{"id":41409,"date":"2022-03-08T13:49:43","date_gmt":"2022-03-08T04:49:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/?p=41409"},"modified":"2022-03-10T10:04:26","modified_gmt":"2022-03-10T01:04:26","slug":"vomk-report-195","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/2022\/03\/08\/vomk-report-195\/","title":{"rendered":"UKRAINE: INVASION BRINGS RELIGIOUS HUNGER, THREAT OF RELIGIOUS RESTRICTIONS"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_section][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”41391″ img_size=”full”][vc_custom_heading text=”As the Russian invasion drags on, some Christians in Ukraine are literally taking their churches underground in an effort to survive missile and artillery attacks, while other Christians have little choice but to seek supplies and safety as temporary refugees in neighboring countries like Poland and Moldova. But according to Voice of the Martyrs Korea\u2019s Representative Dr. Hyun Sook Foley, both groups of Christians are witnessing some common themes: an upsurge in religious hunger among their fellow Ukrainians, along with a concern that religious restrictions may soon prevent those hungers from being satisfied.” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:1.2em|text_align:left” google_fonts=”font_family:Noto%20Sans%3Aregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal” el_class=”headline”][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span>Always d<\/span>uring <\/span>times of <\/span>war, <\/span>people search for <\/span>hope<\/span> as much as they search for food and shelter,\u201d says Representative Foley. \u201c<\/span>The Ukraine Bible Society announced last week that they are nearly out of Bibles<\/span> as a result of the upsurge of spiritual interest<\/span> among ordinary Ukrainians<\/span>. That\u2019s <\/span>why spiritual aid is as <\/span>urgent <\/span>to offer as physical aid<\/span> to people whose lives are disrupted by conflict<\/span>. <\/span>Whether they\u2019re refugees in a new country or residents in a bomb shelter, <\/span>whether they\u2019re Christian or atheist, <\/span>people want more than <\/span>bread and an Internet connection. They want <\/span>someone to pray with them, cry with them, and <\/span>help them <\/span>try <\/span>to make sense of <\/span>all <\/span>th<\/span>e<\/span> death and destruction.<\/span>\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Representative Foley<\/span> says her <\/span>organization is <\/span>partnering with <\/span>dozens of <\/span>local <\/span>Ukrainian<\/span> churches, as well as <\/span>Polish<\/span> and Moldovan<\/span> churches <\/span>along the border<\/span> with Ukraine<\/span>, <\/span>in cooperation with its <\/span>sister organization, Voice of the Martyrs Poland<\/span>. Representative Foley says that <\/span>they are <\/span>supply<\/span>ing<\/span> both <\/span>humanitarian and spiritual aid <\/span>to Ukrainian Christians<\/span>,<\/span> as well as Ukrainians who are turning to local churches for help. <\/span>Voice of the Martyrs Korea sent an emergency transfer of 10,000 USD last week to <\/span>enable <\/span>the local churches to <\/span>immediately <\/span>meet needs<\/span>, and Representative Foley says they will send additional funds as future donations permit.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1\/6″][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”2\/3″][vc_single_image image=”41396″ img_size=”large” alignment=”center”][vc_custom_heading text=”Eastern Ukraine, with the conflict zones of Luhansk and Donetsk indicated” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:13px|text_align:center|color:%230a0a0a|line_height:1.45em” google_fonts=”font_family:Noto%20Sans%3Aregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:400%20regular%3A400%3Anormal”][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/6″][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Representative Foley says that <\/span>though international media has not reported extensively on the religious dimension of the conflict, <\/span>it is <\/span>a subject of considerable discussion <\/span>among <\/span>ordinary <\/span>Ukrainians<\/span>. \u201cSince <\/span>Russia <\/span>annex<\/span>ed <\/span>Crimea in 2014 and <\/span>pro-Russian forces took control of the Donbas region of Eastern Ukraine, Ukrainians have heard <\/span>pro-Russian soldiers say they are fighting for a unified Orthodox state\u2014a Russian Orthodox state.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Representative Foley notes that Russia and Ukraine have by far the largest population of Orthodox <\/span>believers <\/span>of any <\/span>two <\/span>countries in the world<\/span>, though a recent bitter split has placed the oversight of those <\/span>believers under two different <\/span>leaders<\/span> and church structures, one loyal to Moscow and the other supported by most of the other Orthodox church bodies around the world<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Representative Foley notes that <\/span>it is not only the autonomous Orthodox churches that the Russian and pro-Russian forces regard <\/span>as enemies<\/span>. <\/span>Protestants, though they are comparatively small in number<\/span> in both Ukraine and Russia<\/span>, are <\/span>also <\/span>facing growing restrictions and difficulties. \u201cProtestants <\/span>are<\/span> regarded as <\/span>suspicious <\/span>because they are rumored to be pro-American and pro-Western, funded <\/span>and directed <\/span>by outside forces hostile to the so-called \u2018Russian <\/span>Orthodox <\/span>world\u2019,\u201d says Representative Foley.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Representative Foley says that when pro-Russian forces took control of the Donbas territory<\/span> in Eastern Ukraine in 2014, it was natural for anti-Protestant suspicions to <\/span>coalesce into anti-Protestant policies and laws, <\/span>similar to ones implemented in Russia during the same period<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]As a result, says Representative Foley, <\/span>for Christians in Eastern Ukraine\u2019s Donbas region, underground church life <\/span>is <\/span>already an everyday reality.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1\/6″][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”2\/3″][vc_single_image image=”41426″ img_size=”large” alignment=”center”][vc_custom_heading text=”A drawing sent to Voice of the Martyrs Korea by Laila, one of its Russian language constituents in Kiev right before the city was besieged, as part of VOMK\u2019s Prisoner Alert program for writing letters to Christians imprisoned for their faith.” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:13px|text_align:center|color:%230a0a0a|line_height:1.45em” google_fonts=”font_family:Noto%20Sans%3Aregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:400%20regular%3A400%3Anormal”][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/6″][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

