Organizers of R-500: Our celebration is to continue the Reformation
The best celebration of the 500th anniversary of the Reformation will be its continuing in Ukrainian society, the organizers of the celebration R-500 believe. In particular, head of Evangelical Baptist Union of Ukraine Valery Antoniuk was reported as saying this at a press conference in Kyiv at UNIAN agency on December 20.
“When we remember the 500th anniversary of the Reformation, when God started the transformation, we understand that Western civilization today enjoy the fruits born back at those days,” Antoniuk has said. “The best celebration is to continue the Reformation. Not only our society but also the Church of Ukraine require reforms and deep transformation that became a blessing for our people.”
In his view, during the year the celebration will have several objectives: to return to the past and remember the most important things; assess the present and consider how society may develop today; look to the future and see what the church could offer to society.
According to Mykhailo Panochko, senior bishop of the Church of Evangelical Christians of Ukraine, the Reformation principles are reflected in the parable of the prodigal son: “He felt good with his father, he was in the comfort zone. But he decided to make a pseudo-reform, withdraw from the authority and live differently. His desire to be free ended in complete collapse ... And we see that countries that reject the truth of God, will be at the pig trough, and the majority of leaders will go into oblivion. Therefore, a correct reform is where the son gets up and goes to his father. So we need to get up and get back to the sources where we can start flowering, to which our country aspires ... Protestant churches want to sow the seed of truth and faith, not pointing to themselves but to knowledge, which is the source of the force that can change human soul, and the entire society.”
Apart from Christmas celebrations in the capital on December 25, the organizers plan to hold a concert on Monday, December 26. Its conductor will be Wes Jensen, now a Canadian citizen, Professor at Trinity Western University. He said that his grandfather was a choral conductor in southern Ukraine, but was murdered by the Bolsheviks in 1919. His then 16-year-old grandfather was one of only two people who survived the attack on the village that took place on the Christmas Eve. So it was important for Jensen to return to Ukraine and play classical masterpieces that bear the good news of Christmas.
The thesis of the continued Reformation must be taken as a call to action, public figure and political analyst Viktor Ukolov believes: “Reformation in Ukraine has always been only growing. For the first time after Maidan we see a recognition of the 500th anniversary at national level, as evidenced by the President’s Decree ... For the first time Ukraine will celebrate Christmas with the world on December 25 – not only a Polish or Catholic Christmas, but a true Christmas. Over two years, the social activists have been trying to achieve recognition of that date at a state level, because it determines the days off. This bill will be considered by Parliament today.”
Organizers of the celebration of the 500th anniversary of the Reformation invite everyone to join the mass public celebration of Christmas for the first time in the center of Kyiv, which will be held on December 25 at 15-00 at the Ukrainian House on European Square. The program includes large choir performance, which will gather over 2,000 people - 2017 planned participants. Among the performers of Christmas songs and carols are public figures, politicians, artists, businessmen and others. It was reported by Tetiana Kalenychenko.
