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Užbaikite Šv. Rašto citatą: "Jei Viešpats panorės..."
 
„Kalbėdami tiesą su meile, aukime visais atžvilgiais tame, kuris yra galva, - Kristuje.“ (Ef4, 15)
Lietuvos reformacijos istorijos ir kultūros draugija
LERD "RADVILA"
The General Superintendent of the Evangelical Reformed Church of Lithuania Rev. Tomas Šernas: “We have been offering an outstretched hand for ten years now”
Lundi, 05 Novembre 2012 08:44
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bendra_mA large number of believers gathered at the Return Service in the Vilnius Evangelical Reformed church building which had been closed for the Vilnius Evangelical Reformed congregation for many years. The church, located in the Vilnius Old Town, was opened only a week ago under the ordinance of the bailiff. By Evangelical Reformed Synod of Lithuania in 2002 suspended deacon Algimantas Kvedaravičius and few his supporters only were able freely to enter the building during the last decade.

Despite the long-lasting effort to solve the problem of Algiamntas Kvedaravičius and his small group supporters' resistance the members of the Evangelical Reformed Church of Lithuania and the reformed Christian community in Vilnius remained united. Being deprived of the church building of their own, the community found shelter under the roof of the church of the Evangelical Lutheran church. Now the Reformed can gather at their own church building again.

"We have been offering an outstretched hand for ten years now. Our justice can be reached through modesty and through humility. For me, personally, it is also difficult to be humble when I feel that I am being disrespected, my community or a line from the Holy Book is being disrespected, but we have to learn how to be modest and humble in Jesus Christ. Being humble means that we are becoming better - we are becoming kinder to our families, we are becoming kinder to our friends and colleagues. I pray and ask the Lord to give me and us all, including those other new Reformed Christians who came to the church in last ten years. The real and wise humbleness opens the eyes of our heart. Then we look around and make decisions in quite a different way, the decisions which do not destroy but those which create", said in his sermon pastor Tomas Šernas, General Superintendent of the Evangelical Reformed Church of Lithuania.

pylimo_balkonoMore than 200 Reformed Christian believers of Vilnius congregation gathered for the Return service at the church open for the whole community now.

"That's a celebration. We have always known that we have our own church, but we couldn't attend it because it had been locked for congregation under false pretext of the "renovation works of the church building". After 2002 the church building was opened just according will of Mr. Algimantas Kvedarvičius for his supporters who were in big part built up by new believers. "We also knew that there had been differences because of one person's ambitions inside the Church, but the pastors of the congregation had always comforted us saying that the church would be open to the community again finally", said one of the members of the congregation who attended the Return service.
Rev. Tomas Šernas says that in order to ensure the possibility for the Reformed Christian community to return to the church buildings in Vilnius, Papilys and Salamiestis, they had to take legal measures.

"We have avoided applying to the legal institutions of our country asking help in solving the complicated state of matters in the Church, having had hope that the problems, whatever complicated they might be, we would be able to solve ourselves, together with our brothers in faith and without any outside church intrusion.
However, it appeared that we were facing straightforward malevolence - the former deacon of the Evangelical Reformed Church of Lithuania, treading over all the principles of the Church, started openly undermining the entire community. Being aware that injustice and disagreement inside the Church have the most harmful effect on the believers‘ feelings, we had to take measures and look for a solution to the problem", said Rev. Tomas Šernas.

Under the decision of the Vilnius Region Court of 14th of October, 2011 (Civil case Nr.2-7196-345/2011) and the ordinance of the bailiff, previously closed churches of the Evangelical Reformed Church of Lithuania were taken away from juridical body "Lietuvos evangelikų reforamtų bažnyčios Sinodo kolegija" and given for temporally protection last week to the juridical body "Lietuvos evangelikų reformatų bažnyčios - Unitas Lithuaniae-Sinodas". Really 3 church buildings were opened for congregations in Vilnius, Papilys (Biržai district) and Salamiestis (Kupiškis district). The church buildings in Biržai, Nemunėlio Radviliškis (Biržai district) and Švobiškis (Pasvalys district) never been closed because of that congregation were strong not to leave church buildings and never recognized the juridical tricks of Mr. Algimantas Kvedaravičius made that churches be registered in State recorders as property of the juridical body of Synod Colegium. According the church canon law the church buildings belongs to Synod and congregation have all rights to hold the Synod property with no right it to sell or rent for long time.

The Evangelical Reformed Church of Lithuania has been functioning in Lithuania since the 16th century and currently abides to the canons adopted by the Church since 1557 and before 1940. According to the canons, the highest institution of the Church is the Synod and the property of the Church is managed, also the administrative functions are performed by the Consistory of 4 pastors and 4 lay elders elected for 3 years cadency from the members of the Synod.

Mr. A. Kvedaravičius was suspended as deacon in 2002 by Synod. He, as it is declared in the application of the Evangelical Reformed Church of Lithuania to start the legal procedures, having made use of the gaps in the Lithuanian legal system and having manipulated various documents, illegally took hold almost over all the real estate and tangible property belonging to the community of the Evangelical Reformed Church of Lithuania.
In spite of the fact that in 2002 the Synod of the Evangelical Reformed Church of Lithuania assigned all the real estate and tangible property for the administration of the Synod of the Lithuanian Evangelical Reformed Church (Unitas Lituaniae), A.Kvedaravičius, admittedly, without having any authorization of the community of the Evangelical Reformed of Lithuania and without any legal right to represent them, started speculating in the property and the name of the Church.

In 2011, when the juridical body of the Synod of the Evangelical Reformed Church (Unitas Lituaniae) applied to the Lithuanian legal institutions about A.Kvedaravičius' illicit actions, the most of the Church property (the estimated value of which was nearly 17 million litas) was, according to the commercial treaties, handed over or sold to the third party for six times smaller than market price.

The Vilnius Region procurators have indicted A.Kvedaravičius and Yakov Strokanov and arrested all their personal and illegally acquired and squandered property.

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