Cult researchers tell that the believers in Ukraine are turned into zombies, while “new churches” allege that they teach people how to live a better life. Cult researchers and psychologists claim there is already a red alert, as the religious organizations, which are being called “sects” by official churches, are developing by leaps and bounds. They are expected to recruit even more neophytes during the crisis period. “Some people in Ukraine had recently tried to create a nucleus of a so called Islamite sect, which was banned in many countries, yet, we prevented this” – Marina Ostapenko, the press-secretary of Security Service of Ukraine, tells. As she says, when it comes to destructiveness or range, the notorious “White Brotherhood”, which used to be very active in the mid-nineties, is still bearing a palm. Yet, some new religious movement still might gain this leading position instead.
«the prayers». At the meetings believers are often standing on their knees and do some very active gestures In the State Committee for Nation and Religion –related issues, the correspondents of “Segodnya” were told that officials are carrying out the monitoring of organizations, which are considered to be fishy, such as “the Lord’s Embassy” or Jehovah Witnesses. Yet, they don’t consider them be cults. Jehovah Witnesses is an international religious organization, which has registration in dozens of countries. It used to be banned in the former USSR and Germany, but now it isn’t. Now it is banned only in North Korea, Iraq, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Turkmenistan and Tajikistan”, — Ruslan Melnik, Press-Secretary of Ukrainian center of Jehovah Witnesses, told us. But this is what Mr. Lyubchik from the State Committee told us: “Their activity is allowed in Ukraine, but we are worried about their work “from house to house” and with their ban for blood transfusion. As for the “Lord’s Embassy”, we have received an official inquiry from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and now we are carrying out an expert report in the branch of religion studies”.
Situation. Mother is wiping her tears and hopes that her grown-up daughter will come back home “Jehovah Witnesses” call themselves a Christian denomination. “We try to help people improve their quality of life. We spend much time communicating with the prisoners and we study the Bible together with them. For instance, twelve of the prisoners in Vinnitsa region, who are sentenced to a lifelong imprisonment, can now be called true Jehovah Witnesses. There are about 250 thousand “witnesses” in Ukraine now, while there were ten times less in 1991”, — Ruslan Melnik says. “The Lord’s Embassy” is a Christian church, if we take Marina Pirskaya, Sunday Adelaja’s assistant’s words for granted. It is mostly criticized for its teaching about material welfare, which has very little to do with Evangelic teaching. Believers don’t give a damn, while organization tries its best to clean its name and claims that they have nothing in common with “King’s Capital” financial pyramid. “Our organization makes a major contribution to Ukrainian economics. People, who come to our conferences, leave hundreds thousand of dollars when they buy some souvenirs or stay in hotels”, - Pirskaya tells. In the Public Relations Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs we were told that after the much-talked-of sects which were acting in mid-nineties, there were no religious trends, which could be hazardous for people’s life.
HARRESSED THE PREACERESSES Life of religious recruiters can also be very rich in surprises. Andrei Nikolayevich, the resident of Kiev, who lives in Troyeshchina block, told “Segonya” about how he made two preacheresses make off, though he was very enthusiastic. “I came home from night shift, and went to bed. As soon as I hit the hay, I heard someone ring the doorbell. I decided to tell all I felt like telling regardless to who it was. So, I came up to the door, just as I was in bed – I was sleepy, and all my clothes were a pair of very long and wide boxer shorts. I saw two women with some books which were definitely religious. They asked me if they could preach. I answered the following “well, I want the younger one stay and the other one come in two hours. They disappeared in a split second. Now I suggest that all my neighbors use this method if they have some uninvited guests” – Andrei Nikolayevich tells with a smile. The preachers themselves tell that people always curse them, shout at them or even try to fight. So, this case might be considered to be truly inoffensive.
