Sunday Adelaja
Encyclopedia
Sunday Adelaja is the founder and senior pastor of the Embassy of God
, an evangelical
-charismatic megachurch
in Kiev
, Ukraine
. He immigrated to the USSR and Belarus
as a scholarship student from Nigeria
in 1986 to study journalism. After graduation and the breakdown of the USSR, he started several churches that he later handed over to other pastors before he moved from Belarus
to Ukraine in December 1993.
Adelaja has faced criticism from local groups, other Ukrainian Evangelical churches, the Eastern Orthodox Church
and from foreign-based Christian countercult organisations
as well as accusations of involvement in fraud.
Adelaja's movement is also present in Armenia, Belarus, Bulgaria, Canada, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Moldova, Poland, Russia, Sweden, Switzerland, Tajikistan, the United States and Uzbekistan.
in Minsk
, Byelorussian SSR
. He claims he was threatened there by authorities for having a picture of Jesus in his house, but nevertheless, he began Christian activities in Belarus during his studies. He married and took a job in Kiev, where he eventually founded and became pastor of the Embassy of God
church, initially with only a handful of fellow African students. Today he plays an active role in the political and social life of Ukraine and was an influencing factor the Ukrainian Orange Revolution
. Sunday speaks, preaches and teaches fluently in Russian.
By age 33, he had built the largest charismatic church in Europe, having started with only a few followers in a small apartment in downtown Kiev in 1994. Since then his church has grown to more than 700 churches in over 45 countries and has been instrumental in starting over 300 rehab centers for drug addicts and alcoholics, situated all over Ukraine and Russia.
Pastor Sunday was honored to be on a first page article of the Wall Street Journal in July 21, 2006.
Pastor Sunday was honored to open the U.S. Senate in prayer April 23, 2007.
Pastor Sunday was honored to speak twice at the United Nations
in August 23, 2007.
, claims to have 25,000 members in Kiev alone. Adelaja's church is also expanding abroad. 1,000 to 2,000 people are fed daily at the church's "Stephania" soup kitchen
s in Kiev. The church also has a program helping homeless people acquiring skills, thus helping them back to a normal life and work. According to the church 2,000 children have been helped off the street, and have been returned to their families. Furthermore the church runs a 24 hour hot-line, named "Trust line", for people to call in need. The church also works with addicted people and has a program helping addicted people to be set free from various addictions. The main organization is called "Love Rehabilitation Center". According to the church, more than 5000 drug and alcohol addicted people have been set free from their addiction through their work.
The New York Times made the following statement about Adelaja: "Could there be a more unlikely success story in the former Soviet Union than the Rev. Sunday Adelaja, an immigrant from Nigeria who has developed an ardent — and enormous — following across Ukraine?"
There are many educational institutions connected to the church, and among them the following are more known: the Joshua Missionary Bible Institute in Ukraine, the Center of Restoration of Personality and Transformation of the Society in Ukraine, the History Makers Bible School in the USA, the UK, Germany, France, and the Institute for National Transformation in Nigeria.
The Mayor of Kiev
, Leonid Chernovetsky, is a prominent member of the church.
. Sunday Adelaja has, however, denounced in Ukrainian media his implied initiation of the Orange Revolution. The mayor of Kiev, Leonid Chernovetsky, is a member of the Embassy of God, but he is in opposition to the principal actors of the Orange Revolution, including Premier
Yulia Tymoshenko
. President Viktor Yushchenko
has provided Adelaja with a certificate of thankfulness for his support in the Orange Revolution. During the protests, the church erected a tent chapel on Independence Square and offered shelter to thousands of people who came to Kiev.
newspaper.
In May 2009, Sunday Adelaja became The Face of Kiev 2009. The annual competition was conducted by the magazine Afisha and Adelaja took the first place with more than 1/3 of the votes, beating to the second position, the most popular actor in Ukraine, Bohdan Stupka
; to the third place, the Heavy weight boxer Vitali Klitschko
; to the fourth place, one of the richest Entrepreneurs in Ukraine, Viktor Pinchuk
; and to the fifth place the Mayor of Kiev
, Leonid Chernovetskyi
.
