Ukrainian Greek Catholic Leader Reports Church Growth Amid Russian Persecution

U.S. envoy Keith Kellogg met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy this week as talks continue on ending the war in Ukraine, CBN News reported. Tensions between Washington and Kyiv remain high after comments from President Trump, who recently blamed Ukraine for Russia’s invasion and called Zelenskyy a “dictator.” Both leaders now say there is progress on a deal for Ukraine to repay U.S. aid with revenue from its natural resources.

During a recent visit to the United States, Patriarch Sviatoslav, leader of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, spoke with CBN News about the resilience of Ukrainians and their faith during persecution. As Russia’s full-scale invasion reached its third anniversary, he reflected on his childhood in Soviet-controlled Ukraine, when religious life was suppressed and the church was a major source of opposition to the communist government. “We survived in the underground church,” he said. “We were not allowed to pray, to have our services together, our people.”

He linked the present conflict to that history. “Russia’s project, President Putin’s project, is to restore the Soviet Union, and for all of us Catholics, Protestants, and Orthodox, that means losing our freedom and going back to the catacombs,” he said.

In Russian-occupied areas, the patriarch said, priests have been persecuted, some spending months in captivity. He said his church was able to rescue two priests who had spent 18 months in Russian captivity. “They revealed heartbreaking stories of torture, humiliation, and desecration of the church,” he said. Those are the priests’ accounts as relayed by the patriarch; the report does not include independent confirmation of them. Defending those held captive reflects concern for the vulnerable (Psalm 82:3).

The patriarch also described a visit to a mass grave near Kyiv, about nine miles from his home. “In those first days after the liberation of that territory, I went there not only to see the bodies but to pray,” he said. “There, on the edge of this mass grave, we were all together – Orthodox, Protestants, Catholics, Jews, Muslims – because in those mass graves, we were all equal as human beings.” He noted that the war has drawn Ukraine’s religious communities closer together. While Ukraine is predominantly Orthodox, the country also has Protestant, Roman Catholic, Muslim and Jewish communities, and about 12 percent of Ukrainians are Greek Catholic.

Despite the devastation, Patriarch Sviatoslav said the church is growing. “We are experiencing a big boom of conversion to the Church,” he said. “Why? Because the Church is a space of protection, like a mother who cares for her children. People in Ukraine today are looking for meaning.”

He also addressed Christians in the United States. “Be Christians. Do not be slaves to any human ideology,” he said. “We pray that the Holy Spirit will give you discernment between lies and truth. Big wars always start with big lies. And pray, pray for us in Ukraine, because we have rediscovered that prayer is power.”

According to Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, cited in the report, nearly 70 pastors have been killed by Russian forces, more than 600 places of worship have been destroyed, and at least a dozen religious leaders remain in captivity.

Source: Read the original report