\u201cChristians in the so-called <\/span>Donetsk and Luhansk<\/span> People\u2019s Republics <\/span>have been underground for eight years already,\u201d says Representative Foley. \u201cWhen pro-Russian forces <\/span>gained control over parts of the Donbas territory in Eastern Ukraine<\/span> in 2014<\/span>, t<\/span>hey <\/span>forced Protestant churches to re-register<\/span> in order to obtain legal status<\/span>, and, especially in the Luhansk region, they denied most of the re-registration requests. In both <\/span>the Donetsk and Luhansk <\/span>regions <\/span>of Donbas <\/span>they <\/span>confiscated the Protestant church buildings, and in many cases those buildings are still in use today as barracks and command posts for the pro-Russian forces<\/span>.\u201d<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Representative Foley says that the new constitutions of both <\/span>the <\/span>Donetsk and Luhansk<\/span> People\u2019s Republics give the discrimination against Protestant churches the force of law. \u201c<\/span>Both of t<\/span>he constitutions <\/span>stipulate the Russian Orthodox Church as the \u2018pillar\u2019 of <\/span>each <\/span>respective republic<\/span>,<\/span>\u201d says Representative Foley, \u201cB<\/span>oth <\/span>constitutions<\/span> ban so-called religious \u2018propaganda\u2019 that <\/span>would claim an<\/span>y <\/span>other religion as \u2018superior\u2019 to Russian Orthodoxy.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Representative Foley says that Protestant Christians across Ukraine are well aware of the restrictions <\/span>the Donbas Christians face. She says they expect that they would be subject to the same restrictions in the event of a Russian victory in Ukraine. <\/span>But <\/span>Representative Foley<\/span> says <\/span>that Ukrainian Christians are <\/span>inspired by the Donbas Christians and look to them as a model of how they can continue <\/span>to be <\/span>the <\/span>church<\/span> regardless of who is in control of the country.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

\u201cIt<\/span> would be a mistake to<\/span> con<\/span>clude that the loss of church buildings and legal status has <\/span>crippled Protestant Christianity in the Donbas region<\/span>, or that Christians across Ukraine look at Donbas and think their only hope is to flee<\/span> Ukraine<\/span>,\u201d she says. <\/span>\u201cWe sometimes wrongly assume that the <\/span>apex <\/span>of Christian development is <\/span>found in external things: legal status, church buildings, pastors, and a strong public presence in the community<\/span>. <\/span>But <\/span>if that\u2019s the standard, then<\/span> none of the churches in the New Testament <\/span>meet <\/span>it<\/span>. Instead, scripture shows us that the apex of Christian development is not found in external things at all, but rather in internal things, namely, <\/span>Christians being brought to full maturity in Christ, e<\/span>specially <\/span>in the midst of persecution.<\/span> That\u2019s what we\u2019ve seen in Donbas as well.<\/span>\u201d<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1\/6″][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”2\/3″][vc_single_image image=”41411″ img_size=”large” alignment=”center”][vc_custom_heading text=”One of our Russian language Facebook (\u0413\u043e\u043b\u043e\u0441 \u041c\u0443\u0447\u0435\u043d\u0438\u043a\u043e\u0432 \u2013 \u041a\u043e\u0440\u0435\u044f) subscribers sent us this photo of the city of Borodianka in the Kiev region.” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:13px|text_align:center|color:%230a0a0a|line_height:1.45em” google_fonts=”font_family:Noto%20Sans%3Aregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:400%20regular%3A400%3Anormal”][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/6″][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Representative Foley says that many of the Donbas churches were involved in <\/span>a <\/span>Bible distribution <\/span>project co-sponsored by Voice of the Martyrs Korea last year.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span>Local Christians distributed 40,000 <\/span>Action Bible <\/span>New Testament<\/span>s<\/span> to children <\/span>in <\/span>conflict zones throughout Eastern Ukraine <\/span>last year, <\/span>in <\/span>a project <\/span>supported <\/span>by a coalition of ministries including Voice of the Martyrs Korea, <\/span>Voice of the Martyrs Canada, Mission Eurasia, and School Without Walls<\/span>,\u201d says Representative Foley. \u201c<\/span>Some people might say, \u2018<\/span>Who can distribute Bibles during a war?\u2019 But the answer is: Local Christians can, and <\/span>they <\/span>must.<\/span> Religious hungers are high, and 1 Peter <\/span>3:15 <\/span>tells us that we must always be ready to give an account of the hope within us. And \u2018always\u2019 means even during a war.