Participating:
- Saint Petersburg Christian University
- Saint Petersburg Christian Cultural Center
- Russian Union of Evangelical Christian Baptists (Moscow)
- Biblical Academic Center “Apologetic” (Kursk)
- Ukrainian Evangelical Theological Seminary (Kiev)
- International Baptist Theological Seminary (Prague, Czech Republic)
- Baptist Theological Seminary (Tartu, Estonia)
International Academic-Practical Conferences
Christianity and the Solution to Social Issues
May 26th-29th, 2008
The goal of the conference: to highlight and discuss the question and leading factors of spiritual and cultural revival of the modern society. To discuss the hot social and spiritual topics from a broad perspective and find the optimal conditions to solving them, as well as the role of Christians in the process. To develop suggestions and proposals for government representatives, academics, and Christian churches.
Saint Petersburg Christian University held an academic-practical conference on “Christianity and the Solution to Social Problems”. Fifty people from Russia, Belorussia, Ukraine, and the United States participated in the conference.
At the plenary meeting of the conference, lectures on various themes were introduced. V.A. Bachinin spoke on alternative ecumenical ideas in Christian discourse. He devoted much attention to the interaction of the Russian Orthodox Church in the world-wide ecumenical movement. The lecture of V.V. Rizhkova was devoted to addiction and the spiritual condition of particularly the youth. I.M. Savich presented a general causation of sin in the society and wholly showed ways to solve problems from a Biblical perspective. G.S. Solodova talked of the execution of Christian views in the social-economic approaches of the contemporary youth of Russia.
At the second plenary meeting, E.I. Morohova showed the role of the Russian Orthodox Church in the spiritual-moral discipline of the contemporary society. A.I. Negrov analyzed the theology of ascetical-mystical and social activity as seen in 1 John. O.D. Masloboeva gave a philosophical analysis of what it means to be contemporary in our society, and how to become one.
Our friend from abroad, Glen Schwartz, talked of the opportunity to raise funds, even in poor countries. A main detail in this possibility is the interaction with Christian organizations. Mark Elliot presented a summary of mission work in Russia with high-risk children. He touched on the problems of adopting and the interaction of children in orphanages.
The presentations induced interest in the members of the conference. Much discussion and many questions followed.
Besides plenary meetings, other seminars were held:
- Social Conditions and the Transformation of the Contemporary Society
- The Christian Social-Spiritual Task
- Social Question of the Family
- Social Questions from Biblical-Theological Perspective
- Interaction between the Church and State in Solving Social Issues
- The Christian Social Doctrine
In a brief summary, it is hard to describe fully the topics which were introduced. One is clear; there were many important and vital presentations. Based on the participants’ comments, the conference was nourishing and bountiful.
There were many requests to make this conference more periodical and hold it at SPbCU no less than once every 2 years. Many commented on the high level of organization of the conference, in that all the presentations were on vital topics and issues.
There is real perspective for the future development in the discussed areas. Upon the end, an open-discussion table was held for the participants to voice their responses.
Seminar leaders said:
V.L. Laruchev: “My heart has been shaken. I have oriented myself on what to do in Russia, Belorussia and Ukraine. I feel that the world is complex. Thank you for your fellowship.”
Evgeniy Novitsky: “I would have liked to see more students present. Two days wasn’t enough. The organization was excellent.”
The discussion ended by a prayer by V.V. Rizhkova.
