Directions of Charity Activities of the Seventh-Day Adventist Church

Abstract

The article presents an analysis of the charitable activities of the Seventh-day Adventist Church as one of the representatives of the Protestant community. It was determined that one of the priority areas of social service to the community. Adventists consider charity, through which they try in every possible way to help people suffering from hunger, hostilities, conflicts and the like. In particular, attention is focused on the dominant Adventist charitable programs, such as: "The Eastern Angel" and "Hands of Hope", through which Seventh-day Adventists provide material and other assistance to the population in different parts of Ukraine. It has been established that from the moment of their inception to the present day Adventists have been carrying out important social programs aimed at improving the physical and material situation of socially unprotected segments of the population. Attention is focused on the fact that the contribution of Adventists to the socio-economic development of Ukraine, on the one hand, is relatively insignificant, but on the other hand, due to the conscientious fulfillment of their civic duties, believers of this denomination systematically serve the needs of society to the best of their ability. Adventists define their duty to the state and society as follows: paying taxes in good faith, developing business and creating new jobs, establishing real human relations, and active charity. It has been established that the life of Adventists is subject to Christian ethics: property rights, hard work, freedom of entrepreneurship, charity. As a result, all actions of the representatives of this religion are aimed at a person and his needs. A conditional guide in the social ministry of Adventists is the "Social Teachings of the Church of Seventh-day Adventists", which sets out the principles of social responsibility of Adventists to the society of which they themselves are a part. A powerful charitable organization of the Seventh-day Adventist Church is the Adventist Relief and Development Agency, through which the Church is trying to help people in crisis situations. It has been established that since 2014, ADRA has been actively helping residents in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. The reports of ADRA were analyzed, according to which it was established that the Adventist charitable agency implements food, non-food and other programs throughout Ukraine.