At the Azusa Street Revival
Festival on Saturday April 25, 2009, Sunday Adelaja received the first International William J. Seymour
Award. This award is given to ministers who exhibit the characteristics of William J. Seymour. A statement from the award committee said: “This year we will award an international and national recipient: The international recipient will be Pastor Sunday Adelaja who is a Nigerian-born leader with an apostolic gift for the 21st century. In his mid-thirties Pastor Sunday has already proven to be one of the world’s most dynamic communicators and church planters and is regarded as the most successful pastor in Europe with over 25,000 members as well as daughter and satellite churches in over 35 countries worldwide”.
In March 2008 the Archbishop Benson Idahosa
Prize for Missionary Exploits was presented to Rev. Sunday Adelaja in recognition of his missionary exploits and social engagement in Kiev, Ukraine and around the world.
In March 2007 Sunday Adelaja became an Honorable Member of the Euroasian International Chamber of Commerce.
In May 2004 The Redeemed Christian Church of God
(RCCG) Holland Mission gave a Special Appreciation to Pastor Sunday Adelaja for being part of what God is using His church to do in reaching out to the people of the Netherlands.
On February 5, 2009 a criminal case against Sunday Adelaja was filed on suspicion of fraud. Investigators say they have testimony indicating that Adelaja was involved in the financial machinations allegedly committed by the King’s Capital financial group. Kiev’s Mayor Chernovetsky, himself a church member, had earlier said that Adelaja was not involved in the financial scheme at King’s Capital.
In September 2009, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine admitted that they have exhausted their possibilities in the criminal case against Sunday Adelaja. Since the Ministry of Internal Affairs has still delayed and refused to take the case to the court the Embassy of God church and Sunday Adelaja has initiated a lawsuit against the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Police of Ukraine for unlawful accusation and libel. The judge has asked the Ministry of Internal Affairs to show their evidence for their accusation of fraud, but after five court hearings they have still not provided any evidence to support their accusation.
On October 12, 2009 Kiev investigators questioned Adelaja in connection with the fraud accusation. During a press conference On October 14, 2009 the Minister of Internal Affairs Yuriy Lutsenko
said that the pre-trial proceedings had found out that from October 2006 to May 2008, Adelaja and others embezzled property of people most of whom were the believers of the Embassy of God church. The total amount of the damage due to these actions is over UAH
1.5 million in accordance with evidence provided by several witnesses, according to the Minister.
Adelaja considers the police's decision to investigate him for involvement in the financial group's machinations as implementation of a political order. And has said that the cause of the financial problems at the King's Capital financial group was the economic crisis
rather than a deliberate fraud.
As of April 2011 the case has not been taken to court.
, and accuse him of using methods and activity based on self-advertisement, exaggeration of personal merits, teaching the doctrine of prosperity and the sin of love of money, and his practice of cursing the church members and parishioners who disagree with his opinion.
Besides Embassy of God
Church there are two other megachurch
es in Ukraine; Victory Church and Hillsong Church
, and their pastors, Henry Madava and Evgenij Kasevich have not signed the statement.
, according to him Ukraine can only become independent through a nationalist mood. He considers it unfortunately that patriotism
does not apply to all Ukrainians
. “Only through the nationalistic mood can the Ukrainian nation become independent at all. If Ukrainians do not become more nationalistic, I am afraid that this country may come back under the Russia
n or Polish
or Hungarian
or some other yoke”.
Adelaja thinks racism is not typical of the Ukrainian society. “I think it is a more Russian phenomenon, which came here. But Russia also sees how bad racism is for a country’s reputation”.
