Ukraine: 'If Russia invades, churches will go underground'

Source: World Watch News

As fears increase about a possible Russian invasion, Christians in the Ukraine are preparing themselves. They have not forgotten what it is to be persecuted.

Ukraine is complex. It gained independence from Russia just over 30 years ago but never has been a state characterised by uniformity. Instead, it is an “ethnic-religious fault-line' state", says Elizabeth Kendal, an international liberty analyst and advocate. “The north-west is predominantly ethnic Ukrainian, Ukrainian speaking and Ukrainian Orthodox and Catholic. The south-east is predominantly ethnic Russian, Russian-speaking and Russian Orthodox."

If indeed Russia is set to invade the Ukraine, it'll likely be in the East and the churches in the western part of the country are preparing themselves, the president of the Ukrainian Baptist Theological Seminary, Yarsolav “Slavik" Pyzh, told Christianity Today. “Churches already agreed. Those that are on the western part of Ukraine … told our brothers and sisters in other parts of Ukraine [that] if something happens, we will open our homes and our churches to you," said Pyzh.

Baptist churches in eastern Ukraine would go underground if Russia decides and succeeds in taking control of that part of the country, Pyzh said. “You have to understand that historically we had that experience before under the Soviet Union. So the church did not forget what does it mean to be persecuted, and I think that we will rearrange, reorganize, and still do what we always do, still preach the gospel."

Open Doors “calls on all parties to actively protect religious freedom, which includes recognizing and protecting the right of all Christians -- Orthodox and non-Orthodox -- to gather and worship freely, in private or in public, in mass or individually," a spokesperson said. “We urge authorities in all regions to provide legal recognition of churches regardless of their registration status or size of their congregation, allowing them to function peacefully with equal access to all resources."

'Making Christian activities illegal'

Churches in Ukraine's eastern Donbas region have been under increasing pressure since 2014 after anti-government protests led to a Russia-backed uprising in the Donetsk and Luhansk provinces, where rebels established self-proclaimed independent republics.

The war between Russia-backed separatists and the government in Kiev over the years has caused millions to flee their homes and killed at least 14,000 people, causing a humanitarian crisis.

In November, the European Evangelical Alliance declared Donbas to be the area in Europe “where the Church suffers most" because of conflict and religious freedom violations.

Authorities in both self-declared republics have imposed rules, requiring religious organisations to register. Complying with the rule turned out to be extremely difficult for churches other than those aligned with the Moscow Patriarchate Orthodox Church. A December 2019 list of 195 registered religious organisations by the Luhansk authorities showed that no permission had been granted to any Protestant community.

“As in the old days of the Soviet Union, the obligation to register with the authorities is being used to make certain Christian activities illegal. No registration means no access to gas, electricity or water – hence making church activities virtually impossible," said Rolf Zeegers, persecution analyst with Open Doors' World Watch Research.

In June last year, three Protestant churches were banned by authorities in the self-declared Donetsk People's Republic and others had their buildings confiscated. In August, books by Charles Spurgeon and Billy Graham were placed on a list of banned “extremist" literature by a court in the Luhansk People's Republic.

As the so-called Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics are not officially recognised by the international community other than by Russia, they are not bound by international human rights law.

“Official Russian recognition of the Luhansk and Donetsk republics will only stimulate the rebels to continue their practices," said Zeegers. “I expect (almost) no changes to what's happening already. This may change if Russia decides to annex the two rebel areas, because then official Russian legislation will be implemented," as in the case of Crimea. “But I do not expect this will happen," he said.