Dear friends, it’s been almost three years since the Russian Federation waged its full-scale war against Ukraine by committing an unprovoked act of aggression. Three years of losses, pain and tears…
This made us pause and look back at what the Ukrainian nation has been through, and, on the other hand, what God has been doing through His church and believers, Ukrainian Evangelical Theological Seminary in particular, despite all challenges of the ongoing war.
Today we have invited Dr. Ivan Rusyn, President of the Ukrainian Evangelical Theological Seminary, to share his thoughts in this respect.
Greetings and thank you for coming!
Thank you for inviting me!
Let’s start with this question… What would you like Christians in other countries to know about the ongoing war in Ukraine?
This is an existential war which has all features of genocide. They want to kill our bodies by destroying our cities. They want to kill our souls by canceling our language, culture and identity. And they want to kill our spirits by demolishing churches and killing our pastors. So, this is the truly existential challenge for us as a nation.
Definitely, it’s not easy, but what is God doing at the moment? Is there anything that you learned from Him even amid this terrible war?
First of all, God is holding Ukraine in His hands. God continues to support our country through His church. And, of course, since this war is an existential challenge, it has impacted my faith, my theology. I cannot say that my faith has become stronger, but it has definitely become more authentic. Now it requires fewer words.
During these three years of the war, it has also reshaped my understanding of God, there have been many ups and downs. There were moments when I felt like He was absent. It is a very cold feeling. Also, there were a lot of moments where it was clear that He was present, active, and not silent.
In the beginning of the war, it seemed to me that I had a right to ask God where He was and what He was doing. But then, at a certain moment, I felt that it was Him who wanted to ask me the same questions.
Now I understand that, probably, He’s challenging me to be in the places where I want Him to be, to deliver messages to people that I want Him to deliver and to do for other people what I want Him to do for other people.
So, basically speaking, I feel that He wants me to be an embodiment of His presence, to be His voice and His hands through which He helps other people. I think that now I hear His request and His call for me to do everything I want Him to do.
I also realized that God did not cancel suffering. Jesus came to suffer with us. I learned that it was absolutely OK to be vulnerable. And Jesus… He did not hide His scars. When He showed up before His disciples, He used His scars to demonstrate that He was real.
To have scars is absolutely OK. To be authentic and to be vulnerable is absolutely OK. Our scars that we have because of the ongoing war make us authentic in the eyes of our people, our fellow citizens.
Talking about the seminary, how has the war impacted the seminary, its students, graduates, faculty? What is God doing through the seminary in these circumstances?
The war has directly affected our seminary. First of all, our campus was hit with Russian rockets. Second, we, unfortunately, have students and graduates who have been killed or wounded during this war. A lot of family members of our faculty and staff are serving in the army. Drones and rockets continue flying over our heads every single day.
But, at the same time, this war has brought us to an absolutely new level of ministry. It has made our seminary proactive. As we try to equip pastors, counselors and other ministers to serve our nation, our programs have become more relevant and much stronger.
Also, our relief ministry is as strong as never before. In the midst of all suffering and tears that we experience, we see a lot of opportunities for us as a church to impact our society as never before.
First, we do a lot of pastoral work trying to take care about our wounded nation. Pastoral ministry is crucial. The second significant area is trauma healing. This is not an exaggeration, but it is the whole Ukraine that is being traumatized. For this reason, we are equipping people for trauma–healing and I believe that church has this opportunity, calling and responsibility to be a community of healing. Chaplaincy is the third important area of our ministry, army chaplaincy in particular.
This is the way how church can be present and serve our nation. Another thing is that, during this war, our ministry has gone far beyond church walls. Now, all Ukraine is our parish, and every Ukrainian is our neighbor. So, this is a unique opportunity when we can touch our nation.
Of course, there are many needs and challenges that the seminary is facing at the moment. What are they? Can you share?
Yes, we have many needs indeed. First of all, we need prayer support, because this war has a strong spiritual dimension. While we are in the midst of war, we need God, we need His wisdom, we need His protection. So, prayer is our need #1.
We need help and support in advocacy for Ukraine. We also need resources to continue our educational ministry. This war created a new landscape which requires a new set of competences in our pastors and ministers. As the Ukrainian church, we want to touch our nation, its soul, it’s heart.
We need special skills; we need resources and competences in order to train our students to meet the need our society has. Also, we need support to do our relief ministry. Basically speaking, our needs are not smaller now, they are even bigger.
There are still many people that lose their homes every single day. We have refugees. We have displaced people, and it is a great opportunity for the church to demonstrate the love and compassion of Jesus by taking care of these people. And this is a unique moment for the Ukrainian church to embrace our society. So, we need faithful partners who would like to be part of this mission in Ukraine.
And, finally, what would you like to say to our friends and partners all over the world? How can they pray specifically and support UETS at the moment?
First of all, I want to thank all our partners who have been supporting us during these three years of the war. Your prayers, your physical presence, your generosity help us survive and serve. God is present in Ukraine through your support, which enables us to take care about our suffering nation.
Therefore, I would like to ask you to stand with Ukraine, do advocacy on behalf of Ukraine and continue supporting our ministry, both in the area of equipping pastors and ministers, and our relief ministry. The need is great, and we need your support.
Thank you, Dr. Ivan Rusyn, for your time and your profound answers. Appreciate that a lot. We believe it will be very helpful for many people to understand what God is doing in Ukraine.