Adelaja was a strong supporter of the Orange Revolution
. “Twelve years ago we were freed from Communism
. Though we have had a different government with different uniforms since, the same corrupt people have remained in power. Now, Ukraine has its first opportunity to choose our own free way of life.” He stated about the then candidate in and later winner of the 2004 Ukrainian presidential election
Viktor Yushchenko
: “He is a committed believer who is serious about his faith
, and is influenced by God
and the Bible
”.
However, during the last president elections
Adelaja decided and called all affiliated churches to vote for Victor Yanukovich, the opponent of the "Orange" leaders (Tymoshenko and Yushchenko).
Embassy of God
Embassy of God is a Charismatic Protestant church and parachurch organization in Kiev, Ukraine. It was founded and is led by pastor Sunday Adelaja, who is an immigrant from Nigeria...
, an evangelical
Evangelicalism
Evangelicalism is a Protestant Christian movement which began in Great Britain in the 1730s and gained popularity in the United States during the series of Great Awakenings of the 18th and 19th century.Its key commitments are:...
-charismatic megachurch
Megachurch
A megachurch is a church having 2,000 or more in average weekend attendance. The Hartford Institute's database lists more than 1,300 such Protestant churches in the United States. According to that data, approximately 50 churches on the list have attendance ranging from 10,000 to 47,000...
in Kiev
Kiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
, Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
. He immigrated to the USSR and Belarus
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
as a scholarship student from Nigeria
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
in 1986 to study journalism. After graduation and the breakdown of the USSR, he started several churches that he later handed over to other pastors before he moved from Belarus
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
to Ukraine in December 1993.
Adelaja has faced criticism from local groups, other Ukrainian Evangelical churches, the Eastern Orthodox Church
Eastern Orthodox Church
The Orthodox Church, officially called the Orthodox Catholic Church and commonly referred to as the Eastern Orthodox Church, is the second largest Christian denomination in the world, with an estimated 300 million adherents mainly in the countries of Belarus, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Georgia, Greece,...
and from foreign-based Christian countercult organisations
Christian countercult movement
The Christian countercult movement is a social movement of Christian ministries and individual Christian countercult activists who oppose religious sects thought to either partially abide or do not at all abide by the teachings that are written within the Bible. These religious sects are also known...
as well as accusations of involvement in fraud.
Adelaja's movement is also present in Armenia, Belarus, Bulgaria, Canada, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Moldova, Poland, Russia, Sweden, Switzerland, Tajikistan, the United States and Uzbekistan.
Biography
Sunday Sunkanmi Adelaja was born in the village of Idomila Ijebu-Ode, Nigeria. He was raised by his grandmother and became Christian in March 1986 just before graduating from high school. After graduation Adelaja left Nigeria because he received a scholarship to study journalism at the Belarusian State UniversityBelarusian State University
Belarusian State University , Minsk, Belarus, was founded on October 30, 1921. The BSU is a higher education establishment in the Republic of Belarus.-History:...
in Minsk
Minsk
- Ecological situation :The ecological situation is monitored by Republican Center of Radioactive and Environmental Control .During 2003–2008 the overall weight of contaminants increased from 186,000 to 247,400 tons. The change of gas as industrial fuel to mazut for financial reasons has worsened...
, Byelorussian SSR
Byelorussian SSR
The Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic was one of fifteen constituent republics of the Soviet Union. It was one of the four original founding members of the Soviet Union in 1922, together with the Ukrainian SSR, the Transcaucasian SFSR and the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic...
. He claims he was threatened there by authorities for having a picture of Jesus in his house, but nevertheless, he began Christian activities in Belarus during his studies. He married and took a job in Kiev, where he eventually founded and became pastor of the Embassy of God
Embassy of God
Embassy of God is a Charismatic Protestant church and parachurch organization in Kiev, Ukraine. It was founded and is led by pastor Sunday Adelaja, who is an immigrant from Nigeria...
church, initially with only a handful of fellow African students. Today he plays an active role in the political and social life of Ukraine and was an influencing factor the Ukrainian Orange Revolution
Orange Revolution
The Orange Revolution was a series of protests and political events that took place in Ukraine from late November 2004 to January 2005, in the immediate aftermath of the run-off vote of the 2004 Ukrainian presidential election which was claimed to be marred by massive corruption, voter...
