Author Topic: Moscow: Adventists Call for Prayer as Hostage Standoff Continues (Read 2318 times)

Brad · « **on:** October 25, 2002, 07:58:00 PM »

October 24, 2002 Moscow, Russian Federation .... [ESD Staff/ANN Staff]

Seventh-day Adventist Church leaders in Moscow are calling for prayers from Adventists worldwide as a tense hostage situation continues a short distance away from the church's headquarters in Russia.

Chechen rebels seized control of a theater in eastern Moscow on Wednesday evening. They are holding an estimated 700 people, and are threatening to kill the hostages if Russian troops are not withdrawn from the war-torn republic of Chechnya.

The Adventist Church headquarters, located in eastern Moscow a few miles from the theater, is currently hosting its Year-End Meeting. The event, which brings together church administrators from across the Euro-Asia region and oversees, is proceeding as scheduled. But leaders have interrupted their program on a number of occasions to pray for a peaceful resolution to the standoff.

An employee at the church headquarters says that the immediate neighborhood is quiet, although there have been some reports of street violence against people of Chechen appearance. The employee says that people across the area are already nervous due to last week's assassination of a high-ranking governor, and a car bombing at a Moscow McDonald's restaurant. Police are guarding schools, colleges, and some churches.

The situation has also forced the cancellation of a four-day "revival series" led by Adventist evangelist Mark Finley. Last night, some 2,000 people attended the opening night of the series held at a sports venue just a short distance from the theater under siege. The hostage takeover began at about the time people were leaving the Finley meeting. Latest reports suggest that authorities have closed down the revival meetings, and other large public events, as part of a general security clamp down.

Valery Ivanov, communication director for church in Euro-Asia, has expressed thanks on behalf of Adventists in Moscow to people around the world who are praying, and who have sent messages of support.

Adventist News Network will continue to follow this story, and will release further reports about the situation in Moscow as more information becomes available.

Brad · « **Reply #1 on:** October 25, 2002, 08:21:00 PM »

MOSCOW (AP) - Chechen rebels holding hundreds of captives have started killing hostages, Russian news agencies reported early Saturday after a series of explosions and gunfire were heard in the area.

Link to story and video

Wendy · « **Reply #2 on:** October 26, 2002, 06:07:00 PM »

May God be with them.

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WendyL ~ Maranatha!:)

Richard Myers · « **Reply #3 on:** October 26, 2002, 10:19:00 PM »

"At least 140 people - 90 of them hostages - are now known to have died in the raid that ended the three-day siege and its aftermath."

BBC News

Wendy · « **Reply #4 on:** November 02, 2002, 03:25:00 PM »

Russia: Remembering Victims of Hostage Crisis
October 29, 2002 Moscow, Russian Federation .... [ESD Staff/ANN Staff]

Seventh-day Adventist members and leaders in Moscow are praying for the families of those killed in the hostage crisis that ended October 26. The Adventist Church headquarters, located in eastern Moscow a short distance from the theater where the hostages were held, is currently hosting its year-end meeting. The event, which brings together church administrators from across the Euro-Asia region and overseas, proceeded as scheduled throughout the crisis, but leaders interrupted their program on a number of occasions to pray for a peaceful resolution to the standoff.

Chechen rebels seized control of the theater on Wednesday evening, October 23. They held more than 700 people for three days before Russian special forces stormed the theater and ended the standoff early Saturday morning. One hundred and fifteen hostages died during the rescue.

October 28 was declared a national day of mourning in Russia, and Artur Stele, president of the Adventist Church in Euro-Asia, urged delegates at the year-end meetings to join the nation in remembering those who lost their lives. Delegates stood for a moment of silence and Stele led the group in prayer for the victims’ families and for the leaders of Russia.

The hostage situation also forced a quick change of plans for a four-day "revival series" led by Adventist evangelist Mark Finley. On October 23, some 2,000 people attended the opening night of the series at a Moscow sports venue. Just a few miles away, Chechen rebels took control of the theater around 9 p.m. the same evening, about the time people were leaving the Finley meeting.

Local authorities said they could not allow the Finley series to continue in the auditorium, saying it was too close to the ongoing hostage situation and that the auditorium was too difficult to secure.

"Our choice was to cancel the meetings altogether or change the location,” says Finley. “We opted to change the location because we felt we could be a real ministry to people at this time. I changed the topic of my sermon because of the hostage situation, and I talked about intercessory prayer and the value of God’s people praying."

On Thursday and Friday nights, Finley ended the meetings with special prayer for the hostages, their captors, and negotiators.

Valery Ivanov, communication director for Adventists in Euro-Asia, says many people expressed gratitude that Finley continued his meetings during the crisis. He says several thousand people attended over the course of four days, including about 1,000 visitors who were not active Adventists.

Source: Adventist News Network