“I LOST MY DAUGHTER. I AM SURE THAT SHE HAD BEEN TURNED INTO ZOMBIE”
Grushevskaya is stricken with griefMothers, whose children are in cultic organizations, are bitterly saying that they would never wish such an experience on their worst enemy. It looks like though they actually have a child, they seem to have none. “My daughter Lena is quite a grown-up person, she is twenty-six. After she had joined Jehovah Witnesses, she left home and told that she will no longer live with me as she is a saint. Soon I found out that it was just the beginning of my grief. She told me that it is necessary to sell our flat and divide money. I understood that she wanted to give her part of money to the elders, though she used to tell that her “brothers” and “sisters” would give add some money to what she would have and thus she would be able to buy a flat. Anyway, I thought that it seems too fishy and didn’t let her talk me into this idea. I appealed the police and the state prosecutor’s office, but it was no success. They told me that they saw no evidence of crime. When leaving, my daughter left a note for me, where she had told the following: “mom, if you love me and wish me good, please leave me alone…” I am sure, that she was turned into zombie; I lost my daughter, - Eva Grushevskaya, the resident of Kiev, tells me while wiping her tears. One of Lena’s counselors, Vyacheslav Zhitsky, the elder tells that all these accusations are groundless: “We never asked her sell the flat. But after Lena left her mother, her life became better and more placid”.
THE STRUGGLE: “WE CLOSED THE DAUGHTER ON THE BALCONY”
They destroy. Mass destruction on the cemeteries are getting more and more often nowadaysRecently in Ukraine Satanists become more and more active, told Yaroslav Dunaev, the head of Ukrainian movement against the illegal immigration (UMAII). Disorders on the cemeteries and brutal murders took place in various cities of Ukraine. “A 17-year-old girl was recently taken out of the sect by the relatives. There were about 7 members, who were interested in occultism and were going to promote the girl to a witch. They were going to kill the goatling on a cemetery nearby and make the girl drink its blood. But the relatives knew it in time and closed the girl on the balcony. First she screamed and tried to get out, but then she came to her senses. It turned out that this sect was a group of young people, who met in a rented flat, decorated in some somber colors. The leader founded it to drink alcohol and have sex with sectarian girls” – Yan Shchekaturov, the head of one of the centers for the help to the victims of destructive cults, told us. The rumors about the Satanists’ crimes are constantly appearing, especially if the town is small. “the child’s dismembered corpse was found this winter in Kalinina street in Amvrosievka (Donetsk region). They say that the Satanists did it” – the local resident, Vasily Semenov, told us. “Yes, there was such a case, but Satanists have nothing to do with it” – we were told in the city police department. The police officers claim that it was a domestic crime, and that the child was killed by his mother, but experts claim that it is much easier for the police tell that it is a domestic crime than do anything. There were murders in the capital of the country too. “One of the families that lived in Shevchenko district starved their children to death. It was evident that they committed this crime due to religious motives”, - one of police officers told us. Marina Makarenko, the Press-officer of Shevchenko regional department told us that there was a fact of the children’s death, but she found it hard to tell what the result of the investigation was. Besides, a couple of years ago the corpses of young people, hanged to death, on Darnitsky cemetery. There were rumors that they were the victims of Satanists. Then, Kiev police officers told that the young people hanged themselves because of unshared love. They chose the place after they found out about the previous cases and the Satanists have nothing to do about it. “Maybe, some missing stray people will be never found alive, cause they might have been used as a sacrifice by the Satanists” – Victor Chernishev, the teacher of Kiev seminary tells. By the way, in Moscow people, who are against cults have thought out a wonderful idea: they go around the city with special stamps and put a stamp “Watch out, it’s a sect!” on the dubious ads.
LIVING A LIFE WITHOUT ANY HOROSCOPES BUT WITH A GLASS OF WINE Our source among Jehovah Witnesses had to admit that they really do some recruitment works, but he considered this to be preaching. “I am not sure if all the other cities do it like this, but in our Makeyevka (Donetsk region) the block is divided on some imaginary areas so that every brother or sister knew where they should work. We walk along the streets and propose people study Bible with us. We don’t have any recruitment plans. But since nineties about two thousand people became Jehovah Witnesses in our small provincial town. I know that there are about seven millions of us in the world. Brothers and sisters, who are already through with Bible studies and who have had a course of preaching might preach. But if the person does something inadmissible, for instance, sexual relationships before the marriage – we call this lust – then he cannot preach. If the elders find out that the person was involved into lust, they announce on the meeting that he is no longer a preacher. But such a person can visit the meetings and donate the money. Everyone should donate. I, for instance, donate about 30 grivnyas per month. I give them right after the salary. Then, we mustn’t read horoscopes, as it’s magic; we mustn’t have blood transfusion, even if there is an acute case of illness, because this is forbidden in the Bible (the Book of Deeds, chap. 15 verse 20: “stay away from what was defiled by the idols, from lust and blood and don’t treat others in the way you wouldn’t like to be treated”), you also shouldn’t smoke and abuse alcohol. I can drink maximum a glass of wine. My religion helps me. I work as a security in a small distribution network. They hired me willingly. Do you know what was the reason? My colleagues told me that the boss thinks that as soon as I am a member of a religious organization, I won’t steal anything from the shop”, — Cyril, the parishioner, told us.
