We offer you an interview with the famous Christian poet, Pastor Alexander Savchenko

Alexander, please tell us a little about yourself: your childhood, your youth, the family you grew up in.

I was born in Mariupol and studied in Leningrad, where I graduated from medical school. My parents were deeply religious Christians. And not only my parents, but also my grandparents. My father, Peter Ivanovich, was a minister of the Council of Churches fraternity. A participant in World War II, he was imprisoned many times in the 1960s. In his last years he lived and served the Lord in Kiev.

From childhood I attended meetings and Sunday school. The Bible was very rare, and I tried to memorize as many verses from it as I could. Those were years of severe repression, and I too had to endure insults and ridicule.

At the age of fifteen I was baptized and began to preach. At twenty-seven I was elected to deacon ministry, and at thirty-five I was ordained a presbyter in Mariupol.

I started writing my first poems at an early age. My mother said: “Son, not everyone can write poetry, it is you that God has given a special gift and you should develop it”. She loved poetry, and our home library had many good books.

The poem “In the body the soul is like paper in an envelope” was written at the age of seventeen. I received a letter from my mother. I usually tore the envelope, but I had a pair of scissors and cut it open. The thought came to me that someday the scissors of death will cut the envelope of our body, the Lord will take out the contents (our soul) and read about how we lived on earth. Thus was born the poem that became a song.

While studying medicine and working as a doctor in Leningrad and Gatchina, I preached in two congregations: in an illegal church where the presbyter was Fyodor Vladimirovich Makhovitsky (a prisoner for many years for the Word of God), and in a church of many thousands on Poklonnaya Hill where the presbyter was Sergei Petrovich Fadyukhin, who had also been in Stalin’s camps. He blessed me to serve as a preacher in a large church and married my wonderful wife Tatiana in 1976. We have six children, ten grandchildren and one great-granddaughter. All the children are members of the church, serving the Lord.

For more than twenty years I worked as a doctor, then as the director of the publishing house “Svetilnik”, editor-in-chief of the magazine “Before the Dawn” (Ukraine). Now I am the editor of the Mariupol city almanac “City of Mary”. It is pleasant to remember that in the 1980s my book “Bright Waters” with a foreword by Nikolai Vodnevsky was published by the mission “Light in the East”. Subsequently, he became my good friend.

Sometimes there was not enough material in Christian newspapers and magazines, and when several articles or poems by the same author had to be put up, they were signed differently: with a surname and a pseudonym. Once I asked Nikolai Vodnevsky if he had a pseudonym. He replied: “I have Xenin!” I inquired, “Why Xenin?” He explained, “Because my mother’s name was Xenia.” Then I said: “And I’m Lenin, because my mom’s name was Lena!” We laughed about it together.

I remember that day, a wonderful, autumn day:
Brother Vodnensky stood at the table
and revealed his pseudonym to me – Xenin,
because his mother was Xenia.
Well, my colleague and friend, he’s Xenin.
Who am I, if I take into account my mother’s labor?
In this case, I’m Lenin:
My mother’s name is Lena!

What else can you tell us about Nikolai Vodnevsky?

Nikolai Alexandrovich was a great man of God, amazingly talented, humble, and an amazing worker. He was a star of the first magnitude in Christian literature! I was fortunate to publish his books and write forewords for them. In the newspaper “Our Days” (№ 176, April 16, 2005) Nikolai Vodnevsky in the article “Good poems – a green street” wrote: “Alexander Savchenko is the author of more than two dozen books of poetry on all kinds of topics. The Christian poet proclaims the truth of God, and if this is so, his poems in our newspaper are a green street!” How inspired I was by the words of an eminent Christian classicist!

How did you become a Christian?

“You … put my trust in me at my mother’s breast” (Psalm 21:10). I can echo David’s words. One day, during a worship service, I heard an inspired invocation sermon and decided to commit my life to Jesus. I was fourteen years old.

Your formation as a Christian, preacher, and poet took place during the years of militant atheism. What influence did the environment in which you lived then have on you?

