14ymedio, Madrid, 11 December 2023 — “We are now going to pray in a special way. Come all you who need the water of life, who need forgiveness from God. Tell him, ’Father, I am coming to you. Father, I am here. I am going home.’ Come to Christ, come.” The words in Spanish, recited by a woman into a microphone, are a partial translation of those spoken moments earlier by an unknown Russian preacher. In front of a stage on the outskirts of Camagüey from where the two are speaking, thousands of attendees raise their arms and sway to the beat of an out-of-tune choir on Sunday.
Images of the event posted on social media are shocking in a country where not only were religious beliefs surpressed for decades but where any large-scale gathering is subject to the stictest government surveillance.
The “Bible Event,” as it is billed by its organizers, draws more than 10,000 people, “both Christians and non-Christians.” It was convened by several evangelical denominations including the Camagüey branches of the Baptist Church and the Assemblies of God.
“Camagüey trembles!!! “Bible Event” More than
