Pastor of the Moscow Pentecostal Church Arrested
On October 19th in Moscow, Evangelical Pastor, Nikolai Nikolajevits Romaniuk of the Holy Trinity Church was arrested after the Sunday service.
The arrest included a thorough home search, conducted in a very abrupt manner. Pastor Romaniuk is being accused of collaboration with Western intelligence services.
Fabricated Accusations
The accusations are fabricated and belong to the traditional FSB (Russia’s Federal Security Service) workings and lies. The pastor's entire family experienced great psychological trauma as a result. Such searches and arrests in present-day Russia are unfortunately predictable and to be expected.
Heavy Handed House Search
During the house searches, hooded Russian secret police special forces with loaded Kalashnikovs were on site. The family's children were forced to lie face down on the floor, with their hands behind their heads, for six hours.
Refusal to Support the War
The most prevalent accusation against Pastor Nikolai Romaniuk was that he expressed his disagreement against the brutal war that the Russian Federation is waging in Ukrainian territory.
In Russia, citizens whose lives line up with the truth of the Bible and Christian worldview and even those with a sense of justice will suffer, regardless of their faith or lack thereof.
A fellow pastor shared: "I have known Nikolai Romaniuk since our youth and have known the family well, including his father Nikolai Vasilievich from the Ternopil region in Ukraine."
Prison Sentence
During the years of Soviet persecution and oppression, Nikolai’s father was a Pentecostal church pastor in Moscow and suffered greatly because of his faith. He was sent to a prison camp in Siberia for 18 years.
Nikolai's older brother Vasili, also a pastor, died under very mysterious circumstances in a Moscow hospital due to an unknown illness.
In 2012, the Romaniuk brothers' church building, where they pastored, was demolished by bulldozers late one night.
The Kremlin regime continues its illegal activities, and one question remains: “God, how long will this continue?!”
While waiting for more information, we ask friends to pray for our Christian brother Nikolai, as he awaits the fate of his arrest.
Brotherly regards, VF
Read the full story in the Winter 2025 Edition of the Ministry magazine. To receive a copy of this issue and other updates, you can easily make your request here.
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