by Miceál O’Hurley
ZAPORIZHZHIA — The response to Russia’s decade-long invasion of Ukraine is often contemplated in terms of state-sponsored support, aid from international blocs and contributions by military alliances. Too often the activities of faith-based communities is overlooked in considering not only how Ukraine sustains itself after repelling Russia’s full-scale invasion which failed in its objective to take the country in 3-days and install a Kremlin-friendly regime in Kyiv but how it aids individual Ukrainians to experience faith on the frontlines while Russian invaders commit unspeakable war crimes by destroying children’s hospitals, schools, cultural centres and the critical infrastructure necessary to sustain modern human life. As Ukraine continues its battle to sustain liberty, democracy and determine the shape of European life I spoke to a priest who still inspires hope near the frontlines for soldiers, civilians and a nation defending its heritage and identity that stretch back over a millennia.
Father Yuriy Yurchyk is no ordinary priest. He was born and raised in a typically European town in Western Ukraine, Kamianets-Podilskyi in 1970. Father Yuriy’s hometown is as close to the European capitals in Moldova, Romania, Hungary and Poland as it is to the frontlines of Eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk battlefields. And yet, Father Yuriy’s pastoral life as a priest saw him minister to the people of Donetsk as “little green men” and Russian special operations operatives began their campaign to overthrow Ukraine in February 2014.
Even before Ukraine regained its independence in 1991, Father Yuri began his service to the people of Ukraine by serving in the Orthodox Church in St. Nicholas Cathedral, Donetsk in 1988. Ordained priest in 1991, Father Yuriy was elevated to the rank of Archimandrite in 1996, Bishop in 1999, and Archbishop in 2005. In 2009, Archbishop Yuriy Yurchyk left Orthodoxy and transferred to the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. While the UGCC recognises the validity of Orthodox orders and he remains an archbishop to this day, he now carries out the pastoral duties of a simple priest. Still, Father Yuriy remains as dynamic and complex as he had been in his previous ministry.
Today, Father Yuriy’s ministry is centred in Zaporizhzhia in Southern Ukraine. Russian forces operate within the Oblast and occupy Ukraine’s largest nuclear power facility, the Zaporishia Nuclear Power Plant. Life is hard in this beleaguered city and region and yet Father Yuriy faces each new day with a genuine belief in the redemption of the Ukrainian people and an enduring optimism in the future of Ukraine as an independent, free and democratic nation that will soon take its proper place at the heart of Europe.
One of Father Yuriy’s tools in confronting the evil and misery brought by war is the enthusiastic embrace of the region’s spiritual and cultural heritage. Southern Ukraine has historically been a multicultural centre of Ukrainian life. Once home to various nomadic tribes including the Scythians, Sarmatians, Alans, Huns, Bulgars, Pechenegs, Kipchaks, Turco-Mongols and Tatars the region become host to myriad other ethnic communities and confessions of faith. In modern history Greeks, Armenians, Turkic peoples, Cossacks, Poles, Germans and other established communities and flourished under Ukraine’s protection until Russian conquests in the region beginning in the 16th century sought to homogenize Ukraine’s people as Russian subjects. Consequently, Father Yuriy has established the Ecumenical Order of St. John of Gothia to further his efforts to sustain hope and assist with humanitarian aid and support for those soldiers defending their homeland from the Russian invasion. I spoke to Father Yuriy about his work and his thoughts on the continuing war being waged on Ukraine:
You began your priestly life in the Orthodox Church, being elevated to the rank of Archbishop. You left the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Kyiv Patriarchate and were received into the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church where you serve as a priest. What changes to your life has this brought you and what lessons have you learned as a result of it?
In fact, I began my priestly ministry in the Orthodox Church in the early 90s in Donetsk, when I was ordained as a deacon and priest. I created the first parishes of the Diocese of Donetsk of the Patriarchate of Kyiv and with my participation the first priests were ordained.
My idea was to create a multicultural Diocese, as a successor to the ancient Orthodox Metropolis of Gothia and Kaffa, which ceased its activities after having been destroyed by Russia in the south of the modern Donetsk region back in the 18th century.
Moreover, from the very beginning, we have been very open to ecumenical contacts with other Christian churches and also to other religions. I should mention that I grew up in two traditions: Roman Catholic, I was born in Kamenets-Podolsky in Western Ukraine and attended a Catholic parish. My family moved to Donetsk back in the 1980s. It was there I began to attend the Orthodox Church as there was no Catholic parish there. This partly explains my Ecumenical, Universal vision of the church.
