“Faith forbids him to take up arms, kill, or take oaths.” These were the words of a witness speaking at a court hearing in defense of Daniil Strelkov. Daniil is a Baptist Christian in Russia who believes that the teachings of Jesus Christ mean that he cannot fight in the military.
The Russian constitution provides that if performing military service contradicts a person’s beliefs or religion, he may replace it with alternative civilian service. However, believers in Russia sometimes find this privilege denied. In December 2023, both Daniil and his brother were denied exemption from military service.
When Vyacheslav Reznichenko, also a Baptist Christian, was mobilized, he said that he could not fight because using weapons was contrary to his faith in Christ. In September 2023, he entered a prison colony to serve a two-and-a-half-year sentence. His wife and infant son went to live with her family while he is in prison.
The difficulties that these believers are facing in Russia today are similar to the war-time experiences of many conscientious objectors (“COs”) in other countries, including the United States in the past. Many conscientious objectors to war have faced harassment, imprisonment, and sometimes death because of their commitment to live out Christ’s call to love our enemies like Christ loved us. Two new Bible Helps articles explain how Christ’s command to love our enemies teaches us to view participation in military service. The two articles can be viewed by clicking the following links: “Loving Our Enemies As Christ Loved Us – Part 1 of 2” and “Loving Our Enemies As Christ Loved Us – Part 2 of 2.”
(Source: Victoria Arnold, “Russia: Four now jailed for refusing to fight in Ukraine on religious grounds,” Forum 18, Oct. 9, 2023, www.forum18.org/archive.php?article_id=2865. Victoria Arnold, “Russia: ‘Faith forbids him to take up arms, kill, or take oaths,’” Forum 18, Dec. 19, 2023, https://www.forum18.org/archive.php?article_id=2881.)
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