Belarus: Seventh-day Adventist Church: Its size, its problems as a minority religious group at hands of citizens and/or authorities; protection available; involvement with the US and Canadian Seventh Day Adventist churches
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 29 November 2000 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | BYS35721.E |
| Reference | 4 |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Belarus: Seventh-day Adventist Church: Its size, its problems as a minority religious group at hands of citizens and/or authorities; protection available; involvement with the US and Canadian Seventh Day Adventist churches, 29 November 2000, BYS35721.E, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3df4be174.html [accessed 27 May 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
According to the 1999 Yearbook Data for the Belarus Conference provided on the Website of the Seventh-day Adventist World Church Statistics, the Belarus Conference of the Seventh-day Adventists was organized in 1978 and reorganized in 1990 and 1993. It lists the membership as 4,212 (of population 10,200,000), with 41 churches.
The executive committee of the Belarus Conference in 1999 was Ivan I. Ostrovsky, Chairman; V.M. Lozhechnik, Secretary; A.V. Dovgel, L.P. Gunko, A. I. Kaminsky, A. N. Kapitonov, E.N. Lebedev, O.N. Lebedeva, G. G. Melnikov, V. I. Nichik, M. I. Ostrovsky and V. P. Romanov (ibid.). The ordained ministers of the Belarus Conference in 1999 were E. N. Lebedev, V.M. Lozhechnik, I.I. Ostrovsky and U.Y. Sokolovsky. The credentialed missionnaries in 1999 were V.N. Bayanov, V. V. Buchnev, A. V. Dovgel, L. P. Gunko, A. A. Kapitonov, V. N. Kaplich, A. V. Kazanov, I. M. Lapchenko, O. N. Lebedeva, N. N. Patsukevich, V. S. Patsukevich, Y. A. Piminov, S. M. Popko, V. P. Romanov, A. A. Serafinovich, S. A. Serafinovich, G. V. Vlasik and V. V. Yarovoi (ibid.).
The Religious Freedom World Report 2000, a publication of the International Religious Liberty Association (IRLA), which was initially organized by the Seventh-day Adventists Church, grades Belarus among the countries which have voted restrictive legislation and where members of the Seventh-day Adventists "encounter problems practising their faith and fulfilling their evangelistic mission." The report states that Adventists in Belarus have set up with other protestant denominations an organization to "protect what little freedom they have" and that the official government declaration in favour of religious liberty is not applied in practice.
The 23 September 1999 Interim report on the Elimination of all Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief prepared by the Special Rapporteur of the Commission on Human Rights states that in Belarus:
A 1995 directive by the Cabinet of Ministers reportedly restricts the religious activities of foreign ministries exclusively to institutions which invited them. Unregistered religious organizations are said not to be authorized to invite foreign religious personnel. Moreover, local authorities reportedly refused requests by Seventh-day Adventists to rent public buildings for religious purposes, which it is said poses a problem in that in many places no private place of worship is said to be available to them
No additional information on the situation of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Belarus and their relations with US and Canadian Seventh-day Adventist churches could be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.
This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.
References
International Religious Liberty Association (IRLA). n. d. Religious Freedom World Report 2000.
Seventh-day Adventist World Church Statistics. "1999 SDA Yearbook Data for the Belarus Conference."
United Nations. 23 September 1999. Interim Report on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief Prepared by the Special Rapporteur of the Commission on Human Rights. (A/54/386).
Additional Sources Consulted
IRB databases
LEXIS/NEXIS
Internet sources including:
Adventist News Review (ANR)
Amnesty International
Annual Report on International Religious Freedom: Belarus 2000. United States Department of State
Human Rights Watch (HRW)
International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights (IHF)
International Religious Liberty Organization
Keston Institute. KI Frontier
Minsk Church of Seventh-day Adventists
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL)
Seventh-day Adventist Churches Home Page Directory
Trans-european Division of Seventh-day Adventists
World News Connection (WNC)