Later, as you mentioned in your question, I became the Archbishop of Donetsk and Mariupol. Some 9-years later, I, along with some priests of my Diocese, joined the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. Since the Catholic Church recognises ordination in the Orthodox Church as valid, although I continue to be a bishop, I do not function as one. As a bishop, I perform priestly duties and work in the humanitarian field.
In addition, since the beginning of the war, in memory of the heritage of the ancient Metropolis of Gothia and Caffa, we have founded the Ecumenical Order, whose patron is St. John of Gothia, one of the Bishops of this glorious Church, who lived more than 1,000 years ago.
In 2014 when Russian forces stormed Donetsk you left and went to Zaporizhzhia. Do you have any contact with your former parishioners and what can you tell me what you know of their lives in the temporarily occupied territories?
Yes – in September 2014, I left Donetsk and arrived in Zaporizhzhia. I was then assigned as a chaplain for Ukrainians and Poles in the Apostolic Vicariate of Southern Arabia (UAE, Sultanate of Oman and Yemen). I lived in Dubai for 3-years, creating the spiritual and cultural life of our communities on the Arabian Peninsula.
Of course, I keep in touch with my parishioners in Donetsk, but I don’t think I can give details, since they live under occupation and are at great risk. I can only say that we are all waiting to meet each other again soon so that we can hug everyone. Many of the people have already left this World and I pray for their souls.
In the most recent prisoner exchange between Ukraine and Russia two Catholic priests, Father Ivan Levytsky and Father Bohdan Geleta. They had been taken prisoner in Berdyansk in November 2022 and transported to Russian where they were held in captivity for almost 2-years before they were released. There are no credible assertions these priests were engaged in any subversive activity, unless preaching the Gospel and celebrating the sacraments are now considered by Russia to be subversive. Were you surprised that Russian forces would engage in taking monks prisoner when their daily lives were those of ordinary priests?
I know both priests well. These are monks of the Redemptorist Order and of course they did not engage in any subversive activities against the Russians. This is not the function of a priest. But the Russians captured them and kept them prisoner all this time, since 2022.
This is the pattern behavior of Russian occupiers. In almost all places where Ukrainian churches of different denominations are located, they found weapons or nationalist literature in these churches. Of course, all this was a “false flag” operation specially arranged by the Russian security services themselves.
Russians need a reason to accuse Ukrainian priests and put them in prison so they manufactured causes. They did the same with other Orthodox and Catholic priests. I would also like to remind you of the execution of ministers of the Protestant Church in Slavyansk in 2014. So, where Russia is, there are provocations, violence and killings of innocent people. This is the reality of life in Ukraine where Russian occupation exists.
The Vatican is said to have been instrumental in pleading for the 28 June release of Fathers Levytsky and Galeta. I believe they were embraced by His Excellency Archbishop Visvaldas Kulbokas, the Apostolic Nuncio to Ukraine upon their release. The Vatican’s intercession which helped bring about their release must have been a joyous occasion for all. However, there has been considerable criticism of His Holiness Pope Francis for comments he has made during the war about Russian’s taking pride in their heritage and culture and suggesting earlier this year that Ukraine should accept the circumstances and have the “courage of the white flag, and negotiate.” How have Ukraine’s Greek Catholics who are in communion with the Holy See reacted to such statements and has it caused difficulties for the faithful or yourself to hear such remarks while Ukraine is simply defending itself under the most inhumane warfare seen in Europe since World War II?
Of course, the Apostolic Nuncio was involved very deeply in the process of releasing our priests and I know that His Holiness Pope Francis constantly considered this issue as very important. Regarding the Pope’s messages that you mention, I do not want to be responsible for other people’s reactions. I know that many are hurt by his words. Many are outraged. I can tell you how I perceive these words – first of all, we need to understand that the Pope is the Shepherd of the Universal Church. He is responsible for the church in all parts of the World.
But we often want to hear from him some political statements that relate to our situation and want us to like it. But the Pope speaks in the language of a Shepherd, not a politician. It is unlikely that one should expect encouragement from the Shepherd to kill someone, even enemies.
All wars end sooner or later with negotiations. All nations need healing and reconciliation. Is not it? We have witnessed the most terrible, bloody wars in human history. But we also see reconciliation between former enemies. Therefore, I think the peace-loving voice of the Pope is very important in our time. Yes – not everyone is ready to hear exactly such words now. The Pope does not always speak diplomatically so that everyone will like it. But he is a good Shepherd and there are no Russian narratives in his calls, as some want to claim. Christianity is a religion of forgiveness. As Christians, we rely more on forgiveness and mercy than on justice. We pray for our enemies and want their conversion. This is the right way. This is the way of Jesus Christ.
