Church Without Walls: Post-Soviet Baptists after the Ukrainian Revolution, 2013-14, Joshua T. Searle, 2016

tal human values of dignity and freedom.” In the history of the world, the Revolution of Dignity is merely an episode in a linear chronology. But in the history of the church, it may be the kairos moment ushering in a new series of opportunities and challenges. Ukrainian Christians can now bid farewell to the ideological remnants of a moribund and defunct (post-) Soviet system and to a society whose attitude towards Christianity wavered between grudging acceptance and outright hostility. Therefore, one of the key contentions of this lecture is that the Revolution of Dignity signals the “coming of age” of the Ukrainian churches“ and that this development will have major implications that extend beyond the national boundaries of Ukraine. I believe that despite their limited numbers, Baptists can be in the vanguard of a new movement for the reformation of the church and the renewal of society, which casts off the dismal legacy of corruption, inhumanity, inefficiency, unaccountability and servitude associated with the Soviet past, and moves towards an open future with hope for greater freedom. In order to do ae Banyypa, “B yKpaincpKux Ta pocilicbkux OallTHcTiB €1HHe BIPOBYeHHA, alle pi3He CTaBIeHHA YO CBOOOgH i riguocti”. Online: http://risu.org.ua/ua/index/expert_thought/interview/60247. 4 Roman Lunkin, “The Ukrainian Revolution and Christian Churches,” in East West Church & Ministry Report 22 (Summer 2014), 1-5. “* The religious landscape of Ukraine is very diverse. According to one social scientist, Ukraine is “a model of religious pluralism among formerly socialist societies” — see Catherine Wanner, “Missionaries of Faith and Culture: Evangelical Encounters in Ukraine”, Slavic Review 63 (2004), 736. Approximately 70 per cent of Ukrainians identify as “Orthodox”, but even within Ukrainian Orthodoxy there are three different traditions: the Ukrainian Orthodox Church—Kyiv Patriarchate; the Ukrainian Orthodox Church—Moscow Patriarchate; and the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church. Although Ukraine has deep historical roots in Orthodoxy, the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church is also prevalent, particularly in Western Ukraine. For a helpful and recent overview of the Catholic and Orthodox Churches and their influence on Ukrainian society and politics, see Michat Wawrzonek, Religion and Politics in Ukraine: The Orthodox and Greek Catholic Churches (Newcastle: Cambridge Scholars, 2014). this, the Baptist community will need a renewed vision of its responsibilities towards the state and society. Baptists’ Responsibilities Towards the State and Society** The Revolution of Dignity has prompted new thinking among Ukrainian Baptists concerning the meaning and significance of basic terms, such as “power”, “the world”, “culture”, and “freedom” in the light of the gospel witness. There has been a radical re-evaluation of the demarcation between the spheres of legitimate influence of the church, the state a