Considered a breakthrough for a protestant mainstream church, the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Belarus just released the first edition of a church magazine for public distribution.

Adventists in Belarus have "lately experienced a number of achievements," said Valery Ivanov, communication director of the church in the Euro-Asia region.

The Belarus minister of information signed the registration agreement for an Adventist missionary magazine, The Christian Family. It is anticipated that the magazine will be published four times a year, and its content will include articles about children, the Christian family, health, church doctrines and about Christianity in general.

"We believe and hope that in our society this magazine will be a lighthouse for those who look for the light in this world, the good and who is looking for God," said Vassili Lozhechnik, secretary of the Adventist church in Belarus. He added that the magazine will be distributed through subscriptions, in book centers, as well as by literature evangelists. The Christian Family will be published in two languages, Russian and Belarusian, with an international territory of distribution.

Earlier, on in February, the church in Belarus had another major breakthrough when the Adventist Theological Institute in Minsk, officially received a certificate of registration.

The registration offers new opportunities for the Adventist faith community in Belarus, especially in the development of education for Adventists by the Church, said Moses I. Ostrovsky, president of the Adventist church in Belarus.

There are 88 Adventist congregations in Belarus, and 5,041 baptized adult church members. A March 2005 report indicated 241 newly baptized members of the church. [Editor: Helen Zhadan for ANN/APD]