. Sunday speaks, preaches and teaches fluently in Russian.
By age 33, he had built the largest charismatic church in Europe, having started with only a few followers in a small apartment in downtown Kiev in 1994. Since then his church has grown to more than 700 churches in over 45 countries and has been instrumental in starting over 300 rehab centers for drug addicts and alcoholics, situated all over Ukraine and Russia.
Pastor Sunday was honored to be on a first page article of the Wall Street Journal in July 21, 2006.
Pastor Sunday was honored to open the U.S. Senate in prayer April 23, 2007.
Pastor Sunday was honored to speak twice at the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
in August 23, 2007.
Church
Adelaja's church, the Embassy of GodEmbassy of God
Embassy of God is a Charismatic Protestant church and parachurch organization in Kiev, Ukraine. It was founded and is led by pastor Sunday Adelaja, who is an immigrant from Nigeria...
, claims to have 25,000 members in Kiev alone. Adelaja's church is also expanding abroad. 1,000 to 2,000 people are fed daily at the church's "Stephania" soup kitchen
Soup kitchen
A soup kitchen, a bread line, or a meal center is a place where food is offered to the hungry for free or at a reasonably low price. Frequently located in lower-income neighborhoods, they are often staffed by volunteer organizations, such as church groups or community groups...
s in Kiev. The church also has a program helping homeless people acquiring skills, thus helping them back to a normal life and work. According to the church 2,000 children have been helped off the street, and have been returned to their families. Furthermore the church runs a 24 hour hot-line, named "Trust line", for people to call in need. The church also works with addicted people and has a program helping addicted people to be set free from various addictions. The main organization is called "Love Rehabilitation Center". According to the church, more than 5000 drug and alcohol addicted people have been set free from their addiction through their work.
The New York Times made the following statement about Adelaja: "Could there be a more unlikely success story in the former Soviet Union than the Rev. Sunday Adelaja, an immigrant from Nigeria who has developed an ardent — and enormous — following across Ukraine?"
There are many educational institutions connected to the church, and among them the following are more known: the Joshua Missionary Bible Institute in Ukraine, the Center of Restoration of Personality and Transformation of the Society in Ukraine, the History Makers Bible School in the USA, the UK, Germany, France, and the Institute for National Transformation in Nigeria.
The Mayor of Kiev
Mayor of Kiev
Mayor of Kiev is the elected mayor of the municipality of Kiev, the capital of Ukraine, who is also normally automatically appointed as Head of the City's State Administration and Chair of the City Council....
, Leonid Chernovetsky, is a prominent member of the church.
Role in Orange Revolution
The church has been credited with playing an active role in the popular gatherings than eventually led to the Orange RevolutionOrange Revolution
The Orange Revolution was a series of protests and political events that took place in Ukraine from late November 2004 to January 2005, in the immediate aftermath of the run-off vote of the 2004 Ukrainian presidential election which was claimed to be marred by massive corruption, voter...
. Sunday Adelaja has, however, denounced in Ukrainian media his implied initiation of the Orange Revolution. The mayor of Kiev, Leonid Chernovetsky, is a member of the Embassy of God, but he is in opposition to the principal actors of the Orange Revolution, including Premier
Prime Minister of Ukraine
The Prime Minister of Ukraine is Ukraine's head of government presiding over the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, which is the highest body of the executive branch of the Ukrainian government....
Yulia Tymoshenko
Yulia Tymoshenko
Yulia Volodymyrivna Tymoshenko , née Grigyan , born 27 November 1960, is a Ukrainian politician. She was the Prime Minister of Ukraine from 24 January to 8 September 2005, and again from 18 December 2007 to 4 March 2010. She placed third in Forbes Magazine's List of The World's 100 Most Powerful...
