From the September-December 2010 Issue
SPRING TIME IN TERNOPIL
Martin Leech
TernopilThis was my first visit to Ukraine and it gave me the opportunity to spend plenty of time in the company of Volodymyr (Volodia) and Oksana Kostyshyn and Vitaliy Maryash. Their home town, Ternopil (population of more than 200,000), is a regional capital in western Ukraine, about 100 miles from the Polish border. It is an important centre for administration, transport and education, having several large universities.
Ukraine has been independent since 1991. Its population of 46 million is 78% ethnic Ukrainian and 17% ethnic Russian. There are deep political and ethnic divisions within the country. Western Ukraine is fiercely independent, Ukrainian-speaking and more westward-looking; while eastern Ukraine, with its large industrial centres, is more eastward-looking and has a larger Russian-speaking population. Politically, the ‘Orange Revolution’ of 2004/5 appears to have failed with the recent elections seeing Viktor Yanukovych returning to the presidency. It is obviously difficult for an outsider to assess the politics of another country, but there is a real fear that if Yanukovych seeks to rebuild closer ties with Russia, then the country will come increasingly under Russian sway, bringing the possibility of unrest.
Spiritually, Ukraine is a ‘religious’ country. They have liberal laws on religious freedom and there appears to be no particular pressure on evangelicals. The dominant religion is Orthodoxy, with approximately 50% of the population belonging at least nominally to the Russian Orthodox Church and 15% being Ukrainian Orthodox. Interestingly, about 8% belong to the Greek Catholic Church, which follows the Orthodox liturgy and tradition but is in communion with Rome and recognises the primacy of the Papacy. Its stronghold is in western Ukraine and its buildings are frequent sights in the Ternopil region. Protestants and Roman Catholics both number approximately 2% of the population. The Evangelical Baptist Union, to which Volodia’s and Vitaliy’s churches belong, consists of over 2,000 congregations and well over 150,000 members. It was formed from a ‘marriage of convenience’ between the Baptist Church and the Evangelical Church after the Second World War during a time of considerable pressure upon religious groups. Evangelicals are in a weaker position in the west than the east, where there has been less of the traditional Orthodox influence upon people. For a city of its size, Ternopil has relatively little in the way of genuine Gospel influence.
Volodia Kostyshyn is pastor of a small Baptist church in a suburb of Ternopil, located close to a university campus. The church was planted by the first Baptist Church in the city in 1999/2000 and Volodia has been its pastor for nearly all of that time. The work is still small with 15-20 normally attending their Sunday meeting. They have a midweek meeting and organise activities for children and young people. At the moment the church rents a meeting room but, since 2007, they have been making steady but substantial progress with a church building project in a small village just outside Ternopil. The location is easily accessible from the city by public transport and appears to be in a growing community.
Vitaliy Maryash is a native of Ternopil and has been back in his home town since 2005 after completing studies at EMF and then LTS. He is working in the First Baptist Church as a Bible study group leader and also has pastoral and preaching responsibilities. It is hoped that by the time this article is published Vitaliy will have been called and appointed as an elder and pastor.
Both Vitaliy and Volodia are being influential in slowly bringing Christians to a more Biblical way of thinking. Both are involved in pastors’ fraternals and preaching classes. In the longer run they would like to see a Bible School in Ternopil. There is also a lack of good Christian literature in the Ukrainian language, although there is plenty in Russian. Some of us may not realise that Ukrainian and Russian, though related, are sufficiently different that speakers of one may not properly understand, or be able to read, the other. The Catholic and Orthodox churches are busy publishing in Ukrainian and getting their books into high street bookshops because there is a market in this religious country. It would be a good idea for Reformed publishers to do the same!
It was a most encouraging visit and good to see the increasing influence of Volodia and Vitaliy through their gentle but firm application of solid Biblical principles. Pray for the advance of the Gospel in this needy part of Ukraine and for the churches to become more and more established on a solid, Biblical foundation.