The 4th Interfaith Committee Youth Forum

The forum on the topic of "Historical and Spiritual Generational Heritage" brought together more than 70 representatives - Orthodox, Catholics and Protestants from Russia, Belarus and Armenia. The Russian UECB was represented by a team of five people led by Sergei Meleshko.

During their time, the participants talked about their faiths, analyzed passages from the Gospel, and got acquainted with the religious and cultural sights of the town of Tikhvin (near St. Petersburg), including the Transfiguration Cathedral and the Tikhvin Dormition Monastery, where the main event took place.

 "When we reflected on the Gospel text together every day, we were able to look at many aspects from a new angle, enriching each other with our knowledge and experience. And the most impressive part of the Forum was the opportunity to hear about this or that confession from the participants themselves as part of the presentations," shared a participant from the Roman Catholic Church.

 The invited speakers spoke about the continuity of generations and the preservation of spiritual heritage, the activities of Christian churches in the face of modern challenges, and the role of Christianity in the modern socio-cultural environment.

 "Our Forum has already become a popular youth platform, opening up unique opportunities for interfaith dialogue and cooperation. This is evidenced by the presence of regular participants ," noted the Forum organizer, Hieromonk Mark (Akhmatkhanov).

Within the framework of the given theme, young participants presented pan-Christian projects that contribute to the strengthening of family evangelical values, Christian education among youth, memory and care for the older generation, as well as strengthening interfaith dialogue.

 “Joint project work with youth from other faiths helped me understand that only through joint efforts can we overcome the challenges that our society faces today,”  said a participant from the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Ingria.

During the grand opening, participants were greeted by representatives of Christian denominations and government authorities.

Sergei Meleshko, head of the Youth Department of the Russian Union of Evangelical Christians-Baptists, noted: “For the past four years, I have been participating in the organizing committee, helping to prepare the Forum and coming together with other guys to represent the Union of Evangelical Christians-Baptists.

It was a very memorable time — many meetings and interactions between faiths, and the top list of speakers — Pavel Ostrovsky, Pavel Renner, Evgeny Raskatov and other well-known folks — encouraged and inspired.

Well, the coolest thing is simple communication between people. It's great that at least sometimes we can feel that despite all the differences, we are still together!" 🙏

Reference: The Christian Interfaith Consultative Committee was organized in 1993 and is one of the largest inter-Christian platforms in Eurasia. The goal of the Committee is to coordinate the joint activities of Christian denominations in matters of peacekeeping, traditional Christian morality and ethics, ensuring harmony and stability in society, interfaith interaction and defending the rights of Christians.

Press service of RS ECB