RUSSIA BOMBS CHURCH BUILDING OF UKRAINIAN PASTOR IT PREVIOUSLY ARRESTED AND TORTURED
A Russian Shahed drone struck the building of The Light of the Gospel Church in Balakliia in eastern Ukraine in the early afternoon on Saturday May 23. Despite severe fire damage, none of the occupants of the building at that time, including the church’s pastor, Alexander Salfetnikov, nor the small group he was preparing for baptism, were injured.
The Light of the Gospel Church building in Balakliia, burning after being hit by a Russian Shahed drone on May 23.
Pastor Salfetnikov’s previous kidnapping and torture by Russian occupation authorities when Balakliia fell under Russian occupation for eight months in 2022 is causing some, like persecution watchdog Voice of the Martyrs Korea, to call the drone strike a deliberate act of Christian persecution.
“The Light of the Gospel Church is located in a large open area, bordered on one side by apartment buildings and on the other by a neighborhood of family homes. There can therefore be no question of any mistake,” says Voice of the Martyrs Korea Representative Dr. Hyun Sook Foley. She notes that in recent weeks Russia has destroyed at least three buildings belonging to Ukrainian evangelical churches. “The goal of this strike was to neutralize the church, which during the war has become a center of evangelism and ministry, reaching not only the city itself but also many surrounding towns and villages, extending even to frontline cities, villages, and settlements in the Donetsk region.”
Representative Foley says that as many as 200 attend weekly worship services at the church, which also offers youth and children’s ministry, Bible study groups, and meal service for the hungry.
Members of the Light of the Gospel Church gather inside the burned church building the day after a drone strike to worship and sing hymns.
“When Balakliia fell under Russian occupation for eight months in 2022, the occupation authorities confiscated the building of The Light of the Gospel Church and looted its property. Everything that believers had not managed to hide beforehand was stolen,” says Representative Foley. “Pastor Salfetnikov was arrested and brutally beaten and tortured for two days.”
Representative Foley says that after Pastor Salfetnikov was released from prison, he and his wife escaped to territory controlled by Ukraine, but immediately after Balakliia was liberated he returned to his church and resumed its ministry.
“I have many questions and few answers. But God preserved life,” Pastor Salfetnikov told Voice of the Martyrs immediately following the drone strike. “There is not a single untouched place left in the church building. Lord, help us get through this. The enemy does not relent, but the Lord is stronger. He built this church and he will protect it.”
The morning after the drone strike, at the time of the Sunday worship service, Pastor Salfetnikov and a group of several dozen church members gathered in the hall of the burned-out church building to begin clearing the debris and assessing what might still be usable.
Alexander Salfetnikov, pastor of the Light of the Gospel Church in Balakliia
They sang a hymn together that says in part,
O how I love Your holy place,
O God, Your house divine,
The living Church of human souls,
Redeemed by blood of Thine
You guard it as Your precious own,
Your treasured jewel bright
You shield it from the powers of evil,
O God, my dear delight,” said Representative Foley.
According to Representative Foley, the fire consumed the entire roof of the 1,300-square-meter building, as well as most of the church’s equipment and a shipment of humanitarian aid that the church had recently received as a gift. She says that the church members continue to work on cleaning up the church daily.
“At this moment, the church’s greatest need is the rebuilding of the roof in order to protect the remaining rooms from rain, so that believers may continue their ministry there,” says Representative Foley. She says a new electrical system must also be installed and most of the church equipment and furnishings will need to be replaced.
Individuals interested in donating to Voice of the Martyrs Korea’s ministry to help The Light of the Gospel Church can donate to Voice of the Martyrs Korea’s Ukraine emergency fund at www.vomkorea.com/en/donation or via electronic transfer to: 국민은행 (KB Bank) 463501-01-243303, 예금주 (Account Holder): (사)순교자의소리. Please include the word “Ukraine” with the donation. All donations should be received by July 30.
The Light of the Gospel Church building in Balakliia, burning after being hit by a Russian Shahed drone on May 23.
Members of the Light of the Gospel Church gather inside the burned church building the day after a drone strike to worship and sing hymns.