Chaplaincy for the Professional World

On December 11, 2025, Kyiv hosted the Chaplaincy for the Professional World consultation — an event that marked an important step toward building a mature, professional, and spiritually resilient chaplaincy community in Ukraine. 

Organized by the Ukrainian Evangelical Theological Seminary (UETS) in partnership with Mission Eurasia, the gathering brought together those who serve daily in places of greatest human need: military, medical, student, police, and prison chaplains, as well as scholars and church leaders.

Ukrainian society is undergoing profound transformation, and chaplaincy today is far more than a specialized ministry. It is the Church’s presence exactly where people face loss, crisis, trauma, or inner fracture.

Speakers emphasized that where a chaplain appears, hope appears also. For this reason, developing chaplaincy is not only a matter of expanding its scope but also of building public trust and understanding of its mission.

A special focus was placed on spiritual resilience — both of chaplains themselves and of those they serve. In the context of war, spiritual resilience has become one of the key foundations of moral and psychological endurance, and therefore of national resilience as a whole.

The consultation highlighted once again that chaplaincy in Ukraine is entering a new era. What began as a volunteer movement has now grown into a full-fledged state-recognized institution.

The number of full-time military chaplains is increasing, standards of practice are being formed, new training programs and institutions are emerging, and the field of medical chaplaincy is also rapidly developing.

UETS plays an active role in this transformation—through educational programs, expert involvement, preparation of ministry leaders, and the creation of high-quality resources for practicing chaplains.

One of the key moments of the event was the presentation of the Ukrainian edition of Alan Baker’s Foundations of Chaplaincy—the first professional chaplaincy resource translated into Ukrainian. This publication marks an important milestone in standardizing and strengthening chaplaincy training nationwide.

During the panel discussion, chaplains from various contexts shared real-life challenges of their daily ministry: supporting soldiers, working through trauma, serving the sick, caring for students, and ministering to people in places of confinement.

A clear message emerged: the strength of chaplaincy lies in collaboration. When different chaplaincy sectors unite, they create a holistic and effective system of care.

The consultation concluded with the development of a draft resolution containing recommendations for churches, educational institutions, and state agencies — a document intended to guide the further growth of chaplaincy service in Ukraine.

The “Chaplaincy for the Professional World” consultation underscored that chaplaincy is not only about standing beside people in crisis. It is about building a culture of care, maturity, and spiritual resilience within society.

UETS remains committed to strengthening this sphere, equipping chaplains, promoting professional standards, and serving as a space where new responses to the challenges of our time are born.