A seminar was held in Kiev about the Reformation's influence

The concept of «reformation» means the act or process of reforming an institution or practice; changing the original shape or image so that it aligns with the intentions God has created for the individual, the church and society. In the XVI century the fathers of the Reformation used an important, timeless motto: "Ecclesia reformata, semper reformanda!" which translates, "reformed and always being reformed". The Church must always keep going through reformation. According to the teachings of Martin Luther, John Calvin and other preachers, the Church, the body of believers, must always stay awake to meet the standard, which was revealed to us by the Lord in the Holy Scriptures. The Church must be like salt that transforms an individual and society as a whole.

The speaker informed seminar participants not only about the history of the Reformation, but also accented the influence the Reformation teachings had on the formation of Western civilization, and continues to have nowadays.

In Deuteronomy, chapter 28, God says that if people listen to His voice and live according to His commandments, He will rise up and bless the nation among others. But there is another side: if people refuse to listen to God and His commandments, than the curse will come upon that nation. The certainty of this biblical law is brightly proven in European history.

Southern Europe was better developed and wealthier than the north of Europe before the Reformation. But it was the Southern European countries such as Italy, Spain, and Portugal that rejected the idea of the return to Biblical truth. At the same time the Nordic countries - Britain, Scandinavia, Holland, Switzerland adopted the Reformation doctrine. Since the XVI century, to this day, the difference in the development of these countries is more than obvious. The contemporary history of South and North Korea also shows that the Biblical laws are relevant not only to the past, but also to our time and are much wider than the context of Western culture. The Bible is universal for all cultures.

The Protestant Reformation influenced greatly various spheres of life in Europe, and then the whole world. Its main postulates:

1«Only Christ» (Solus Christus)

— this is a doctrine that discloses the central place of Christ in Christian spirituality and makes an accent on His saving grace. This truth gave birth to contemporary relevant social phenomena as:

• The value of a person (understanding that a person has God's likeness and value in Christ),
• Human rights (each person has innate rights that are given to them not by people or state, but by God).

2Vocation epistle

— teaching about the purpose of each person as defined by their potential and abilities. This teaching gave birth to such phenomena as:

• The Protestant work ethics (ministry to God through one's profession),
• The development of science and technology (many fathers of science were deeply religious people. The desire to understand the harmony of the created world stimulated them to scientific discoveries).

3The universal priesthood

— the truth is that every disciple of Christ is called to have a direct contact with God. The results of this biblical idea are:

• Civil society (self-government of responsible, initiative and educated citizens),
• Democracy (people's power as a result of the formation of a conscious, educated, moral people),
• Parliamentarism (when the country is run by elected representatives "of the people").

4«Only Scripture» (Sola Scriptura)

— the truth that only the Bible is the sole source of revelation. The idea that the Bible exclusively gives knowledge of Truth and understanding of the scriptures to every believer, as the basis of the Church's spirituality, led to:

• Literacy (the need to study the Bible gave birth to schools, universities and the elimination of illiteracy)
• Pious culture (cultural purification from pagan and ungodly elements)
• The formation of nations (the rejection of Latin and formation of national languages through translations of the Bible; the struggle of peoples for independence).

5«In the presence of God» (Coram Deo)

— the truth that everyone walks in front of an All-Seeing God. This was truth transformed into:

• The rule of law (the law was given by God as a blessing, and also guarantees the freedom to citizens).

These fruits of the Reformation changed the image of the world. Although today they are often attributed to the ideas of humanism - the Enlightenment and the French Revolution - anyone who looks closely at the Western countries of Europe (as well as the United States, Canada and Australia), will see the true origin of the major benefits of modern civilization.

A workshop was held as part of the annual work program of the Eastern European Leadership Forum, which will be held in Kiev this November. The Forum is an event affiliated with the annually held European Leadership Forum, which gathers Christian leaders for unification, equipment of resources, and exchange of experience and vision.

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