“Sevastopol (Glorious from Greek) is a city of special administrative status, a large sea port and a naval base of the Ukrainian and Russian Fleets, industrial, scientific and cultural center of the South of Ukraine”. But behind these official words there are people who live in this city and Christians of the Open Hearts Church who invite you to come and meet Sevastopol heart to heart, make prayer walks along the green streets and fascinate how the Lord uses history to show His ways for people. Times of flourishing and decline, times of prosperity and misery… Are we obedient to His Word? Do we glorify Him in everything? Can lives of Christians influence the life of the country? The history of our city gives us answers to these essential questions. The territory of Sevastopol was settled at the beginning of the 1st millennium BC. Near present Balaclava there were Tauri (VII century BC) settlements. Homer describes the Bay of Balaclava as a port of Lestrigons where Odisseus stayed. A lot of legends are connected with this place. It’s amazing that now you can meet the descendants of ancient Lestrigons in Balaclava Baptist Church who will take you around this legendary place. Another breathtaking historical place is Chersonesus which was founded by ancient Greeks in 7 B.C. on the land of warlike tribe, the Tauri. From a modest settlement of some hundred it turned into a magnificent and powerful city that influenced the life of the Black Sea countries for over 2,000 years. The Medieval Chersonesus was chief Byzantine bastion in the Crimea for many centures. It is from there the Russian prince Vladimir brought Christianity to the Russian lands in the early Middle Ages. You can see the Baptistery where Prince Vladimir was baptized and the remains of beautiful Christian basilicas. History left Chersonesus in ruins after the decline of Byzantium in the 14th century, but gave a new start to this place in 1784. Catherine the Great gave instructions to built a strong fortress with a port and a military settlement for protecting the new Russian territories gained after the defeat of the Turkish Fleet. For those who are interested in the history of the Crimean War (1853-1855) it would be exciting to see the Valley of Death and remember the Charge of the Light Brigade. WW II started for the citizens of Sevastopol early in the morning of June, 22 1941 even before the war was announced. The Black Sea fleet was the first to beat off the air attacks of the German fascists. The heroic 250 days defence of the city is another page of our history that can’t leave you emotionless. Sevastopol is awaiting for you and we’d be glad to show you around our ancient and still young city full of life and light, share our faith and joy with brothers and sisters. But most of all we would be glad to sing glory to our awesome God together in our Open Hearts Church! Zoya Poverennova | | | | | | | | | |
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