Social teachings and practices of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Ukraine

Abstract

The article provides an overview of the social practices of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. The level of Adventist participation in educational, health, philanthropic and political activities is analyzed. It is determined that the educational activity of Adventists is based on the integration of Christian values into the educational process in order to educate a purposeful person who is able to serve God and society at a high level. Adventist medical and health activities are aimed at preventing physical illness, as it is believed that the disease is easier to prevent than to cure. Adventists practice charity through the officially established Adventist Relief and Development Agency, which believes that the Church’s assistance to society must meet not only the spiritual but also the physical needs of man. Adventist participation in politics is not approved, but it is not forbidden. This is due to the conflict and rivalry that arises in the political race, so it is desirable to use your talents in those areas that bring peace and good to society. It is stated that the central idea of the social teaching of the Seventh-day Adventist Church is the protection of freedom of conscience and the dignity of the human person. Thus, by putting the principles of social doctrine into practice, the Seventh-day Adventist church premises become the Church’s social laboratories, through which the faithful of this denomination achieve two goals. The first of them is aimed at spreading their own religious beliefs and teachings, and the second – following the example of Christ, who during his life on earth served the physical needs of society around him. As a result of the study, the document “Social Teaching of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Ukraine” aims to implement the Church’s two goals: educational and charitable, the implementation of which allows the denomination to positively represent themselves in Ukrainian and world society.