My name is Svetlana, I am Ukrainian and a member of the Embassy of God church in Kyiv for the past 15 years. I just finished reading the article about Pastor Sunday published in New York Times (An Evangelical Preacher's Message Catches Fire in Ukraine). This article was reprinted in the most popular English language Ukrainian newspaper Kyiv Post. Below are some of the comments, made by some Ukrainians to this article.

This is a short version of these comments, see full version at the end.

Guest, Guest | 2 days ago at 17:14

This racist is sick. I am native american (red) although because I don't get into the sun as much, i am white, but skin color does not denote a different species. this is hate mongering and I am a USA citizen married to a beautiful white Ukrainian. Please, I beg you, get some help before you go and blow your brains out with all that hatred or do worse, hurt others! Your a sick man, I can say that because I am a Licensed Professional Therapist.

Guest, Guest | 3 days ago at 22:12

Black people and all the nonwhite races are not made in God's image. Only white man kind are made in God's image. Black people are made in the image of a ape.

USA NEEDS TO BE SAVED, Guest | 3 days ago at 21:47

Black people and all the nonwhite races destroy any country they are brought into. Just look at the USA. When the USA was mostly white european and white americans where kept segragated from black people and other nonwhite races the USA was the greatest strongest country in the world. Then the evil new world order people who worship a fallen angel called satan gave black people equal rights forced white americans to intigrate with black people and other nonwhite races opened up imigration to nonwhite people the once great USA has been going down hill ever since over the years. Becouse of racial diversity in the USA this scripture describes the USA today. Every one read. DANIEL 2:43.

Guest, Guest | 3 days ago at 19:30

Ukraine is only for slavic people. This black person should be in africa.

Guest, Guest | 3 days ago at 16:53

When Jesus the christ comes back to earth he is only coming to save white man kind becouse only white men and women came from adam and eve of Genesis.

Guest, Guest | 3 days ago at 19:28

Its true. All the nonwhite races did not come from adam and eve. This is why the races look so different from each other they came from different family trees. The family tree that white men and women came from was started by adam and eve of Genesis. Only white man kind came from adam and eve of Genesis. Noahs flood was regional NOT GLOBEL. Scripture has been mistranslated from hebrew and greek to english. Noahs flood only covered the region his family was at not the whole world. The world is tens of thousands of years old and has had houndreds of regional floods in different parts of the world that is why there are different stories of a flood in different parts of the world it has nothing to do with noahs regional flood. Jesus the christ is only coming back to save white man kind becouse only white men and women came from adam and eve of Genesis.

SLAVIC UNION IS FREEDOM, Guest | 3 days ago at 20:04

Good post. The news is out and the evil new world order can not stop it. Only white men and women are the children of the true God of Genesis.

Link to the article: www.kyivpost.com
(Comments retrieved at 10:45 on April 26, 2011)

Most of my fellow citizens think that Ukraine is a Slavic country for Slavic people only; they say that black people should go back to Africa. As you see from these comments, many people here consider Africans as a lower race, people who are not able to think, but only able to do simple work for others. I was a small kid when the Soviet Union fell apart, but I still remember how they taught us in school that we needed to help Africans, send them food and clothes, because they are not able to take care of themselves. As you can see from the comments, some people here even think that Africans are not created by God, and they are not from Adam and Eve, but from some apes, and things like that.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Racism_and_discrimination_in_Ukraine

(violent video, not for sensitive people). 

These links will give you a better picture on the racial situation in our country.

Now you can imagine how people here react at an African Pastor leading the biggest evangelical congregation in Europe. When some of my friends or neighbors got to know that I attend the Embassy of God church, they asked me what a monkey could teach me (I hate repeating those words but this is just for you to get the real picture). Every Embassy of God member has come across a similar reaction, we constantly need to prove to our relatives and friends that we are normal not minding the fact that we attend a church pastored by a black person.

I decided to make these reactions and comments of my fellow Ukrainians known to the world just to help you have a better understanding of the true reasons why Pastor Sunday and the Embassy of God church are being persecuted and prosecuted in this country.

When you hear different accusations of financial manipulations directed against Pastor Sunday you would know that the problem is not in any financial fraud, Pastor has nothing to do with that. The problem is that he is having great influence in our ''orthodox'' country, and he is black. This is what is driving many of our political and orthodox leaders crazy. Hence they try every possible means to eliminate Pastor Sunday.

This is a small fraction of what Pastor Sunday and the Embassy of God church go through on daily basis. I would like to note that only a small percentage of Ukrainians speak English and those who do are the most educated, progressive and civilized citizens, they are usually with a better world-view than an average Ukrainian.

So if such people, who are considered among the most progressive people in the country, write such comments imagine, what the average citizens, those who don't speak English could have written? Can you now imagine what kind of persecution Pastor Sunday, who is African, has to endure in a country like ours?

