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A Tribute to Artur Suleymanov
David Devenish writes:
I was just finishing a staff meeting in my office in Bedford on Thursday 15 July when I received a phone call to say that my good friend Artur had been shot. I was stunned and horrified. Could this be true?
Tragically, it proved to be the case. Artur Suleymanov who led Hosanna Church, Makhachkala, Dagestan was murdered by a gunman who approached and opened fire as Artur got into a car outside his church building. Dagestan is a strongly Islamic republic within the Russian Federation. Artur himself was a convert from Islam; he was married to Zinaida and they have five children.
Martyn Dunsford and I had built a very good friendship with Artur and Zinaida, Hosanna Church and other smaller churches in Dagestan over the last ten years. Artur was a wonderful man of God with a tremendous passion for Jesus. He had established Hosanna church as one of the largest Protestant churches in Dagestan in a context where Christians face regular opposition. There are thirty four different people groups in Dagestan and many are represented in the churches working with Artur.
Artur regularly contributed to our conferences for participants from many nations in the 10-40 window. I have two particular memories of his contributions there. The first was at our last conference when Artur spoke at a seminar on the subject of our personal prayer life. As he taught, it became evident that he himself spent many hours in personal prayer and was also able to turn everyday events into further opportunities for prayer. The other was at a conference a few years ago when we held a workshop on Bible Storying. Artur skilfully and enthusiastically acted out Bible stories with remarkable insight and humour. Some of the younger believers from similar cultural backgrounds were amazed that such a respected “elder” amongst the people could be such fun in this context.
My last meeting with Artur was in April when I was ministering in the North Caucasus region. I spent a day with him, discussing many issues we are facing as churches that are planted in that part of the world. He brought a wisdom and a freshness of perspective on so many issues that I found insightful and will be helpful as we develop our future strategy there.
Scilla and I also will retain warm memories of Zinaida and Artur in our home and relaxing in our garden following the last time he attended the Brighton conference. Artur was such good company and full of the joy of the Lord.
Two weeks after the tragic events, Alistair Gregory (Dartford), Valery Seleznev (Armavir) and I met with Zinaida and several of the leadership teams from Dagestan. All the pastors and leaders were reflecting on losing a spiritual father which was leaving such an ache in their hearts. It was so humbling to hear Zinaida speak about her continued determination to stay in Dagestan for the sake of the gospel.
We must continue to pray regularly for Zinaida and the family and the churches Artur was overseeing in Dagestan that they would know God’s peace and protection in such a painful season in their spiritual journey.
We are genuinely reliving New Testament church life when we not only see the power of Christ’s resurrection demonstrated in our lives but also the fellowship of Christ’s sufferings as Paul describes it in Philippians. Artur and the churches in Dagestan have seen both. We as a family of churches need to partner in fellowship and prayer with them at this time.
September 2010
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