Interview with pastor Sunday: A SELF - STYLED  AMBASSADOR

Controversial preacher Sunday Adelaja is the head of Kyiv’s Embassy of God, a church decried by the Orthodox Church as a heretical body. This however, does not deter thousands attending the Nigerian pastor’s sermons, not least Leonid Chernovitsky, the Ukrainian capital’s incumbent mayor.

Your congregation includes mayor elect Leonid Chernovetskiy. Did his win surprise you?

The victory of Leonid Chernovitsky was a surprise to many Kyivites, as a lot of effort went into sabotaging his campaign, but as a man of God I was not surprised. I had a revelation from God that he would be victorious and told him this. The church did not play any active role in the sense that the church did not campaign; the church is a religious not a political body. Nevertheless some of our members took it upon themselves to campaign for him and many more voted for him.

Some Kyivites are concerned that your movement is a cult. What would you say to tour detractors?

It’s understandable because all people from the former Soviet Union have ever known is Communism and Orthodoxy. The Protestant faith is nothing new in other countries – indeed 25% of Christians are Protestant. But the Orthodox Church still holds the centuries old view that any denomination other than Orthodoxy is a cult even though most of the world’s developed countries are Protestant.

Do you find that attitudes to non-Europeans have changed in Ukraine?

I’m fortunate in the sense that it’s hard to classify me as a regular Nigerian living in Kyiv as my ministry at the Embassy of God church means that I have a different status to my fellow countrymen. With a congregation of about 25, 000 I’m much more like the second Nigerian ambassador or a high profile diplomat than an ordinary Nigerian. I do stand out. I do believe that attitudes to non-Europeans are changing for the better, but Europeans who come here to make money still tend to be more tolerated and respected.

What is your relationship with the official church organs in Ukraine?

My relationship with the Orthodox Church in Europe isn’t a friendly one but I regard them as my Brothers in Christ. I’ve tried to initiate a dialogue with them many times but to no avail. The issue is that they see me as someone who has come from the jungle determined to steal the souls of their people and for a country which has a thousand year Christian tradition this is a big problem for the established Church. There’ve been several accessions when they’ve tried ti kick me out of Ukraine but I’ve always survived; the Embassy of God’s congregation has a number of influential people and I have their full support. Jesus taught us to love our enemies and bless those who persecute us and I personally feel that, while they don’t understand me now, they will eventually bless me.

Was your church very active during the Orange Revolution?

Our church members assisted the people at Maidan; supplying them with warm clothes, food, medicine, and security services, and we also provided places to sleep for more than one thousand people during the Orange Revolution. In the Embassy of God we have more than one thousand church members who are freedom fighters.

Ukraine recently had democratic elections for the first time. What is your Prognosis for the future?

The recent democratic elections in Kyiv are only the beginning and I believe that the future for Ukraine is bright. Anybody with any sense of responsibility supports Yuschenko and will give him the support he needs to help make Ukraine a more democratic country.

Interview was prepared by Cosmos Ojukwu. ("What's on" magazine ¹13/2006 April 14-20)