Last night, the phrases “I Believe in The Antichrist” and “Long Live the Revolution” were spray-painted onto the back of the Sevenoaks Alliance Church on Gladwin Road.
Lead pastor Jamie Fox says the graffiti is offensive, but he doesn’t necessarily disagree with all of its content.
“As a church, we don’t disbelieve in the Antichrist," said Fox. "But when it’s sprayed onto a wall like that, we do take it as a personal attack.”
While Fox hasn’t seen any other spray paint on the building in his eight years there as a pastor, he has encountered broken sign glass and the occasional break-in. Church staff will scrub off the offending message as soon as they can, and contact Abbotsford police.
Sevenoaks Alliance Church is an evangelical Christian congregation, and part of the Christian and Missionary Alliance. They host regular Sunday services, as well as youth and community groups. During the holiday season, they host the Abbotsford Food Bank’s Christmas Bureau at their offices, and conduct many other charity projects throughout the year.
The “I Believe in the Antichrist” graffiti was accompanied by an upside-down cross, which is commonly used as an anti-Christian symbol despite its historical meaning as a pro-Christian symbol associated with Saint Peter. “Long Live the Revolution” was accompanied by a smiley face and a large letter V, which is associated with a fictional anti-totalitarian vigilante from V for Vendetta, a movie and comic book series.