. President Viktor Yushchenko
Viktor Yushchenko
Viktor Andriyovych Yushchenko is a former President of Ukraine. He took office on January 23, 2005, following a period of popular unrest known as the Orange Revolution...
has provided Adelaja with a certificate of thankfulness for his support in the Orange Revolution. During the protests, the church erected a tent chapel on Independence Square and offered shelter to thousands of people who came to Kiev.
Awards and honors
In October 2010, Sunday Adelaja was one of the foreigners in Ukraine who were awarded The Most Influential Expats 2010 by the Kyiv PostKyiv Post
The Kyiv Post is Ukraine's leading English-language newspaper.-History:The Kyiv Post was founded in September 1995 by an American, Jed Sunden. The paper covers politics, business and entertainment. The staff is a team of Western and Ukrainian journalists. Historically, the editorial policy has...
newspaper.
In May 2009, Sunday Adelaja became The Face of Kiev 2009. The annual competition was conducted by the magazine Afisha and Adelaja took the first place with more than 1/3 of the votes, beating to the second position, the most popular actor in Ukraine, Bohdan Stupka
Bohdan Stupka
Bohdan Stupka is a popular Ukrainian actor. He was born in Kulykiv, which is in Lviv oblast , Ukraine.Stupka is recognized as the most famous living Ukrainian actor. He has played more than hundred roles in films and over fifty in theaters. Stupka has been awarded the title Artist of Ukraine and...
; to the third place, the Heavy weight boxer Vitali Klitschko
Vitali Klitschko
Vitaliy Volodymyrovych Klychko is a Ukrainian professional heavyweight boxer and the current WBC heavyweight champion. He is a leader of the political party Ukrainian Democratic Alliance for Reform and a member of the Ukrainian delegation to the Congress of the Council of Europe. He previously...
; to the fourth place, one of the richest Entrepreneurs in Ukraine, Viktor Pinchuk
Viktor Pinchuk
Victor Pinchuk is a Jewish-Ukrainian businessman and philanthropist. Forbes ranked him # 336 on the list of the wealthiest people in the world, with a fortune of $3.3 billion...
; and to the fifth place the Mayor of Kiev
Mayor of Kiev
Mayor of Kiev is the elected mayor of the municipality of Kiev, the capital of Ukraine, who is also normally automatically appointed as Head of the City's State Administration and Chair of the City Council....
, Leonid Chernovetskyi
Leonid Chernovetskyi
Leonid Mykhaylovych Chernovetskyi is the incumbent Mayor of Kiev, the capital of Ukraine. Before his political career, he was a successful businessman, founder and controlling stakeholder of the Pravex Group and Pravex Bank, one of the largest banks in Ukraine.-Biography:Chernovetskyi quit school...
.
At the Azusa Street Revival
Azusa Street Revival
The Azusa Street Revival was a historic Pentecostal revival meeting that took place in Los Angeles, California and is the origin of the Pentecostal movement. It was led by William J. Seymour, an African American preacher. It began with a meeting on April 14, 1906, and continued until roughly 1915...
Festival on Saturday April 25, 2009, Sunday Adelaja received the first International William J. Seymour
William J. Seymour
William Joseph Seymour was an African American minister, and an initiator of the Pentecostal religious movement.-Biography:...
Award. This award is given to ministers who exhibit the characteristics of William J. Seymour. A statement from the award committee said: “This year we will award an international and national recipient: The international recipient will be Pastor Sunday Adelaja who is a Nigerian-born leader with an apostolic gift for the 21st century. In his mid-thirties Pastor Sunday has already proven to be one of the world’s most dynamic communicators and church planters and is regarded as the most successful pastor in Europe with over 25,000 members as well as daughter and satellite churches in over 35 countries worldwide”.
In March 2008 the Archbishop Benson Idahosa
Benson Idahosa
Benson Andrew Idahosa affectionately called PAPA or BA by his followers, was a Charismatic Pentecostal preacher, and founder of the Church of God Mission International with headquarters in Benin City, Nigeria . As the first Pentecostal archbishop in Nigeria, he was renowned for his robust faith....
