A church in Mount Crawford, Virginia is conducting a weekly service that particularly involves Russian and Ukrainian Christians seated together in worship.
The Voice of America interviewed congregants at the First Russian Baptist Church where citizens of a country at war sat peacefully every Sunday to pray to God. The church was established 25 years ago. First Russian Baptist Church Ukrainian Staff Member Yari Suslaev told the Voice of America that the conflict in his country brought about by Russian President Vladimir Putin saddens everybody.
"We have come to worship God. The conflict in Ukraine, it grieves us a lot for we have always considered each other as brothers and sisters. What is currently happening in Ukraine--Russia and Ukraine--it really grieves us a lot," Suslaev said.
According to the interview, the dozens of Russians and Ukrainian congregants of the church pray for a peaceful resolution to the conflict. They stressed that most people are against the war. One of the Russian congregants, Narina Dronov, pointed out that only a few people wanted the war.
"There are people that really want this war. I say majority of the people don't. I don't think this war is needed. I think there are many different ways that we can overcome these differences, but because there are people that want it and that those people are in power, it was unavoidable," Dronov said.
In line with the differences, congregants stressed to focus instead on supporting one another. They underscored that shared values and heritage are areas needed to move forward peacefully on the matter.
This approach is particularly useful for those who find the war more complicated and difficult because they have a mixed family background. One of these is Vyasheslav Shesnoe who was born in Ukraine by a Russian mother. Shesnoe revealed that he is married to a Belarusian woman.
"Me personally, I'm a combination of all three nations. So I can't see like me fighting with Russians and Russians fighting with Ukrainians, which actually Putin half-created," Shesnoe said.
"So the thing is, for me as a believer, that we have to stand firm in the position of helping those who are in need and create a peaceful environment," he stressed.
A Russian youth member of the church, Anzhelika Yurshenko, seconded Shesnoe's statements and underscored the need of supporting each other despite coming from different backgrounds. Yurshenko said she believes no one wanted the war. Thus, it would be better to uphold each other no matter where a person comes from.
These sentiments were earlier seen from thousands of Russians who held protests on the streets of St. Petersburg, Novosibirsk, and Pushkin Square the day Putin launched his full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Accordingly, 21 cities in Russia held protests against Putin despite warnings from the government. More than 500 people were detained by local authorities for disobeying the warnings.
As of the weekend, more than two million Ukrainians had fled their country to nearby nations to protect their lives and families. While the conflict surges on in Ukraine, with the latest casualties involving innocent children and unarmed citizens in the city of Mariupol that is reportedly becoming a cemetery. The barbaric attacks has prompted Pope Francis to plead with Putin once more to an end to the war.
