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Once called “opium for the people” by Soviets, Christianity became the strength that helped independent Ukraine endure.
On August 24, Ukraine marked 34 years of independence. These years have been a gradual rebuilding of national identity, language, and culture. Freedom came not only politically, but also spiritually, as the church — long persecuted under the USSR — was finally free. Vladimir Lenin’s famous line, “Religion is opium for the people,” had been the guiding philosophy behind decades of oppression.
When the Iron Curtain fell in 1991, the church could finally spread its wings.
Eric Mock from Slavic Gospel Association says, “Ukraine, for the most part, was the Bible Belt of all the former Soviet Union countries [after 1991]. So, they were not only growing in their own country, but they were sending missionaries all over the world. And so, the church was thriving.”
The Ukrainian church, like the nation itself, entered a season of transformation. The collective trauma of persecution took time to heal, but the spread of the Gospel and sound teaching brought freedom to individuals and communities alike.
When war struck — first in 2014, then in 2022 — the churches reshaped their ministry to meet the need. “They did not flee,” says Mock, “but actually pushed towards the battle lines because people were needing hope.”
Slavic Gospel Association stood alongside Ukrainian Baptist churches. “[SGA] helped equip them with resources so they could minister to the people who had all hope ripped away from them, refugees or internally displaced people,” adds Mock.
Through practical aid and immediate relief, churches also shared the news that overshadowed every piece of bad news people could hear that day: the Gospel.
“So in the midst of fighting for their independence, people were finding their independence in Christ,” he adds.
Mock recalls asking one pastor in Chernihiv why he stayed. The pastor replied, “My people are here, therefore I will not go.” This kind of courage reflects biblical “love to one’s neighbor”, that shaped the role of many Ukrainian churches both before and after acquiring independence. Visit the Slavic Gospel Association to learn more stories like this!
“As the Ukrainian people celebrate their Independence Day, Ukrainian believers — and all believers — can celebrate their independence from the shackles of this world, looking forward with hope and being united in the hardest of times by the hope we have in Jesus, knowing the best is yet to come,” he adds.
The ministry asks people to pray for the churches to find their place in Ukraine’s modern history and to be a beacon of hope for those desperate for good news.
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This story originally appeared at Mission Network News and is republished here with permission.