Nowhere in Ukraine is safe today. I happened to be travelling through your hometown of Kamianets-Podilskyi last November when a swarm of Shahed Drones flew overhead during one of the countless attacks by Russian forces on civilian housing and critical infrastructure. What do you hear and see from the faithful about their experience of war and how it shapes their interior life as Christians and the exterior life as Ukrainians?
The experience of war for many people turned out to be valuable and formative for their spirit and will. From the very first days of the war, people organised themselves into volunteer communities or territorial defense. The whole nation helped each other. This is an invaluable experience.
In fact, the time of war became the cement for the foundation of the Ukrainian nation. Of course, we see many victims and suffering every day. But this does not make us weak or weak-willed. To the contrary, it strengthens us. Many people have discovered the power of fervent prayer when they prayed and received special signs from God of his presence in their lives.
This war will end as all wars do. While it might seem a political question I put it to you that for those Ukrainians who have been trapped in temporarily occupied territories, who have been forced to accept Russian passports and at least outwardly renounce their Ukrainian identities, they must be suffering immeasurably in spirit, mind and body. Given the centuries of Russian interference and martial domination of Ukraine, do you believe a just and durable peace can be established without Ukraine being restored to its 1991 borders that will see your brothers and sisters liberated and restored to their Ukrainian homeland and society?
This is a very difficult issue, especially for us in the East and South of Ukraine. This war has divided families and friends. Some people live in territory controlled by the Ukrainian government, while others find themselves under occupation.
On the one hand, the return of Ukrainian borders as they were in 1991 seems unrealistic.
But on the other hand, we understand that hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians are under occupation, thousands of children were forcibly taken to Russia. Every day, people in the occupied territory end up in prisons and concentration camps, many die or disappear without a trace. Therefore, of course, without justice, without punishing war criminals, we cannot hope for a long and lasting peace.
Moreover, Russia is not going to stop only in Ukraine. This is also a fact. To the extent that we are Ukrainians and the entire free world can be united, we will be able to resist evil and violence. Today, various models of reconciliation are proposed. They are not perfect, but what choice do we have? What’s the real alternative? The modern Free World, unfortunately, is not ready to fully defend justice and punish evil.
We talk a lot about reconstruction. The world community is coming to grips with the incredible physical damage done to Ukraine by Russian forces. A recent conference discussed using Russian assets for reconstruction and creating capital funding for bricks-and-mortar projects. But I want to ask you about the spiritual reconstruction of Ukraine. There has been incredible suffering. I was at Bucha in March 2022 and stood in the mass grave and was in Bakhmut that autumn. Although I am a veteran of war, those experiences haunt me still. I can’t imagine how the average Ukrainian and soldiers – women and men alike – have lived with now 10-years of warfare and all of its horrors. What do you think is needed to address the spiritual reconstruction of Ukraine beyond rebuilding the destroyed temples, churches, synagogues and mosques?
I will say perhaps not a popular idea in modern Ukraine. In addition to restoration and construction, I would talk about a new idea for Ukraine. I’ll explain now. In fact, this is not a new idea, but an old one.
You see, Ukraine has been a multinational project since ancient times. I mentioned the different peoples who inhabited these lands from ancient times. But also during the time of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and even in more recent times, Ukraine was an open and tolerant society for all nations and religions. Now, we are being offered a mono-national project, but in my opinion, it is doomed to fail. If we are talking about the borders of 1991, then this is only a multicultural project. Moreover, after the war, Ukraine will need emigrants from Asia and other parts of the world. This is definitely a multinational project.
I consider this so important that it can be called the foundation of a new revived Ukraine.
We’ve all heard pundits talk about the decline or demise of the Catholic Church. History shows the Catholic Church has had many such experiences over the past two millennia. It could even be said that the Apostles fleeing from Christ’s tomb while the women and John had courage to stay marked the first crisis of the Church. After each major European war the Church has seen a resurgence owing to personal experiences of man’s inhumanity towards his neighbours and this has included an increase in vocations. Do you have any thoughts concerning if this dynamic will be repeated in Ukraine and we will see a more faithful and devoted Body of Christ and more contemplation of entering the priesthood or pursuing religious vocations?
To be honest, I don’t see a particular surge in religiosity during the war in Ukraine. I think that the Catholic Church, like other churches, is in crisis here and throughout Europe. There is no single recipe for overcoming this crisis. For example, I am not a conservative, but I don’t want to say that the problem of the Church is only its conservatism. This is a whole complex of problems. I can only point to one problem – Christianity lacks unity – we do not demonstrate that we are all disciples of Christ. Even if we are different, people outside the Church see many warring denominations rather than a unified family of God. We must be open to each other – with more ecumenism, greater cooperation and love between brothers and sisters.