It sounds like nonsense, but the aggressive environment had a stimulating effect on my personal faith, polishing my apologetics, establishing me and those to whom I witnessed Christ in gospel truth. Two of my high school teachers became members of our local church. I had the privilege of baptizing them. I remember one of them in good faith discouraging me from believing because I would ruin my life and career. Interestingly, after I successfully entered medical school, my picture was put on the school honor board.

Not everything at that time was bad, there were bright moments too. What memories warm your soul when you think about the “good old days”?

Many things are remembered with a sense of enthusiastic satisfaction: studies, sermons in churches and public places, public debates with atheists, street evangelizations and youth fellowships. And what joy we had in the conversions of former godless people!

I remember how Lev Andreevich Serpilin, former commissioner of the Council for Religious Affairs in Donetsk region, became a zealous Christian. He was baptized and preached the Word. And there are many similar facts!

We, the older generation, have heard about your debates with atheists. Please tell us about any of them.

At the initiative of the “Znanie” society, disputations called “Dialogues on Truth” were held. These events were organized by godless people in the Palace of Culture “Oktyabrsky” in order to show students the “slaughtered” believers. At the invitation of friends, I went to the debate “What is the Bible?”

All the speeches of the non-believers were monotonous. They were mostly quotations from outdated atheistic tracts. I asked for the floor and said: “There is much talk these days about the dying out of religion, but then its antipode – atheism – must also die out. Our state has existed for more than half a century, and the exploiters have long been done away with, but there is no “dying out” in sight. Many false prophecies that promised to show the last believer on television have failed miserably. By the way, the word “godless” in the Russian language has the meaning not only “denying God”, but also “dishonorable, unscrupulous”, for example, “godless liar”. Why are fairy tales printed, but the Bible, which was declared a collection of fairy tales, is listed in the Index of Banned Books? Why don’t they fight Koshchei the Immortal or Baba Yaga? My proposal: along with the department of scientific atheism to organize a department of scientific anti-Koscheism and there to prove the absence of this comrade! And at the same time to criticize and refute Babism-Yagism. Or write dissertations against Santa Claus!”

The resonance was great. There followed “shots” from the journalists of “Science and Religion” (No. 7, 1986): I was accused of encroaching on the classics of Marxism-Leninism and of trying to undermine the unity of the Soviet people.

For some time I was in touch with Boris Iosifovich Galperin, former chief atheist of Ukraine and an active participant in such meetings.

What are your memories of him?

On September 23, 1998, I was informed about the repentance of Boris Iosifovich Galperin, my former opponent at the debates. Atheists considered him their outstanding ideologue. Being a candidate of philosophical sciences, he published articles in the journal “Science and Religion” with screaming titles: “Baptism and Revolution”, “Baptism and Autocracy”, in which he exposed the alleged petty-bourgeois nature of the evangelical movement. I responded to his appeal to God with a poem:

A meeting… A waterfall of questions.
My brother in faith
Candidate of Sciences, philosopher,
atheist Boris Galperin.
God’s patience is great!
What is greater than the love of God?
A member of the church in Zaporozhye
became a member of the Church in Zaporozhye.
He realized in a hospital bed.
after many operations:
from sorrows and calamities are bitter
only God can deliver.
And godlessness became a vapor
when the thirst for life was extinguished.
We turn Sauls into Pauls.
the grace of the Holy Spirit.
Once in Bratskoye – in the village club –
we encountered each other in a dialog:
he was a prisoner of science,
I was talking about God.
We all have different paths to faith –
often narrow and thorny.
My dear brother Halperin,
happiness to you in the Baptist family!

There was such an incident. In Bratskoye, in the local club, on the second day of Christmas, the residents tried to beat Boris Iosifovich for trying to pervert the Holy Scriptures. He claimed that, according to the Bible, the earth supposedly stands on stanchions. I had to remind the titled godless man: “He … hung the earth on nothing” (Job 26:7). The popular “activists,” already in a state of drunkenness, became indignant and jealous of the accuracy of the biblical text. One shouted:

– I’m a drunk, I’m an alcoholic, but I won’t tolerate it!
– If you’re a drunk, you don’t belong here, Halperin said recklessly.
– We’ll see who doesn’t belong here,” exclaimed a collective farmer who bared his powerful biceps, supported by a friendly chorus of drunken voices of excited fellow villagers. It turned out that he was a well-known man in the village.

