In the summer of 2023, I traveled to Ukraine with a disaster response team. Our host was a YWAM (Youth With A Mission)(1) base located in Ternopil. From this base, YWAM provides housing, food, and other necessities. It also shares the gospel throughout Ukraine.

Our mission was threefold: to provide medical care for people who were internally displaced, having fled their homes in eastern Ukraine as the Russian forces advanced; to renovate a vacant school to provide housing for those left homeless due to the war; and lastly, to provide spiritual and emotional care to those traumatized by the war.

We traveled to various villages in non-combatant areas where those fleeing the Russian invasion had sought refuge. Our team worked alongside local health clinic personnel to provide medical care. Most of those we served, children and adults, exhibited various levels of trauma and/or PTSD. As a trained trauma counselor, I attempted to address emotional issues and provide spiritual care. We offered prayer to everyone we served.

Some were silent as in a state of shock, others were grieving and tearful, having lost their homes, livelihood, and way of life. Many wondered if they would have a home to return to after the war. Some felt great fear and anxiety over loved ones serving in the war and family members missing. Those who had been on the frontlines of the war shared firsthand stories of atrocities committed against civilians by Russian soldiers. These atrocities included horrendous acts such as mowing down elderly people with tanks and raping a 9-month-old baby.(2) Ministering to these victims of war and walking through bombed-out buildings was emotionally impactful. The devastation was immense.

Historically, Ukraine is a Christian nation with a large Orthodox population and many other denominations. Not surprisingly, the Russians have targeted Christians. They started persecuting Christians in 2014 with the annexation of Crimea. It was greatly exacerbated by 2022 with the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The Russians specifically targeted Christians who were not affiliated with the Russian Orthodox Church. These included evangelical congregations, Ukrainian Orthodox, Catholics, and members of other denominations. Thousands have fled the Russian-occupied territories since Putin’s invasion. At least 206 churches have been closed, destroyed, or expropriated. Many pastors and priests have been kidnapped, tortured, illegally deported, or murdered by the Russian National Guard and Russian Police. One report states that 29 have been killed.(3)

However, other reports state that at least 39 have disappeared or been murdered. The level of brutality is horrific.(4)
Any religious group that does not support Russia’s political agenda is targeted. Since February 2022, dozens of persecution cases have been documented against Orthodox Christians, Muslims, Protestants, Catholics, and Jehovah’s Witnesses. Any pastor or priest who isn’t Russian Orthodox is considered an American spy. According to the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Russia also has engaged in a massive misinformation campaign blaming Ukraine for these acts of persecution.(5)

In an interview on CBN, the leader of a Greek Catholic Church shared that two priests were recently rescued after having been held for 18 months in Russian captivity. They reported horrific stories. After Kyiv was liberated, he visited a mass grave outside of Kyiv. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, “Russians have killed more than 70 pastors, destroyed more than 600 places of worship, and at least a dozen religious leaders remain in captivity.”(6)

Russia’s persecution of Christians is not only aimed at Ukrainians, but it also targets their own citizens as well. In 2024, the United States Department of State designated Russia as “a country of particular concern” due to its repression of religious freedom and believers within its borders.(7)

In addition to persecution from the Russian oppressors, Ukrainian Christians also face persecution from their own government. Under the pretext of the war, the Ukrainian government has targeted religious organizations that are considered to have ties with Russia, such as the Russian Orthodox Church, and by default, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. Legislation known as Law 3894, codified in August 2024, will be fully enforced on May 24 and effectively ban the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) and any affiliated groups deemed to be Russian-influenced or sympathetic to Russia. Members of the UOC condemned the Russian invasion, many are serving on the front lines and raising money and support for their soldiers.(8)

Law 3894 aims to dismantle the UOC and create a single state-backed church, the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU). This is counter to international law and the wishes of millions who belong to the UOC as well as Ukraine’s constitution, which states in Article 35: “Everyone shall have the right to freedom of personal philosophy and religion. This right shall include the freedom to profess any religion or profess no religion, to freely practice religious rites and ceremonial rituals, alone or collectively, and to pursue religious activities. The exercise of this right may be restricted by law only to protect the public order, health and morality of the population, or to protect the rights and freedoms of other persons. The Church and religious organizations in Ukraine shall be separated from the State, and the school shall be separated from the Church. No religion shall be recognized by the State as mandatory.”(9)

As a result of Law 3894, “The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) is arresting and detaining UOC priests on false and spurious grounds. Supporters of the OCU are illegally seizing UOC holy sites, often in violent circumstances and with the tacit support of local authorities, which have been emboldened by the adoption of Law 3894. Ukraine’s active suppression of the UOC demonstrates a callous disregard for democratic norms and the rule of law, and it is wholly unbefitting of a country aspiring to membership of the European Union.”(10) The SBU arrested several prominent clerics and detained them in inhumane conditions without due legal process. Moreover, the Ministry of Culture is confiscating historic monasteries operated by the UOC and returning them to state control.(11) This is a flagrant violation of religious freedom.

The international community and human rights groups have condemned Law 3894 and the suppression of the UOC. The U.N. Office of the High Commission for Human Rights (U.N. OHCHR) stated: “The dissolution of a religious organization is a severe restriction that affects the ability of individuals to practice their religion or belief together with others and threatens the viability of the community as a whole, which requires very serious reasons by the way of justification, Ukraine has not demonstrated the necessity and proportionality of this measure.”(12) The report recommends that Law 3894 be amended to fully align with international human rights law. In response, Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs rejected the recommendation stating it did not reflect reality and denied Law 3894 prohibited religious organizations “notwithstanding what is contained in the law.”(13)

Tragically, Ukrainian Christians, especially Orthodox ones, are suffering persecution from not only Russian invaders but also their own government. Both have perpetrated suffering, arresting and imprisoning clergy and confiscating church property for their own uses. In the throes of the devastating war, these Christians are attacked from without and within. As brothers and sisters in Christ, we must not only pray but advocate on their behalf with our own government officials. We must make our voices heard.

For me, it is personal, remembering those I worked alongside and served while in Ukraine. One of the imprisoned priests, Metropolitan Arseniy, stated to the U.K.’s The Independent, “I pray for this ordeal to end, for my return to Sviatohirsk, the reconstruction of our monastery, and peace in Ukraine. I pray too for the end to the attack on the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. We Ukrainians must be united.”(14) We stand in solidarity and join in this prayer.
Sources:persecution

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