THE IMPACT OF THE RUSSIAN INVASION ON FAITH-BASED COMMUNITIES IN UKRAINE

Since the first months of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which began in February 2014, faith-based communities of various denominations have fully experienced the brutality and ruthlessness of Russia’s repressive policy in the occupied territories of Crimea and the Donbas region. Russian troops and Russian- backed separatists have targeted religious leaders and individual believers of most faiths, except the Orthodox parishes affiliated with the Moscow Patriarchate. Representatives of religious minorities were arbitrarily arrested, threatened, beaten, illegally imprisoned, tortured, and some were deliberately killed. The repressive policy in the self-proclaimed “people’s republics,” in those parts of Donetsk and Luhansk regions controlled by Russia, was aimed at strengthening the Russian regime and preventing resistance. The occupying authorities have eradicated dissent and all manifestations of Ukrainian identity, brutally persecuted pro-Ukrainian movements and any form of opposition, and introduced full control over the civilian population, similar to the situation in Russia itself.

One of the tools to repress Ukrainian religious communities in the Donbas region was the introduction of Russian legislation, which was entirely copied. Believers have faced demands from the occupying authorities for mandatory re-registration, acceptance of Russian citizenship, submission of lists of members of religious communities, etc.

However, even fulfillment of all these requirements did not guarantee re-registration under Russian law. After all, the real goal of the occupation authorities was to encourage religious communities and their leaders to collaborate and support the Russian regime. Disloyal religious leaders and denominations were persecuted through arbitrary accusations of spying for Ukrainian or Western intelligence services, sectarianism, extremism, or illegal missionary activities.

The evangelical churches (Baptists, Pentecostals, Adventists, etc.), as well as the Orthodox Church of Ukraine and the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, suffered particularly from Russian repression. In addition, the occupying authorities have declared the faithful of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) and Jehovah’s Witnesses to be “enemies of the people” and “extremists.” Religious communities on the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea, occupied by Russia since 2014, have also been subjected to targeted repression. In particular, many representatives of Muslim communities of pro-Ukrainian Crimean Tatars and Jehovah’s Witnesses were sentenced to long prison terms on trumped-up extremism charges.

At least 630 religious sites were damaged or looted due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine

Full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine Previously, the Kremlin tried to disguise its direct military intervention in the events in the Donbas region from the international community. However, since February 24, 2022, President Vladimir Putin’s desire to completely conquer Ukraine and destroy Ukrainian statehood, national identity, culture, history, language, and religious pluralism became apparent. Hiding behind the slogans of protecting the Russian language, “denazification,” and “desatanization” of Ukraine, the Kremlin was actually implementing the ideology of the “Russkiy Mir” (Russian World). As interpreted by Russian propagandists, this ideology meant the physical destruction (genocide) of the Ukrainian people as a nation, the elimination of any mention of their cultural heritage, the overthrow of the Ukrainian government, and the disappearance of the Ukrainian state. For the sake of Putin’s imperial ambitions, Russian soldiers continue to die on Ukrainian land. During the 21 months of the full-scale invasion, Russian troops have wholly destroyed or damaged at least 630 religious facilities in Ukraine. Most were damaged by Russian missiles, kamikaze drones, and artillery, including targeted attacks on civilian objects. In addition, some places of worship have been deliberately looted by the Russian military, closed, or converted by the occupation authorities into administrative buildings. The Institute for Religious Freedom has also documented numerous cases of seizure of places of worship by the Russian military, which used them as military bases or as cover for their firing positions. This tactic of the Russian army resulted in an increase of destruction of religious sites in Ukraine.

Most churches, prayer houses, synagogues, and mosques were destroyed in Donetsk region (at least 146), Luhansk region (at least 83), and Kherson region (at least 78). The destruction in Kyiv region was also enormous (73) when Russian troops attempted to capture the capital of Ukraine in February-March 2022. Due to the ongoing hostilities, the number of destroyed buildings is increasing in Kharkiv region (at least 62), Zaporizhzhia region (at least 51), and Mykolaiv region (at least 41).