EXPERT SAYS: “THE SECT IS ALWAYS AGGRESSIVE AND IT ALWAYS WANTS MONEY”
Cultic Studies TeacherVictor Chernishev, associate professor of Kiev seminary and the Orthodox cult researcher, who is rather well known in Ukraine, calls cults a malicious tumor of the society. “Cults are actually the way of fulfilling the pastors’ ambitions, of fine-tuning the ways of psychological manipulative techniques and ways of gaining wealth, of course, as the parishioners mortgage their flats and then give money to the gurus! Cults practice development of the phobias, mind control, and turn people into zombies. They involve people when they are especially vulnerable; they take advantage of their depressed state caused by their relative’s death or illness, unemployment or love in vain”. It is very hard to take a person away from such an environment, and if they exit the cult, they behave just like drug addicts. Ex-cultists often commit suicides or get insane without any evident reasons. It is hard for me to understand why religious organizations with some fishy teaching are getting official registrations in Ukraine. They use the following technologies: in order to make a person stay with them, they persuade him that he is a very necessary person, they need him. They might admire how he plays the guitar, his collection of stamps etc. meanwhile they regret that his wife pesters him at home or the child studies badly. Cults never enrich the family; they can only take all the person’s money and destroy his family. By the way, in many cults they don’t even try to deny that they break the families, instead they say something like “relax, you’ll find a new wife here and she’ll be much better than the old one” – Victor Mikhailovich tells. The main sign of cultism is aggression and intolerance towards everything which is not his religion and the believer’s desire to donate everything valuable to the organization. Meanwhile, the Christian teaching says that the nuptial knot is blessed by the Lord. For instance, the sexual relations are forbidden during the fasting, but if the husband insists on having marital intercourse, the wife should obey. When it comes to money, it is just the same: if you cannot donate money for the church, you needn’t do it, no one will blame you.
КАК СПАСТИ: ГЛАВНОЕ ДЛЯ РОДНЫХ — ДОКАЗАТЬ ЛЮБОВЬ К БЛИЖНЕМУ Cult researchers and psychologists told us how to find out that the person got into cultic organization. Victor Chernishev, the cult researcher tells that the earlier the members of the family find out that their relative got involved into the cult, the more chances there are to save him. It is important to find out what cult is he involved into in order to know how if it is necessary to combat the cult or how to do this. “One can guess that the person became a cultist due to the dubious literature with the pictures of some mystique symbols, quoting the Bible, regardless on the situation or some evident change in behavior (the person becomes unsociable and stops taking part in family life, or, on the contrary, he starts being aggressive and pesters all the relatives, persuading them join the sect). His clothing style changes a lot – he either starts dressing up smartly all the time, which he has never done before or becomes indifferent to what he wears”, — associate professor Chernishev explains. Vera Tymchenko is a psychologist, who works with the victims of cultic organizations. She tells that people are often got involved into sects because of the conflicts with their relatives. “That is why it is important to find out what was the reason. You mustn’t conflict. It is necessary to make the person understand that you need him at home; you care about his life and about him. You should prove both with your words and with your deeds. Then you should know as much as possible about the cultic organization. Try to find some ex-cultists from it (you can ask the cultists if they know someone who left their organization), in order to find out their exit strategy. It is vitally important to make person feel better at home than in cultic organization. Then, there are chances, that he will consider that he needs the cult no more”, — Tymchenko says. According to the experts’ opinion, the cults attract people as they make them feel wanted and beloved. “Let me give an example. A young woman left home, as her husband was getting hard on her telling that she must be right happy that he took pity on her and married her. Besides, the woman’s parents told that she owes them that they gave her life. As the result the woman started attending the cult, where she was told that they want her and love her. Now she is getting better as she is getting psychological help. Her relatives understood that they had made a mistake and after they changed their way of behavior, and became more attentive”.
Igor Serov |