Boris’ worldview, which had been held on the flimsy supports of atheistic obscurantism, collapsed after fourteen surgical operations. He sincerely turned to Christ, apologized to the believers and published his confession letters in a Christian magazine. We met in the Zaporozhye church where I was preaching. We greeted as brothers. His face was enlightened by the truth in Christ. We reminisced about the disputations and rejoiced at how great is the grace of the Lord.

These are perhaps the greatest miracles of our time, when former Sauls become Pauls and the Spirit of God raises them “from dead works to a living hope.”

I recall the details of that Christmas Day dispute with Halperin. I said at the time: “I am particularly pleased that on the second day of Christmas there is a discussion of the theme of ‘Science and Religion.’ The Gospel describes the worship of the newborn Christ by two groups of people: the shepherds, simple rural laborers like you and me (my identification with them pleased the audience), and the Magi, or magicians, who were the learned nobility of the time. Nowadays, religion is accused of having long adapted itself to science. But for the sake of what adaptation did the Egyptian and Babylonian priests create geographical maps, astronomical atlases and mathematical tables in their temples, which were at the same time laboratories, institutes and observatories? Today it was said that science and religion were incompatible. Electrification has its place, the sun has its place. That’s why we make windows in spite of electrification. So the sun of the Bible is in its place, and science is in its place. The latter studies the material world, and the Bible studies the spiritual world. So, which is superior, more perfect, and more intelligent, man or nature? Clearly, man, because he creatively transforms nature. Hence, he owes his origin not to nature, which is beneath him and has no intelligence. And just as man creates computers, so he himself is a product of the First Cause, which we call God!

You developed as a poet during the years of confrontation with Marxist ideas, the struggle for freedom of speech, and active opposition to a society hostile to the church. How do you perceive modern society?

As tolerant, tolerant of sin and aggressive toward the Truth and the living Church. Christ warned us of this: “If ye were of the world, the world would love its own; but as ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you” (John 15:19). The confrontation between the Church and the sinful world has not ceased. Compromise between them is impossible. Reconciliation is meaningless. You cannot mix the sinful with the righteous!

How many years have you been in the pastoral ministry?

About thirty-two years old.

What special challenges do you as a pastor (and people of faith in general) face today?

With secularization, virtualization, and “Babylonianization” that give rise to many sinful addictions. In essence, we are witnessing the same shameful idolatry that provoked the wrath of God in ancient times. However, idols are modernized.

What pleases you most and what saddens you most about people?

It is good to see their adoration of God, their Christ-centeredness, their desire to have “the feelings of Christ”. What is disappointing is their worship of their own personalities, their vain self-promotion on social media, their stubborn opposition to the Truth, their reckless trust in false prophets. Much noise, dust, and foam, but little use! What does the Scripture enjoin us to do? To live quietly. “He resteth me in green pastures, and leadeth me beside still waters” (Psalm 22:2). The still waters are the Holy Spirit’s influence on the soul. It is important to press the “delete” button on anything that leads us away from simplicity in Christ and away from trusting in Him.

We should strengthen our spiritual immunity with vitamins B (gratitude, piety, watchfulness), C (chastity and purpose), D (longsuffering), P (simplicity). We should never forget that we are only instruments – in the hands of God the Creator.

Our readers live on different continents. The magazine in Russian is read in 60 countries around the world. What do you wish for these people?

I wish you all the fullness
God’s blessings,
Heavenly love, purity
And gracious revelations!

Seek first of all the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and be ready to meet God! And to you, dear Waldemar, and to your staff: “Be steadfast, immovable, always succeeding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain before the Lord” (1 Cor. 15:58).

Thank you for the conversation, Alexander. Joy and success in serving God and His Church with your gift from Him!

The conversation was recorded by Valdemar Tsorn

Share this post on social media