The Institute for Religious Freedom (IRF) is a human rights NGO, founded in 2001 in Kyiv, Ukraine. Our goal is to protect and promote religious freedom and other related human rights, facilitate inter- faith dialogue and church-state cooperation, strengthen democratic foundations and civil society in Ukraine. For this research, IRF conducted a written questionnaire and an oral survey of representatives of most churches and religious associations in Ukraine, as well as recorded video testimonies and documented specific Russian war crimes against religious leaders and faith-based communities

carngieendownment.org

Holy War: The Fight for Ukraine’s Churches and Monasteries

The Ukrainian Orthodox Church will never be able to return to its prewar position. There are only two options now: swear allegiance to the new national consensus, or become a pro-Kremlin collaborator.

The long-running battle over the formation in Ukraine of a united Orthodox church is becoming increasingly bitter. Secular authorities around the country have started transferring churches and monasteries—including the country’s holiest site, the historic Kyiv-Pechersk cave monastery—over from the branch of the Orthodox church affiliated with Moscow to one that is not.

The wartime Ukrainian government has neither the time nor the patience to wait for the clergy to settle their centuries-old squabbles themselves. The state is forcing them to stand up and be counted, and any loyalty to Moscow—even the most theoretical—is becoming unacceptable.

Historical ties with Moscow had long prevented the formation of a unified national church in Ukraine. Instead, two main churches were locked in a battle of rivals: the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (UOCMP), which was established in 1990 as a self-governing church under the canonic jurisdiction of the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) and remains the biggest in Ukraine with about 12,000 parishes, and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church—Kyiv Patriarchate (UOCKP), set up in 1992 by Ukrainian clergy who sought independence from the ROC.

For many years, the UOCMP enjoyed the support of the Ukrainian government and businesses: its biggest benefactors at one time included former president Petro Poroshenko. But its rival UOCKP was always prepared to side with the secular authorities in any conflict with Moscow, which could not be said of the UOCMP, whose dual loyalty always made it the object of suspicion.

As relations between Ukraine and Russia deteriorated, the UOCKP saw its congregation grow. Even Ukrainians who were not particularly religious started identifying as members of the church on purely patriotic grounds.

Poroshenko tried to put an end to this long-standing church rivalry during his presidency in December 2018 with the formation of a new church, the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU), established under the jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople and granted autocephaly, or ecclesial independence. Though it was based on the UOCKP, it was expected that gradually, UOCMP congregations would join its ranks, and indeed, the OCU began to grow, albeit very slowly, with no suggestion it would outgrow the UOCMP any time soon.

snip

It’s also important to remember that despite individual cases of clergy and churchgoers siding with Russia, most priests and members of the UOC are loyal to Ukraine. The church has lent its support to the Ukrainian army and refugees since the beginning of the war, and was involved in organizing humanitarian corridors to besieged Mariupol. Turning all of the church’s supporters into outcasts would be counterproductive for the state. Thanks to its support for Putin’s war, the ROC needs no help in making itself abhorrent to Ukraine’s Orthodox believers.

snip long read

For local evangelical believers under Russian occupation, a deadly threat remains.»
Okay, you support closing churchs and denying religious freedom Got it

You means as in persecuting real Christians:

Russia's Newest Law: No Evangelizing Outside of Church | News ...

Christians are Severely Persecuted in Putin's Russia – But That Could ...

Christian Persecution Increasing in Russia - Christian News Headlines

Report: Non-Orthodox Christians Face 'Strong Discrimination' in Russia

Russia, other former Soviet republics persecuting Christians, new ...

Moscow church destroyed in sign of new Russian repression Posted on Sep 26, 2012 | by Jill Nelson

MOSCOW (BP) -- It was in the early hours of the morning on Sept. 6 when Pastor Vasili Romanyuk's phone rang. A group of men backed by local police were demolishing his Holy Trinity Pentecostal Church, housed in a three-story building nestled in a Moscow suburb. As word spread, congregants arrived at the scene hoping to save the building, but their efforts were futile. By dawn the church was in ruins and some of its most valuable contents were missing.

