Russians believe that the Apostle Andrew, one of the 12 disciples of Jesus, came through their nation in 55 A.D. He carried with him the good news of the existence of Jesus.
In 988 A.D., Vladimir the Great installed Christianity as the state religion after leaving paganism for Christ. Idolatry was abolished and Byzantine missionaries were allowed in. The Slav tribes were uniting as the Kievan Rus—a federation of Christian states, now known as Russia, the Ukraine, and Belarus.
Christians in the highest levels of government are good for a nation. This is biblical:
“Then Jehoiada made a covenant between himself and all the people and the king, that they would be the Lord’s people.” (2Chronicles 23:16)
Vladimir had been influenced for Christ by his grandmother, Olga of Kiev, who was first baptized in about 955 A.D. She began the building of churches in the region.
Believing grandparents make a spiritual difference in the lives of their grandchildren. (2Timothy 1:5)
The modern church in Russia, the Ukraine and Belarus are the descendants of one early church. They are one people in Christ.
The Kiev Rus first received Scriptures translated from the Koine Greek and written in Glagolitic script, which was developed by two devout believers in 862 A.D. for the purpose of bringing the Slavic peoples the written Word of God. “Glagolitic” means “utterance” or “word.”
Glagolitic script was the precursor of the Cyrillic alphabet, named for Cyril, one of the two believers. Many of Cyrillic’s letters are rooted in the foundational languages of the Scriptures, coming from Hebrew and Greek. A few are Aramaic.
Jesus is a part of every word of Scripture, even the very letters. Three times he stated, “I AM the Alpha and the Omega.” (Revelation 1:8, 21:6, 22:13) These are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. Written language is extremely important to the Lord. Its fundamental purpose is for the spreading of the Gospel, as seen historically in Russia.
Cyrillic was used to unite the Russian people to the faith in Jesus.
Cyrillic is the alphabet for 50 different languages. God has used two men to reach generations of believers across Eastern Europe and into Asia.
The Cyrillic alphabet is now used in the Church in the Ukraine, Belarus and Russia. The Gospel is the foundation of literacy and culture throughout Eastern Europe and into Russia.
The modern church in Russia, the Ukraine and Belarus are the descendants of one holy Scripture and one early church. They are one people in Christ.
In 1054, the Great Schism occurred, dividing the Catholic Church in Rome from the Orthodox Church in the East. Though all believed in Jesus the Christ and though all were descendants of the early church, receiving the Scriptures from the same original Greek source, the two sides held to political disputes, theological differences and cultural obstacles.
The church has a history of division. Jesus stated, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste; and no city or house divided against itself will stand.” (Matthew 12:25)
The Russian Orthodox Church has been historically united to the Ecumenical Patriarch in Constantinople. In 1996, it split. Political differences regarding the Orthodox Church in Estonia were reconciled, and the two reunited.
In 2018, a similar split occurred again between the Russian Orthodox Church and Constantinople. This political difference involved the Ukraine. “Relations soured after Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014.” (BBC)
The church cannot allow other powers to divide it.
Paul wrote, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.” (Ephesians 6:12)
Every part of the church is necessary to the other parts.
“For just as we have many parts in one body and all the body’s parts do not have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually parts of one another.” (Romans 12:4-5)
These parts are to build the church up to unity in the faith. (Ephesians 4:11-13)
The Russian Orthodox Church numbers approximately 112 million globally. Eastern Orthodox members constitute 300 million worldwide. These believers are all united in Christ since they received the Gospel, and should remain so.
“There is one body and one Spirit, just as you also were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.” (Ephesians 4:4-6)
To honor the Lord and the Orthodox Church in Russia, the Russian words “It’s me,” meaning— “I AM” from John 18:5 have been embroidered in this artwork titled “I AM.”
Listen to the Lord’s Prayer, spoken in the beautiful Russian language: