in their service to the church. Operating simultaneously in the worlds of law and of faith, Katya captures her personal vision with the simple words, "I would like to win my country for Jesus…."

Three women in Russia. Three faithful servants. Each one represents a different faith community, but as a group they are distinguished by their courage in struggling to advance the Christian church in modern Russia.

As the third millennium dawns, the future of Russia continues to teeter on the edge of authoritarianism and economic collapse, and democratic reform and an improved life for all citizens. Three sisters in Christ help shape that future. Pray for them. And, pray for Russia.

May the Peace of Christ be with you,

Gary Payton

The 2001 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 91