An isolated incident? A misunderstanding? Analysts watching the current climate in the former Cold War country don't think so: "This destruction of the church is about as concrete of evidence as you can get that something very bad and very troubling is taking place," said Katrina Lantos Swett, chair of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom. "This could not have happened without the backing, support, and implicit blessing of the police."

The incident is just one sign of deteriorating freedoms in Russia, and behind the scenes a cozy relationship between the Kremlin and the Russian Orthodox Church has raised more than a few eyebrows. As President Vladimir Putin digs into his third term, a number of Kremlin crackdowns involving vague interpretations of the country's extremism law and other human-rights abuses are troubling signs that the country has slipped into a familiar, repressive era.

"When you have unknown people backed by the police coming out at midnight to begin tearing down a church, you know something doesn't smell right," Lantos Swett said.

Officials evicted Holy Trinity Church from its original building in 1995 and relocated the church to the eastern Moscow suburb. The congregation used its own funds to construct a new building and repeatedly battled officials over permits. The church demolition and its history reflect an emerging pattern: Authorities confiscate land from non-favored religious communities and force the congregation to relocate to a remote suburb, the religious leaders apply for permits that are subsequently denied, and officials confiscate (once again) or demolish the relocated congregation, citing lack of proper documentation.

Pastor Romanyuk and a small group of the church's 550 congregants arrived on site around 3:30 a.m. as about 45 men claiming to be civil volunteers blocked them from the building and threw stones. "When I arrived, I just burst into tears," 25-year-old Natalya Cherevichinik told The Moscow Times as she surveyed the destruction. "I couldn't believe that something that had been built over several years could be destroyed in a few hours."

Russian Evangelicals Leery of Orthodox Church, Friday, December 30, 2011:

class="adjusted">MOSCOW, Russia -- For decades, the Russian Orthodox Church was persecuted under the Soviet Union's Communist Party.

Since the early 1990s, the church has grown in size and influence as its relationship with the Russian government has improved significantly.

However, that cozy relationship worries the country's evangelicals.

Threats Against Evangelicals

For eight years, Yuri Sipko ran one of the largest Baptist organizations in Russia. Now, 20 years after the fall of Communism, he worries about the growing threats against the country's evangelical movement.

"The collapse of Communism was supposed to usher in an era of greater religious freedom, but I'm concerned we are moving in the wrong direction," Sipko said.

What makes the Russian evangelicals very concerned is an emerging relationship between the Russian government and the Russian Orthodox Church.

"For example, the government recently introduced religious classes based on the principals of the Orthodox Church in public schools," Sipko said.

"Then late last year, the Russian president announced an initiative to appoint Orthodox chaplains to all army units," he said. "Our constitution clearly states no religion can be the state religion."

Russia Church-State Relations

Russia watchers credit two men, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and President Dmitry Medvedev, for elevating the church's prominence. The state media has also played a key role, often showing the leaders attending church services.

Sergey Ryakhovski knows both men well. As head of Russia's Pentecostal Union, he meets regularly with top government and Orthodox Church leaders.

Ryakhovski worries that the Orthodox Church's influence is coming at the expense of religious freedom, especially for minority groups such as Christians, Jews, Muslims, and Buddhists.

"There are so many laws and by-laws that regulate religious life in Russia," Ryakhovski said. "For example, evangelical Christians just can't go out and buy a church building or buy a piece of land to build a church."

"Plus, criticizing or challenging the Orthodox Church is not a task for all," he added.

Orthodox Church Revival

The Russian Orthodox Church on the other hand has had it easy in recent times after decades of state persecution.

Church buildings that were destroyed during the Soviet era have been rebuilt with Russian taxpayer money. In the past 20 years, the government has spent hundreds of millions of dollars restoring some 23,000 churches.

Most Russians say they belong to the Orthodox Church. Yet CBN News found mixed reactions on the streets of Moscow to the growing bond between church and state

At Expense of All Others, Putin Picks a Church

By CLIFFORD J. LEVY Published: April 24, 2008

STARY OSKOL, Russia —

It was not long after a Methodist church put down roots here that the troubles began.