Prize for Missionary Exploits was presented to Rev. Sunday Adelaja in recognition of his missionary exploits and social engagement in Kiev, Ukraine and around the world.
In March 2007 Sunday Adelaja became an Honorable Member of the Euroasian International Chamber of Commerce.
In May 2004 The Redeemed Christian Church of God
Redeemed Christian Church of God
The Redeemed Christian Church of God is a Nigeria-based Pentecostal Holiness ministry.-History:The RCCG was founded by Nigerian pastor Josiah Akindayomi...
(RCCG) Holland Mission gave a Special Appreciation to Pastor Sunday Adelaja for being part of what God is using His church to do in reaching out to the people of the Netherlands.
Accusations of fraud
Adelaja was accused in November 2008 of being involved in the dealings of King’s Capital, a financial group led by a former member of his congregation. The company promises as much as 60 percent returns on investments and drew many of its investors from the church. Later several former church members went to the authorities saying they were unable to recover the money they invested, which left many of them bankrupt. Police later arrested one of King’s Capital leaders, Aleksandr Bandurchenko, on suspicion of fraud.On February 5, 2009 a criminal case against Sunday Adelaja was filed on suspicion of fraud. Investigators say they have testimony indicating that Adelaja was involved in the financial machinations allegedly committed by the King’s Capital financial group. Kiev’s Mayor Chernovetsky, himself a church member, had earlier said that Adelaja was not involved in the financial scheme at King’s Capital.
In September 2009, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine admitted that they have exhausted their possibilities in the criminal case against Sunday Adelaja. Since the Ministry of Internal Affairs has still delayed and refused to take the case to the court the Embassy of God church and Sunday Adelaja has initiated a lawsuit against the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Police of Ukraine for unlawful accusation and libel. The judge has asked the Ministry of Internal Affairs to show their evidence for their accusation of fraud, but after five court hearings they have still not provided any evidence to support their accusation.
On October 12, 2009 Kiev investigators questioned Adelaja in connection with the fraud accusation. During a press conference On October 14, 2009 the Minister of Internal Affairs Yuriy Lutsenko
Yuriy Lutsenko
Yuriy Vitaliyovych Lutsenko is a Ukrainian politician and statesman and former Minister of Internal Affairs, he occupied this post in the two Cabinets of Yulia Tymoshenko and in Cabinets of Yuriy Yekhanurov, and Viktor Yanukovych...
said that the pre-trial proceedings had found out that from October 2006 to May 2008, Adelaja and others embezzled property of people most of whom were the believers of the Embassy of God church. The total amount of the damage due to these actions is over UAH
Ukrainian hryvnia
The hryvnia, sometimes hryvnya or grivna ; sign: ₴, code: , has been the national currency of Ukraine since September 2, 1996. The hryvnia is subdivided into 100 kopiyok. In medieval times, it was a currency of Kievan Rus'....
1.5 million in accordance with evidence provided by several witnesses, according to the Minister.
Adelaja considers the police's decision to investigate him for involvement in the financial group's machinations as implementation of a political order. And has said that the cause of the financial problems at the King's Capital financial group was the economic crisis
2008–2009 Ukrainian financial crisis
Ukraine was hit heavily by the late-2000s recession, the World Bank expects Ukraine's economy to shrink 15% in 2009 with inflation being 16.4%....
rather than a deliberate fraud.
As of April 2011 the case has not been taken to court.
Criticism from evangelical church leaders
On 28 December 2008, nine leaders of evangelical churches in Ukraine signed a statement in which they, among other things, dissociate themselves from Sunday Adelaja and his activity. They accuse him of trying to create a cult of personalityCult of personality
A cult of personality arises when an individual uses mass media, propaganda, or other methods, to create an idealized and heroic public image, often through unquestioning flattery and praise. Cults of personality are usually associated with dictatorships...
