Vitaly Vlasenko, general secretary of the Russian Evangelical Alliance, led the four-person Russian Protestant delegation to visit China in late April.
The Russian delegation paid visits to Beijing, Shanghai, and Nanjing from April 15 to 18 to promote friendship among Protestant churches in Russia and China.
According to CCC&TSPM, Rev. Wu Wei, president of the China Christian Council, first met the delegation in Shanghai on April 15, introducing the landscape of Christianity in China, the background of the TSPM in China, the ongoing campaign of sinicization of Christianity, as well as the challenges facing churches in China to the Russian Protestants.
Including Leoncid Kartavenko, one of the chairmans of the Advisory Council for the Heads of the Protestant Churches of Russia and bishop in the "All-Russian Fellowship of Evangelical-Christians” (VSEKh), Igor Karasev, bishop of Moscow region for the VSEKh, and Dr. William Yoder from the Lutheran Church in the Urals, Siberia, and the Far East, the delegation exchanged the history and status quo of Christianity in Russia with the Chinese side.
The next day, the delegation visited the Nanjing Union Theological Seminary and the Amity Printing Company for the first time, expecting future communication and exchanges in education and music.
They also met church leaders from the Beijing CC&TSPM and visited local churches.
"I had a great experience, and China surprised me in a very good sense," Vitaly Valsenko said. "This visit was well organized, and we are thankful for our Chinese partners who participated in it."