First came visits from agents of the F.S.B., a successor to the K.G.B., who evidently saw a threat in a few dozen searching souls who liked to huddle in cramped apartments to read the Bible and, perhaps, drink a little tea. Local officials then labeled the church a “sect.” Finally, last month, they shut it down.

There was a time after the fall of Communism when small Protestant congregations blossomed here in southwestern Russia, when a church was almost as easy to set up as a general store. Today, this industrial region has become emblematic of the suppression of religious freedom under President Vladimir V. Putin.

Just as the government has tightened control over political life, so, too, has it intruded in matters of faith. The Kremlin’s surrogates in many areas have turned the Russian Orthodox Church into a de facto official religion, warding off other Christian denominations that seem to offer the most significant competition for worshipers. They have all but banned proselytizing by Protestants and discouraged Protestant worship through a variety of harassing measures, according to dozens of interviews with government officials and religious leaders across Russia.

Russia's De-Facto State Religion : Persecution : http://www ... www.persecution.org/?p=9350&upm...‎ International Christian Co... Putin frequently appears with the Orthodox head, Patriarch Aleksei II, ... Baptists, evangelicals, Pentecostals and many others who cut Christ's robes like bandits, ...

Government Returning Land to Religious Organizations to Favor Orthodox Tuesday, March 3rd, 2009: An ambitious draft law on the transfer of property of religious significance to religious organisations may reignite a process begun in 1993.

Pentecostal Seminary Targeted for Liquidation

Pentecostal Church Forced to Meet Outside in Moscow Winter

Russia: Governor Orders Church Land Grab

Council of Religious Experts threatens religious freedom

A new Inquisition ?

Russia “You have the law, we have orders ”

In addition,

"63% of Russians consider themselves Orthodox believers" and 66% of Russians – the population as a whole, without reference to one’s faith – trust the Russian Orthodox Church." - https://www.pravmir.com/over-65-of-russians-trust-the-russian-orthodox-church-poll/

More findings from that same source are that,

For many people, however, “Orthodox” is basically a cultural identification label and does not necessarily imply adherence to specific religious doctrines—a Levada poll found that 30 percent of those who saw themselves as “Orthodox” did not even believe in the existence of God. To single out the believers from the “culturally Orthodox,” we started by asking whether respondents considered themselves as belonging to any religion at all. Slightly more than half, 55 percent, answered in the affirmative. Of these, 81 percent indicated Russian Orthodoxy. This means that altogether 45 percent of our respondents considered themselves Orthodox believers.

Moreover...we found that Orthodox Christians, despite the ROC’s strong stance on abortions, were only marginally more opposed (48 percent) than the non-Orthodox/nonbelievers (46 percent) (see Table 2).

On whether certain other behavior could be justified, 55% of self-declared Orthodox believers affirmed fornication could be, which is actually just slightly less than non-Orthodox/nonbelievers (57%)

Pew research finds that in Russia,

just 6% of Orthodox Christian adults say they attend church at least weekly, 15% say religion is “very important” in their lives, and 18% say they pray daily. Other former Soviet republics display similarly low levels of religious observance. Together, these countries are home to a majority of the world’s Orthodox Christians.

https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2017/11/08/orthodox-take-socially-conservative-views-on-gender-issues-homosexuality/
Across all three waves of ISSP data, no more than about one-in-ten Russians said they attend religious services at least once a month.

Meanwhile,

America has incurred the wrath of God, being more blessed and accountable than others. To which applies:

Israel hath cast off the thing that is good: the enemy shall pursue him. They have set up kings, but not by me: they have made princes, and I knew it not: of their silver and their gold have they made them idols, that they may be cut off. (Hosea 8:3-4) I have written to him the great things of my law, but they were counted as a strange thing. (Hosea 8:12) For Israel hath forgotten his Maker, and buildeth temples; and Judah hath multiplied fenced cities: but I will send a fire upon his cities, and it shall devour the palaces thereof. (Hosea 8:14)

Yet,

For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear? (1 Peter 4:17-18)

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