<\/span>\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Representative Foley says Voice of the Martyrs Korea is in regular contact with <\/span>a wide cross-section of Christians across Ukraine and now in neighboring countries where they are living as refugees, through its Russian language Facebook page. \u201c<\/span>Most <\/span>local Christians are staying<\/span> in Ukraine, and the ones who are leaving say they plan on coming back as soon as<\/span> is practicably possible,\u201d says Representative Foley<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Representative Foley says that even amidst the conflict and danger, Ukrainian Christians remain focused on their Christian mission. <\/span>\u201c<\/span>One of our <\/span>Facebook <\/span>subscribers in Kiev<\/span>, <\/span><\/span>Laila<\/span><\/span>,<\/span> had been writing letters to Christian prisoners as a part of our VOMK Prisoner Alert project. As the war began and Kiev came under attack, she was concerned that she would not be able to mail the letters. <\/span>So,<\/span> she asked us to send her drawing to Christians in prison for their faith.<\/span> We are including it here in response to her request.\u201d<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Representative Foley thinks <\/span>the witness of the Donbas <\/span>underground <\/span>Christians <\/span>has <\/span>prepared and emboldened the Ukrainian church overall<\/span>. <\/span>\u201c<\/span>For eight years they\u2019ve showed their brothers and sisters <\/span>in the rest of Ukraine <\/span>that it\u2019s possible to be <\/span>fully <\/span>church<\/span>, even when you don\u2019t have a building or legal status, and even when you\u2019re in <\/span>the middle of <\/span>a war zone<\/span>,<\/span>\u201d<\/span> she says.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1\/6″][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”2\/3″][vc_single_image image=”41389″ img_size=”large” alignment=”center”][vc_custom_heading text=”40,000 Action Bibles were distributed to Ukrainian children living in conflict zones in 2021.” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:13px|text_align:center|color:%230a0a0a|line_height:1.45em” google_fonts=”font_family:Noto%20Sans%3Aregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:400%20regular%3A400%3Anormal”][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/6″][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Representative Foley says that the Ukrainian Christians in contact with her ministry pray for a Ukrainian victory but <\/span>profess a faith that goes deeper than <\/span>politics. \u201cPart of the aid we are providing Ukrainian Christians, both inside Ukraine and in the refugee areas, is access to our<\/span> <\/span>Preparing for the Underground Church <\/span><\/span>series, which was written in English and Korean but has been translated into Russian and made available for <\/span>free <\/span>online and through printed copies<\/span>. It tells Christians how to take their churches underground.<\/span>\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Representative Foley says her ministry has also <\/span>made available to <\/span>Ukrainian Christians the Russian translation of its <\/span>book on underground North Korean Christians, called <\/span><\/span>These are the Generations.<\/span> <\/span>\u201c<\/span>The<\/span> Christian from Kiev <\/span>who sent us the drawing for prisoners <\/span>also <\/span>wrote to us <\/span>about this book <\/span>right as her area of Kiev was facing bombardment<\/span>. She said she had read it right before the war started. She wrote<\/span>,\u00a0 \u2018<\/span>It was very interesting to learn how people live in North Korea, especially believers. What incredible challenges they face, how brave, hardworking and resilient they are. Praise God for the North Koreans.<\/span>\u2019 Christians in crisis are always encouraged by other Christians in crisis. <\/span>So,<\/span> in addition to providing the Ukrainian Christians physical bread, we are providing them with underground church spiritual \u2018bread\u2019 as well.\u201d<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Individuals interested in donating to the Ukraine Christian Emergency Relief project <\/span>can give at <\/span>www.vomkorea.com\/en\/donation<\/a><\/span> or via electronic transfer to:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\uad6d\ubbfc\uc740\ud589<\/span> (KB Bank) 463501-01-243303<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\uc608\uae08\uc8fc<\/span> (Account Holder): (<\/span>\uc0ac<\/span>)<\/span>\uc21c\uad50\uc790\uc758\uc18c\ub9ac<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Please include the word \u201cUkraine\u201d with the donation.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][\/vc_section]<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"[vc_section][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”41391″ img_size=”full”][vc_custom_heading text=”As the Russian invasion drags on, some Christians in Ukraine are literally taking their churches underground in an effort to survive missile and artillery attacks, while other …","protected":false},"author":659,"featured_media":41394,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"give_campaign_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[857,235,869,140],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-41409","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-russian-special","category-special-column","category-china-special","category-vomk-report"],"translation":{"provider":"WPGlobus","version":"3.0.2","language":"en","enabled_languages":["ko","en","zh","ru"],"languages":{"ko":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false},"en":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false},"zh":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false},"ru":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false}}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41409","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/659"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41409"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41409\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/41394"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41409"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41409"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41409"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}