Quiz/questioning of the "Open forum 2013" speakers

Today we have a possibility to get better acquainted with the main participants of the Open Forum which will take place on January 18th in Sacramento. We have preliminarily asked every speaker the same questions. With these questions, we have tried to break through a thick layer of their armor which, as it often seems, each respecting himself pastor "should" carry, to look into their kind hearts and to learn "where they are coming from" and what is their goal. We bring to your attention the answers of six speakers of this forum.

1. Name three qualities which describe you as a person.

Sergey Homich (bishop, Belarus): Sincerity with God and people, prudence (trying to think prayerfully over each step), purposefulness (firm and fast advance when sure of correctness of the chosen decision) - (this characteristic was given to me by my wife.) While going towards a set goal, unfortunately, I can miss a person in need.

Victor Pavlovsky (bishop, Moldova): Persistence, calmness and peacemaking.

Arthur Simonyan (pastor, Armenia): A kind, happy optimist.

Johannes Reimer (pastor, Germany): It is possible to rely on me, I am a fundamental optimist and strategist.

Alexander Shevchenko (pastor, USA): Resoluteness. A categoriality. Honesty.

Sergey Ryakhovsky (the bishop, Russia): Goal-oriented, dedicated, deeply believing

2. How do you like to spend the your free time?

Homich:
For the last 25 years of service, there practically wasn’t any. I’m not bragging; but, unfortunately, it’s a reality with which I had to deal.

Pavlovskiy:
I like to work on something related to construction or to drive somewhere.

Simonyan:
To cook.

Reimer:
I write books, go for walks, steam in sauna.

Shevchenko:
I read books, go for a walk in the park, spend time with my family.

Ryakhovsky:
I love reading, fishing, picking mushrooms, cooking, "to be picked with pieces of iron" garage. Unfortunately, it is already a lot of years because of employment almost anything from the aforesaid I do not presume.

3. Who has influenced you becoming a pastor?

Homich:
It is difficult to pick one person. They are all members of the Belorussian brotherhood and the Minsk "Grace" church.

Pavlovskiy:
First of all, my uncle who was my first pastor, and then ministers Bilas Roman Ivanovich and Belykh Victor Ivanovich.

Simonyan:
God, persecutions, friends and my wife.

Reimer:
Professor Hans Kasdorf from Frezno.

Shevchenko:
There is no certain person. It is a combination of separate qualities of different people, my spiritual experiences, internal struggles and other factors.

Ryakhovsky:
First of all – the Lord and the Scriptures, and also parents, my great-grandmother Varvara Andreevna. Then the great influence on me was rendered by "prisoners of conscience": bishops Ivan Antonovich Levchuk, Victor Ivanovich Belykh, Pavel Egorenko and Ivan Petrovich Fedotov. It is necessary to note my spouse, children, and also my local church.

4. If you didn't become a pastor, whom would you have wanted to be?

Homich:
If I didn't become a pastor, I think that I would have found myself in politics.

Pavlovskiy:
I would have probably become a driver or continued to work in construction.

Simonyan:
Then I would have wanted to become a pastor.

Reimer:
I would have been involved in sociocultural anthropology.

Shevchenko:
It is only possible to be yourself. If you are not "you", then there is no "you" any more.

Ryakhovskiy:
I have never seriously considered a possibility to be someone else.

5. What would you want to change in your life?

Homich:
Some character traits.

Pavlovskiy:
At present, probably, nothing. I am happy with how things are.

Simonyan:
Those habits and character traits that need changing.

Reimer:
My half-blind eyes.

Shevchenko:
Not to fuss. To separate attentively primary from secondary, and to find time for the main things.

Ryakhovskiy:
In my opinion, because of serving, I had not devoted enough time to my wife and children, and to my parents, who are already with the Lord, and also to brothers, sisters and other relatives.

6. What is the price of your Christianity?

Homich:
Sometimes aversion of that way which God wants to conduct even by close people. Being rejected as a Christian by my communist father.

Pavlovskiy:
I can't tell that I had to pay a high price for my faith, but the price of serving is to remain and serve where the Lord put you. In this case, probably, my wife and children are paying a high price. After all, they follow me even if they don't feel the same calling as I do.

Simonyan:
It is priceless.

Reimer:
Readiness to die for it.

Shevchenko:
The price is defined by the sacrifice, by degree of dedication, faithfulness of one’s heart, and christening in the calling. My Christianity is inseparable from my business, and my business is the main part not only of my life but of my essence as well.

Ryakhovskiy:
The price is when you pay for something and it is sad for you to part with your money. But it is not sad for me to serve Christ and to abstain from much of what is considered in this world to be a norm today.

7. Your most favourite book?

Homich:
I think that this question refers to a book besides the Bible. I read the literature of religious and bible character.

Pavlovskiy:
The Theory of dialogue for the Christian certificate by Charles Kraft.

Simonian:
The Bible.

Reimer:
The Bible.

Shevchenko:
From Christian writers, I appreciate most of all the works of Philip Yancey and Chuck Colson.

Rjahovskiy:
I read classics, spiritual books: patristics of the fathers of the church. But nothing is better than the Bible!

8. By what means and how often do you spend your time on the Internet?

Homich:
I use the Internet to learn about the news and to communicate by e-mail.

Pavlovskiy:
Not counting e-correspondence time, approximately 20 minutes a day.

Simonyan:
Half an hour a day: I update my Facebook page, check e-mail, and sometimes study biographies of people through Wikipedia.

Reimer:
I spend about one to three hours a day for e-mail communication. Occasionally, I use web for researches.

Shevchenko:
On the average, 10 minutes a day. I have consciously limited myself.

Ryakhovskiy:
No more than 40 minutes a day or less, mainly to reading the news. I have wonderful assistants who select the most current information for my review; therefore, that small web time that I do spend, I spend as effectively as possible.

9. What human flaw is the most unpleasant for you?

Homich:
Hypocrisy. I consider that other flaws of a Christian begin there.

Pavlovskiy:
To be "shady"

Simonian:
Pride and disobedience

Reimer:
Greed

Shevchenko:
Meanness. Cowardice.

Ryakhovskiy:
Flattery, hypocrisy, self-righteousness, duplicity, treachery and cynicism.

10. What do you consider to be the main merit of great people?

Homich:
Courage and devotion to a cause.

Pavlovskiy:
To remain accessible.

Simonyan:
Honesty, honor, loyalty and diligence

Reimer:
Faith in God, in the calling, and in the victory of the good.

Shevchenko:
Loyalty to the idea, integrity, and courage.

Ryakhovskiy:
Purposefulness and thirst for achievement of success. Also, the ability to appreciate and love people. People are the main asset of a great person.

The given speakers will be participating in the Forum on January 18th (registration by phone 1.916.473.0515) and also in the 7th anniversary of the House of Bread church on January, 19th and 20th (free admission).

Quiz was prepared by Yulia Priymak and Sergey Popov