SPbCU at the All-Russia Congress of Evangelical Christians
From April 22-29, 2009, a Jubilee Congress was held in Moscow for the All-Russia Union of Evangelical Christians (ВСЕХ).
This Russia-wide forum was timed to mark 100 years of conducting constituent conferences of evangelical churches in Russia and the anniversary of the creation of the All-Russia Union of Evangelical Christians under the leadership of Ivan Proxanov.
During this congress there were worship meetings, plenary reports, discussions on sects, meetings with Russian and foreign honored guests, displays and presentations.
The main goal of the Congress was to help consolidate the evangelical strength of Russia and to inspire evangelical churches to active ministry. The organizer of the magnificent gathering was the All-Russia Union of Evangelical Christians. About 1000 people from the Far East and Yakutia to St Petersburg and Kaliningrad participated in this congress. Among those invited were honored guests from national executive and legislative organizations and associations from countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States and distant foreign countries.
For the solemn opening of the congress, the BCEX motto was expressed in red thread: "Preach the Gospel of God's Grace".
Ivan Makarenko, executive director of St Petersburg Christian University, and Roman Zheliznix, a first-year student, represented SPbCU at this congress. Among the participants were many graduates of the university from various years.
Ivan Makarenko shared his impressions from meetings with the graduates: "It was great to see many graduates who are actively working in various avenues of Christian ministry: pastors, leaders of academic institutions, and professors. These were joyful meetings; we remembered times of study, of life in the dorm, and so on. We made a general photo for a memory of this time, although not all were able to be there for it. No matter how much time has gone by since the end of studies, there remains a common unifying factor among us all: our studies at the university is something that gives special joy.
This was the first time for Roman Zheliznix to attend such an event. He was especially struck by the stated goal: the unity of a Christian alliance. "I always thought that it was impossible to unite various people with a variety of perspectives, perceptions, and ambitions. I know that Proxanov created his union, but to me it always seemed that it would be impossible to do it again. And there, at this Congress, it turned out that ideas of unity are alive, and that it is actually possible and necessary to strive to put them into action. This was a real step toward unification".