I know that you have been involved in founding the Ecumenical Order of St John of Gothia (Ukraine). Tell me about that work and how your ministry is helping with humanitarian aid and supporting frontline soldiers during the war?
As I mentioned above, the Ecumenical Order of St. John of Gothia was intended to continue the ancient traditions of the Christians of the Crimea and the Northern coast of the Black and Azov Seas. That is, we continue the traditions of the Holy Metropolis of Gothia and Kaffa. It is necessary to say a few words about the fact that the national palette of Ukraine throughout its history has been very diverse.
Unfortunately, it is often forgotten that in the above-mentioned territories of the modern South of Ukraine, different peoples lived thousands of years ago, which formed the ethnogenesis of modern Ukrainians. Ukraine is not only Kyivan Rus’ and Zaporizhian Sich – it’s a much richer story.
Even at the dawn of the first millennium, the Church in Crimea and the south of Ukraine united many peoples: Greeks, German-speaking Goths Tůrkic -speaking peoples. One of the many peoples of Crimea were the Armenians. In the Middle Ages, Crimea was even called ‘Maritime Armenia’. They were a distinctive people who followed the spiritual tradition of the Armenian Apostolic Church, but spoke the Armenian Kipchak language (which is completely different from the Armenian language). It was in Crimea in 988 (C.E.), at Chersonesos that Prince Volodomyr married Anna, the sister of the Byzantine Emperor Basilios II, an Armenian by origin. Together with her, a significant number of fellow Armenians moved to Crimea and subsequently to Kyiv – doctors, merchants, artisans, builders, etc.
On these same lands in the 9th century there was an Anglo-Saxon colony called New England (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_England_(medieval)). New England (Latin: Nova Anglia) was a colony allegedly founded, either in the 1070s or the 1090s, by Anglo-Saxon refugees fleeing the Norman invasion of England. Its existence is attested in two much later sources, the French Chronicon Universale Anonymi Laudunensis (which ends in 1219) and the 14th-century Icelandic Játvarðar Saga. They tell the story of a journey from England through the Mediterranean Sea that led to Constantinople, where the English refugees fought off a siege by heathens and were rewarded by the Byzantine Emperor Alexius I Comnenus. A group of them were given land to the north-east of the Black Sea, reconquering it and renaming their territory ‘New England’.
Some part of the Church in Crimea accepted the Florentine Union with the Roman Apostolic See (Crimea had its own jurisdiction of the Byzantine Rite), accepting the Primacy of the Pope. Ultimately, the Church of Gothia survived as the Holy Metropolis of Gothia and Kaffa until the 18th century when the Christians of Crimea were expelled by the Russian Empress Catherine II to the modern Donetsk region. The Christian people have still survived in the Donetsk and Zaporizhzhya regions, although they are catastrophically disappearing, some of whom speak Greek, and some speak Urum, that is, the Türkic language.
Therefore, the main task of the Order of St. John of Gothia is to preserve the unique, centuries-old tradition of Christians of Crimea and the Azov coast. And besides, of course, during the war we carry out a lot of humanitarian work. The ecumenical status of our Order allows us to invite Christians from all over the world, of different faiths and nationalities, to participate in our life. Our representatives in different countries popularise our ideas and our work and help us in different ways. For example, the branch of the Order in the USA is headed by our brother Rev. Christian D. Boyd. Our friends in Sweden are very active, they regularly deliver humanitarian aid to us for refugees, and also help the Ukrainian Army. We distribute clothes, food and medicine to those in need, and for the army we bring the same medicine, ammunition, cars, drones and Starlinks.
I know you can celebrate the Divine Liturgy, hear confessions, anoint the sick and carry-out your priestly functions with very limited resources. But your ministry has needs. What are those needs and how can people help?
During war, the main need is to help the poor and refugees. In addition, we are also helping one of the units of the Ukrainian defenders. We benefit from the generosity of our members around the world, who either send money or bring humanitarian aid and equipment.
Of course, we can buy most of the necessary things in Ukraine, but some people prefer to bring it personally thousands of kilometers away. This is their desire. We are flexible in this matter. There are many needs, many people in need, and we are glad to cooperate with all people of good will and would be glad to have a representation of our Order in Ireland and throughout Europe.
Where can people learn more about the Ecumenical Order of St. John of Gothia and how they can help make a difference by supporting your ministry?
Our website has a significant amount of information about the Order and our ministry, our needs and activities: https://www.johnofgothia.org/english. The website is in several different languages to help people of all backgrounds, languages and faiths engage with and support our work. Donations can be made directly to our 501(c)(3) registered charity online at: https://givebutter.com/EOSJG.
