Ukraine Names Baptist Pastor as Acting President

Christianity Today ^ | posted 2/24/2014 | Timothy C. Morgan

[boxlunch]

Oleksandr Turchynov, a well-known Baptist pastor and top opposition politician in Ukraine, took office on Sunday, Feb. 23, as acting president after the Parliament voted to oust President Yanukovych.... ...... Monday night in Kiev, Turchynov, 49, spoke publicly for the first time since taking office as acting president. According to an unofficial translation, he said, "Unprecedented cruelty and brutality of the dictatorial regime did not stop citizens. They selflessly gave their lives to defend their rights—and won....

"Our first task today is to stop the confrontation, to regain control … to ensure peace and tranquility, to prevent new victims, local rivalries and lynchings. Another priority is returning to European integration. We must return to the European family. We recognize the importance of relations with the Russian Federation, and are ready for dialogue with the Russian leadership to build relations with this country on a new, truly equitable and good-neighborly basis, which implies recognition of accounting Ukraine's European choice."... ....

The choice of a Baptist pastor as acting president in Ukraine, which has had an Orthodox majority population for centuries, does not come as a huge surprise to Sergey Rakhuba, head of U.S.-based Russian Ministries. For years, he has been in periodic contact with Turchynov....

"He is well-known in political circles as a principled, honest leader, although he was somehow always in the shadow of Yulia Tymoshenko, the jailed prime minister who was released yesterday.

[Altenkrug]

www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-2631208
There are plenty of other references. You can easily google them out...

[Altenkrug]

“He was born in Soviet Union, so everyone was a commie in the 70’s.”

Not everyone by far. There were Solzchenitsin, Schafransky and many many others.

This guy seems to be just another timeserver...

[DesertRhino]

Welll,, champagne corks are popping in Texas,,,

[DesertRhino]

A gas billionaire,,, in the immediate post soviet era? Oh, im sure Tymoshenko is as pure as the driven snow. And never in the pocket of Euro bankers.... Its obvious.

[GeronL]

They often privatized monopolies that continued to be monopolies in the eastern bloc. Heck, its how Carlos “Slim” Gutierrez in Mexico became the richest man.

1000% Cronyism

[Paleo Conservative]

But he speaks Russian, so it might not be. More likely its an olive branch to the Russian population.

I wasn't talking about the Russian speaking population in Ukraine. I was talking about the Putin's policy to harrass non-Orthodox denominations in Russia. Ukraine allows all sorts of missionaries to operate freely.

[ansel12]

Ukraine Names Baptist Pastor as Acting President

As a Texan, I knew that Reagan had changed the world, but a Baptist preacher running Ukraine???

I can honestly say that I did not expect that headline.

[fieldmarshaldj]

Jimmy Carter is a Baptist, too. He’s a good Communist, anti-Semite tool.

[ansel12]

Yes, I think he is still some kind of Baptist, he left the Southern Baptists denomination, they seemed to have driven him away.

It isn’t odd for America to have a Baptist leader, but Ukraine, that is really strange.

Reagan really did shake things up.

[JerseyHighlander]

While the world media was astonished at the mansion of Yanukovich, they media has forcefully omitted mentioning that Turchynov owns the adjoining property to Yanukovich, and that Turchynov’s mansion is also funded by his plundering of the country under Tymoshenko’s reign of corruption.

So, please don’t make this guy into some sort of hero figure on FR. He is just a high level cog in horribly corrupt cabal destroying the Western Ukrainians one bribe at a time.

[BillyBoy]

I agree it's quite a shocker for the Ukraine. Given the Christian demographics, it's almost the polar opposite of the United States. Protestants are 0.9% of their population, so having a Baptist Pastor as President over there is akin to a Greek Orthodox bishop in the U.S. being sworn in at the White House as our new President after Obama is ousted in a coup. Hail to the Chief!

My guess is they probably went in a totally different direction because a lot of the Orthodox Church leaders in the Ukraine are too cozy with the Soviets. About 30% of the country is under the jurisdiction of the Orthodox Patriarch of Moscow.

Fieldmarshaldj makes a good point though. The fact he's a Baptist minister doesn't necessarily mean he'll be a good conservative. We have to take a wait and see approach. Even though Carter is no longer a Southern Baptist, he was at the time of his election as POTUS, and "born again" Jimmy still loved abortion and socialism.

[21twelve]

“..as a principled, honest leader..”

Sounds like Ukraine is trying to do things right, rather than handing things over to some other reason; such as someone affiliated with the majority religion. Then it might have turned into more of a religous fight (which Ukraine had lots of, hundreds of years ago).

The original thing with the EU was a trade agreement, that was going to be considered by the former President, but then he reneged on it due to pressure (and funding) from Russia.

I REALLY hope that Ukraine can strike a reasonable stance towards both the West and Russia, and remain independent.

[AK_47_7.62x39]

I am so skeptical of people in power that I scare ME sometimes, but I think your representations of this particular guy are one sided, particularly your insinuations about his role in the Komsomol or whatever it was called. He was clearly working for change and an element of freedom and historical liberalization (before the commies took over the word “liberal”).

[txrefugee]

America is like a drunken blind man in the dark, lurching from one disastrous failure to another, because it has left God. God has moved the lamp stand of His guidance, and we see the results of godless depravity everywhere. But God knows when the end will come, and the faithful will trust Him until then.

[Count of Monte Fisto]

Another priority is returning to European integration.

So, for the Ukrainians its out of the frying pan and into the fire. Soros and the sodomites in Brussels must be laughing their asses off.

[RoosterRedux]

Scanned the online bio stuff, but couldn't find that he was a minister. He does however occasionally give sermons at the evangelical Baptist church he attends.

Here's something also interesting...

In August 2007, Turchynov replied to the accusation that his stance on same-sex marriage is typically conservative, "I do not agree. If a man has normal views, then you label him a conservative, but those who use drugs or promote sodomy – you label them a progressive person. All of these are perversions."

That's a quote from Wikipedia, so it must be true.;-)

[sergeantdave]

“Oh, im sure Tymoshenko is as pure as the driven snow.”

Here’s some background on Tymoshenko and her connection to Soros.

http://www.tymoshenkocase.com/innas-corner-playing-the-victim/

[TexasFreeper2009]

well.. this is a step in the right direction...

but the real proof will come later when the EU demands that Ukraine embrace the sodomite rights agenda. Then we will see what this has wrought

[Zionist Conspirator]

I thought Ukraine was Byzantine Catholic rather than Orthodox?

Oh well . . . now if this guy is a Southern Baptist pastor . . . Ukraine's attitude towards Israel and Jews might improve . . . without going liberal!

[Impy]

I don’t like the EU and hope they don’t join it but despite the recent FR romanticization of Putin because he doesn’t like queers, RUSSIAN DOMINATION and a corrupt Jr. Putin in charge is most certainly THE FIRE in this situation, not the EU.