Pastor of the HVE Church in Kobrin, Victor Novik, Was Found Guilty Under Part 2 of Article 23.34 of the Administrative Offences Code of the Republic of Belarus and Was Sentenced to a Fine

January 8, 2011 · Adam Bondaruk, Baptists, Victor Belykh, AUCECB, Persecution, Interview, KGB, Books, Unregistered Pentecostals, Nikolay Kotyakov, On Emigration, United Church of Evangelical Christians, Vestibule, Petr Saenko, Pentecostals, Religious Mafia, Slavik Radchuk, Contemporary Persecution, Security Services

On June 29, 2010, by decision of the court of the Kobrin district of the Brest region, the pastor of the Church of Christians of Evangelical Faith (Kobrin, village of Bolshie Lepesy), Viktor Andreevich Novik, was found guilty of an administrative offense under Part 2 of Article 23.34 of the Administrative Offences Code of the Republic of Belarus (CAO RB) and subjected to an administrative penalty in the form of a fine of 2,100,000 Belarusian rubles (700,000 for each worship service – May 31, June 7, and June 14).

The essence of the matter was as follows: on June 14 of this year, on Lenin Street in the village of Grushevo, Kobrin district, V.A. Novik, according to the court ruling, “organized and conducted mass events – religious performances and the distribution of religious literature.” Law enforcement agencies saw blatant sedition in the Christians’ evangelization and, relying on the specified articles of the CAO RB, brought the church pastor to administrative responsibility. The court ruling states: “He (V. Novik) understands that a corresponding permit is required to hold such an event. He applied to the Kobrin District Executive Committee for permission to hold such events, but was not granted one.”

Indeed, Viktor Andreevich repeatedly applied to the relevant authorities asking to allow the Christians to rent a club for this purpose; the head of the culture department consulted with the deputy chairman of the executive committee for ideological work, but ultimately, under the pretext that club premises are intended to serve strictly secular purposes, the believers were denied the rental.

“The judge considers that the guilt of V.A. Novik in violating the established procedure for organizing another mass event – a religious service – was fully confirmed during the court session, and his unlawful actions fall under the criteria of Part 2 of Article 23.34 of the CAO RB.” The pastor himself recalls how, during the court hearing, the judge aloud expressed bewilderment regarding the reasons for such an attitude of the local authorities toward the Christians’ initiative, but concluded – the code is the code, and we are obliged to obey it.

It is curious that last year in the same village council, in a similar situation when 5-6 people gathered for evangelistic meetings, remarks and warnings were made to the evangelists, but verbally. Notably: over several summer seasons, the latter traveled with the Good News to about 50 nearby villages, without causing any incidents or disturbances of public order. This year, however, the evangelistic meeting was attended by about 20 people, in response to which the authorities declared that the event was “mass” and, most importantly, belonged to the category of “other” – of a religious nature. The nature of the event itself was quite simple: the believers glorified God in song, distributed the Gospel of John to all who wished, and departed. Indeed, they departed: the “offenders” were not dispersed, and the “outrage” was discovered only retroactively.

Church members and the pastor tried to get an answer: where is the boundary between mass and non-mass events, and how to distinguish a public place from a non-public one? Can one go out into a field, set up loudspeakers, and hold a worship service there – would that be considered a public place? Having heard nothing clear and specific on the very question raised, the Christians were advised to gather in private homes. Although it is worth noting that those attending the evangelistic meetings were mostly people from troubled families, truly in need of moral and spiritual help (which was emphasized even by the chairman of the village council). Sadly, reasonable arguments convinced no one – the ironclad code-is-the-code prevailed.

Viktor Andreevich intends to suspend such active evangelism for now, believing that God has everything under control and in time He will provide His children with the opportunity to continue speaking about the most important thing – in a free independent country, where (as Article 31 of the Constitution states) “everyone has the right to independently determine their attitude toward religion, to express and disseminate convictions related to their attitude toward religion, and to participate in the performance of religious cults, rituals, and ceremonies not prohibited by law.”…

What is bitter and incomprehensible is this. A state program has been developed to reduce alcoholization of the population – consequently, the state cares about its citizens and is interested in their well-being. Nevertheless, for entirely mysterious reasons, when drawing the population’s attention to moral values, the authorities ruthlessly belittle the role of the Church. Concepts, programs, rationalizing solutions – these are always actively welcomed. But the power and might of Christ is not perceived as something significant, really existing, capable of establishing order and putting everything in its place. Truly, for lack of knowledge the people perish.

P.S. By the way, the coat of arms of Kobrin depicts two women – Anna and Mary, holding Jesus in her arms. The pastor asked directly: why are we not allowed to speak about Christ, if even the symbolism indicates this? He never received a clear answer…

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