Context and statements.
Context and statements.
On November 15, ahead of the opening of the 2nd International “BRICS–Europe” Symposium in Sochi, an international prayer meeting for peace was held with the participation of parliamentarians from Russia, European countries and the Global South.
The event took place from 09:00 to 09:45 as a meeting “on the sidelines” of the symposium and was dedicated to joint prayer for peace, an end to the bloody conflicts in Ukraine, in the Gaza Strip and other regions of the world, as well as for the future of children and the next generations.
The meeting was organized by the International Fathers’ Union, the World Christian Parliamentarians Association, the “True Values” Foundation, and Dmitry Kuznetsov, Member of the State Duma of the Russian Federation.
Participants of the prayer meeting:
– Dmitry Kuznetsov, Member of the State Duma of the Russian Federation;
– Ronaldo Nogueira, Federal Deputy and President of the PROSUL Front in the National Congress of Brazil, former Minister of Labor, Chair of the Committee on Labor and Social Affairs, pastor;
– Pierre de Gaulle, President of the Pierre de Gaulle Foundation for Peace and Friendship among Nations;
– Rima de Gaulle, spouse of Pierre de Gaulle;
– Dr. Rainer Rothfuss, Member of the German Bundestag;
– Fernand Kartheiser, Member of the European Parliament;
– Dr. Daniel Zerbin, Member of the German Bundestag, member of the Defence Committee (online participation);
– László Toroczkai, Member of the Parliament of Hungary;
– Waldemar Herdt, President of the World Alliance for Traditional Values and Religious Freedom, Member of the 19th Bundestag;
– Ulrich Singer, Member of the Bavarian Landtag (Germany);
– Alexey Komov, Representative of the World Congress of Families in Russia, President of the “Family Policy. RF” Analytical Centre.
The meeting was moderated by Vladimir Zuev, Director of the International Fathers’ Union and pastor.
Essence and Significance of the Meeting
The idea of the prayer meeting was to unite Christian parliamentarians from different countries around shared Christian values, faith in Christ, and the pursuit of peaceful conflict resolution, as well as to bring nations together in prayer for peace.
The participants emphasized that it is fathers, who bear responsibility for their children and families, who feel most acutely the need for a lasting and just peace. During the meeting, prayers were offered for an end to bloodshed, for the protection of civilians, for wisdom for world leaders, and for the restoration of trust between nations.
The leitmotif of the meeting was the verse from the Sermon on the Mount:
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God” (Matthew 5:9).
Quotes from Participants
Dmitry Kuznetsov, Member of the State Duma of Russia, stated:
“I would like to thank the leadership of the International Fathers’ Union for their help in organizing this joint prayer for peace. As fathers, we fully understand how important it is to ensure a reliable peace for our children. The international situation is difficult now, and only reliance on a spiritual and value-based foundation can truly save us.”
Expanding on his thought, he added:
“People consider themselves rational and, of course, they do not want to die themselves, nor do they want their children to die in war. Yet in Europe, every hundred years there are major wars that take tens of millions of lives. Today, according to analysts, the likelihood of a nuclear conflict in Europe looks frighteningly high. All attempts to stop the slide towards war only through economic interests and political pragmatism are clearly not enough. I believe that it is precisely a spiritual platform that can change the course of history. God does not want people to perish, and through the prayers of many people in different countries, the Lord can deliver us from a great tragedy and give the world a chance to avoid a new major war.”
Ronaldo Nogueira, Federal Deputy of Brazil and pastor, in his address emphasized the spiritual foundations of true peace and the need for repentance and turning to God:
“This morning, we gathered here as deputies, fathers and believers to be united in prayer around God’s plan for peace. The Scripture says that if God’s people humble themselves, pray and turn from their wicked ways, then the Lord will hear from heaven, forgive their sins and heal their land.
We live in a world where, through human actions, evil and cruelty manifest themselves far too often — bringing suffering to people and destroying God’s creation. Sin separates a person from God, and remaining far from Him, a person cannot truly know or experience His love and His plan for their life. That is why we need Christ to be revealed through us, so that our decisions and actions may be good and constructive.
All the monstrous tragedies of humanity — wars, oppression, slavery — have never been God’s will; they were manifestations of fallen human nature. But through this spiritual platform, God is raising up a people of peacemakers. We believe that the grace of God and the power of the Gospel can stop human terror and evil, heal hearts and bring true peace, because only Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace, can give the world the true fullness of God’s peace.”
Fernand Kartheiser, Member of the European Parliament, drew attention to the suffering of people on the front lines and the responsibility of politicians to seek peace:
“Every day in the war people are dying, thousands every month. They wear different uniforms and fight for different reasons. Some may hate their enemies, but many do not; they are simply afraid for their lives. Many turn to God: they pray to survive, to remain unharmed, they pray for their loved ones, for their comrades, for their country.
War is terrible, inhuman, intolerable. We humans are very skilled at justifying wars, but are we truly fulfilling God’s commandment of love when we do so? We are here to work for peace, to plead for an end to the killing, to look for ways to turn enemies into friends and to beat swords into plowshares. God has entrusted us with this small planet — our common home, and it is our duty to make it a refuge of peace and love and finally put an end to bloodshed.”
Context of the meeting
The prayer meeting took place one hour before the opening of the 2nd International Symposium “BRICS – Europe”, which is being held in Sochi today. The symposium is organized by the political party “United Russia”, the International Movement “The Other Ukraine”, and the Institute of Europe of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
Around 12 Members of the European Parliament and more than 15 members of national parliaments of European countries are taking part in its work. China, Brazil, Iran, Indonesia, the Republic of Belarus, Algeria, Cuba, Cambodia, Ethiopia, and South Africa are also represented at the conference at the level of heads and chairs of relevant committees.
The prayer meeting became a spiritual and values-based emphasis before the start of the political discussions of the symposium, underlining that the discussion of ways of peaceful coexistence should be based on moral and Christian values, respect for life, and the pursuit of reconciliation.