, and accuse him of using methods and activity based on self-advertisement, exaggeration of personal merits, teaching the doctrine of prosperity and the sin of love of money, and his practice of cursing the church members and parishioners who disagree with his opinion.
Besides Embassy of God
Embassy of God
Embassy of God is a Charismatic Protestant church and parachurch organization in Kiev, Ukraine. It was founded and is led by pastor Sunday Adelaja, who is an immigrant from Nigeria...
Church there are two other megachurch
Megachurch
A megachurch is a church having 2,000 or more in average weekend attendance. The Hartford Institute's database lists more than 1,300 such Protestant churches in the United States. According to that data, approximately 50 churches on the list have attendance ranging from 10,000 to 47,000...
es in Ukraine; Victory Church and Hillsong Church
Hillsong Church
Hillsong Church is a Pentecostal megachurch affiliated with Australian Christian Churches and located in Sydney, Australia. The church's senior pastors, Brian and Bobbie Houston, began the church in 1983 as the Hills Christian Life Centre in Baulkham Hills...
, and their pastors, Henry Madava and Evgenij Kasevich have not signed the statement.
Political views
Adelaja supports Ukrainian nationalismUkrainian nationalism
Ukrainian nationalism refers to the Ukrainian version of nationalism.Although the current Ukrainian state emerged fairly recently, some historians, such as Mykhailo Hrushevskyi, Orest Subtelny and Paul Magosci have cited the medieval state of Kievan Rus' as an early precedents of specifically...
, according to him Ukraine can only become independent through a nationalist mood. He considers it unfortunately that patriotism
Patriotism
Patriotism is a devotion to one's country, excluding differences caused by the dependencies of the term's meaning upon context, geography and philosophy...
does not apply to all Ukrainians
Ukrainians
Ukrainians are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine, which is the sixth-largest nation in Europe. The Constitution of Ukraine applies the term 'Ukrainians' to all its citizens...
. “Only through the nationalistic mood can the Ukrainian nation become independent at all. If Ukrainians do not become more nationalistic, I am afraid that this country may come back under the Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n or Polish
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
or Hungarian
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
or some other yoke”.
Adelaja thinks racism is not typical of the Ukrainian society. “I think it is a more Russian phenomenon, which came here. But Russia also sees how bad racism is for a country’s reputation”.
Adelaja was a strong supporter of the Orange Revolution
Orange Revolution
The Orange Revolution was a series of protests and political events that took place in Ukraine from late November 2004 to January 2005, in the immediate aftermath of the run-off vote of the 2004 Ukrainian presidential election which was claimed to be marred by massive corruption, voter...
. “Twelve years ago we were freed from Communism
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
. Though we have had a different government with different uniforms since, the same corrupt people have remained in power. Now, Ukraine has its first opportunity to choose our own free way of life.” He stated about the then candidate in and later winner of the 2004 Ukrainian presidential election
Ukrainian presidential election, 2004
The Ukrainian presidential election, 2004 was held on October 31, November 21 and December 26, 2004. The election was the fourth presidential election to take place in Ukraine following independence from the Soviet Union...
Viktor Yushchenko
Viktor Yushchenko
Viktor Andriyovych Yushchenko is a former President of Ukraine. He took office on January 23, 2005, following a period of popular unrest known as the Orange Revolution...
: “He is a committed believer who is serious about his faith
Faith
Faith is confidence or trust in a person or thing, or a belief that is not based on proof. In religion, faith is a belief in a transcendent reality, a religious teacher, a set of teachings or a Supreme Being. Generally speaking, it is offered as a means by which the truth of the proposition,...
, and is influenced by God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
and the Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
”.
However, during the last president elections
Ukrainian presidential election, 2010
The Ukrainian presidential election of 2010 is Ukraine's fifth presidential election since declaring independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. The first round was held on January 17, 2010...
Adelaja decided and called all affiliated churches to vote for Victor Yanukovich, the opponent of the "Orange" leaders (Tymoshenko and Yushchenko).