How can Christians in Ukraine change their lives so that our faith reaches beyond our Churches’ walls, where it is much easier to profess our values? What should we do so that the world may change and believe?
Rostyslav Semikov
Now that the activities of the Alliance of Christian Professionals have become more structured and public, we hear this question often. After all, there is an ecumenical church dialogue and professional unions, so why create another organization?
As it is published as an open topic, this text invites all readers of RISU to have a sincere discussion rather than providing explanations. The discussion is focused on Christians in Ukraine changing their lives so that our faith reaches beyond our Churches’ walls, where it is much easier to profess our values. What should we do so that the world may change and believe?
Of course, the unification of Christians has a theological dimension too. The dialogue between the Churches, which has been conducted with variable success for several decades, is essential and productive. Still, the unity of Christians implies more than unity between different denominations. It means unity between individuals. The Alliance works for the unity of Christian professional communities and societal changes. It unites individual Christians and aims to help them professionally and spiritually, so they can jointly serve God and people in churches and society through their profession.
We must unite if we want to bring about changes. We encounter many issues when stepping outside the church. We are not okay with things like corruption, low-quality medical care, the deplorable state of education, or external threats to the Christian worldview. One person, group, or political party cannot change this, so the whole community needs to act. Together, we have to bring order to our homes and workplaces, as this is our responsibility. Such is the philosophy of the Alliance of Christian Professionals, which originated from various Christian professional movements. It is an umbrella organization that unites doctors, lawyers, psychologists, journalists, entrepreneurs and artists. Associations are engaged in professional and spiritual development, as well as in serving society. Representatives of the Medical Association organize trips to villages without medical centers, distribute medicines and conduct examinations, while lawyers provide free consultations.
The ultimate goal is to change the system of values, but the changes must begin with each of us individually, at our homes and workplaces. These don’t have to be some major changes. For instance, providing the inhabitants of a certain village with ordinary glasses is socially significant. In 2012, the Association of Christian Lawyers, in cooperation with the Anti-Corruption Center, suspended tender purchases that were carried out with gross violations of the law. It all amounted to more than 900 million hryvnias.
Although we in the Alliance value such examples greatly, they are only the beginning. I believe there will soon be an extensive network of Christians in Ukraine, experts in the most important professional fields. These will be both sincere Christians and credible professionals capable of changing the game’s rules and spreading these values in society. This goal is worth taking the first steps. And although our steps are not revolutionary, we want to believe them to be part of a gradual Christian social evolution, no matter how strange it may sound.
We are sometimes accused of political ambitions. Therefore, I would like to clarify certain things. We are outside politics and religion. In that regard, we take after the “1st December Initiative Group”, whose members publicly stated that they are staying out of politics. We meet with different politicians and parties, yet we want to avoid politics. We want to grow big enough to be noticed by those of higher standing and start to make an impact. Currently, about one and a half thousand professionals belong to various associations of the Alliance. Many environments are known to us, but we are yet to initiate cooperation.