About us

History

1992

A number of apologetic seminars were held in Ukraine and Russia. This initiated the idea for a ministry like REALIS.

1996

Sergiy Tymchenko met with Martin Hirshmuller, the President of “Light in the East” mission. This meeting led to the Kiev Christian Research and Educational Center becoming a part of “Light in the East.” The function of the center was to be an umbrella for three projects: an Apologetic Center, a Counseling Center, and a Communication Center. The Sociological Department and informational center (a specialized library) were added later.

1997

The German Board of Directors for “Light in the East” decided that the ministry of the Kyiv Christian Research and Educational Center was outside the scope of the ministry of “Light in the East”. The result was a partnership with “them. The transition from a division of the mission to a partner of the mission took several years.

1998

The Kiev Christian Research and Educational Center became a temporary extension of the Alliance Theological Seminary. The initial offering was a program for the “Leadership Education.” This project continued three more years.

1999

The Kiev Christian Research and Educational Center acquired its current name REALIS (Research, Education and Light Information Service).

2000

REALIS initiated and was responsible for the organization of a Ukrainian-British conference on bioethics. The nature of this conference was not strictly religious, but REALIS wanted to influence the program and the agenda of the conference. Completion of this goal required registration of REALIS as a charitable foundation whose goal was to spread culture and spirituality in Ukraine. Meanwhile, REALIS continued to function as a department of “Light in the East.”

2002

In June, REALIS’ extension program with Alliance Seminary received official accreditation from ATS (Association of Theological School in the United States and Canada ) and the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools for 10 years. Students, completing this program, received a Master of Arts in Intercultural Studies. By 2011 there were 102 graduates – Christian leaders who now serve in various places of the former Soviet Union as well as in many other countries of the world.

2006

30 students graduated from the Masters Level Program (2002-2006) in Clinical Counseling. The program was organized by REALIS with the help of the Reformed Theological Seminary (Orlando, Florida).

2011 – 2014

REALIS works with Azusa Pacific University (USA) providing education (MA in Global Leadership) for dozens of Christian leaders from Eurasia together with students from Europe, Asia, Africa, North and South America.

2015 – Present

REALIS, in partnership with the Kyiv Dragomanov National Pedagogical University (NPU), has developed a Masters degree program – “Sociopolitical Ethics and Theology” and “Christian Counseling and Chaplain Ministry in Crisis Situations”. Among the lecturers are professors from Oxford University, Princeton University, Yale University, Pepperdine University, Denver Seminary, Pittsburgh Seminary, and Alliance Theological Seminary.