In the last 15 years as a member of the Embassy of God Church I have seen Pastor Sunday take care of people who were dying, those who are rejected by the society, the drugs and alcohol addicts, I have seen how the church is taking care of the homeless, mentally disadvantaged people and other social ills of the society. I have also seen how these people received a new life in Christ in the Embassy of God and are now a support to those who formally rejected them. I have seen homeless children who have now found new families through this church, thousands of poor people are fed free in the church's soup kitchen, hundreds of marriages restored, numerous people healed from different often deadly diseases such as cancer and AIDS through Pastor Sunday.s prayer. Ask those people, what is their opinion about all the accusations against Pastor Sunday, and they will laugh in your face! Their lives are a living proof that all the accusations are just nonsen se! If you look at the members of the Embassy of God church, you will find thousands of lives changed by God through our black Pastor and black people - do come from God!!!

Nevertheless regardless of this negative public opinion in Ukraine, when our friends see the changes in our lives and character, many of them join our church and do not care anymore about Pastor.s color of skin.

But we will not give up, we are not ashamed to be Protestants in an ''orthodox'' country and we are proud to have Pastor Sunday Adelaja as our pastor. We openly and proudly declare that we are members of Embassy of God!!!

Svetlana Kutsenko,
PhD student, Entrepreneur,
President .Association of successful people.
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

FULL VERSION OF COMMENTS.

 Link to the article: www.kyivpost.com

(Comments retrieved at 10:45 on April 26, 2011)

Guest, Guest | 2 days ago at 17:14
This racist is sick. I am native american (red) although because I don't get into the sun as much, i am white, but skin color does not denote a different species. this is hate mongering and I am a USA citizen married to a beautiful white Ukrainian. Please, I beg you, get some help before you go and blow your brains out with all that hatred or do worse, hurt others! Your a sick man, I can say that because I am a Licensed Professional Therapist.

Guest, Guest | 2 days ago at 15:48
The christian bible is not a religious book. The christian bible is a HISTORY BOOK about the sons and daughters of adam and eve of Genesis. The nonwhite races did not come from adam and eve and they are only mentioned when they come into contact with the sons and daughters of adam and eve. Noahs flood was regional not global. The christian bible is only for white man kind becouse only white men and women came from adam and eve of Genesis.

Lubomyr, Guest | 2 days ago at 09:10
Ukrainian people is WHITE race and Moskali is BLacK race. Ukrainian is BETTER Slava Ukraini !

Mykhayl Guest, Mykhayl | 2 days ago at 07:05
Don't enforce proper identification ("Guest") and a hate mongers can post again and again and again...

Guest, Guest | 3 days ago at 22:28
Why are the gospel tunes in Russian, and not Ukrainian? Mayne he's working for Kirill.

Guest, Guest | 3 days ago at 22:12
Black people and all the nonwhite races are not made in God's image. Only white man kind are made in God's image. Black people are made in the image of a ape.

Guest, Guest | 3 days ago at 22:05
Becouse of racial diversity in the USA today the USA ,NEW YORK CITY, or VATICAN city could be BABYLON THE GREAT. REVELATION 18:2

USA NEEDS TO BE SAVED, Guest | 3 days ago at 21:47
Black people and all the nonwhite races destroy any country they are brought into. Just look at the USA. When the USA was mostly white european and white americans where kept segragated from black people and other nonwhite races the USA was the greatest strongest country in the world. Then the evil new world order people who worship a fallen angel called satan gave black people equal rights forced white americans to intigrate with black people and other nonwhite races opened up imigration to nonwhite people the once great USA has been going down hill ever since over the years. Becouse of racial diversity in the USA this scripture describes the USA today. Every one read. DANIEL 2:43.

Guest, Guest | 3 days ago at 21:56
Good comment. The truth is out and it can not be stopped.

Guest, Guest | 3 days ago at 21:53
I agree. Thank God white people are waking up to the truth.

Guest, Guest | 3 days ago at 20:08
You are an embarassment...please seek psychiatric help

Guest, Guest | 3 days ago at 19:30
Ukraine is only for slavic people. This black person should be in africa.

Guest, Guest | 3 days ago at 20:01
I agree.

Guest, Guest | 3 days ago at 16:53
Black people and all the nonwhite races did not come from adam and eve. Only white man kind came from adam and eve of Genesis. Noahs flood was regional not world wide. When Jesus the christ comes back to earth he is only coming to save white man kind becouse only white men and women came from adam and eve of Genesis.

Go back to Moskva, Guest | 3 days ago at 17:42
which asylum did you escape from?
 

Guest, Guest | 3 days ago at 19:28
Its true. All the nonwhite races did not come from adam and eve. This is why the races look so different from each other they came from different family trees. The family tree that white men and women came from was started by adam and eve of Genesis. Only white man kind came from adam and eve of Genesis. Noahs flood was regional NOT GLOBEL. Scripture has been mistranslated from hebrew and greek to english. Noahs flood only covered the region his family was at not the whole world. The world is tens of thousands of years old and has had houndreds of regional floods in different parts of the world that is why there are different stories of a flood in different parts of the world it has nothing to do with noahs regional flood. Jesus the christ is only coming back to save white man kind becouse only white men and women came from adam and eve of Genesis.
 

SLAVIC UNION IS FREEDOM, Guest | 3 days ago at 20:04
Good post. The news is out and the evil new world order can not stop it. Only white men and women are the children of the true God of Genesis.