Ukraine’s other resistance – against despair
Nearly two years into a stalemated war, Ukrainians take a cue from their president and clergy on biblical ways to sustain themselves.
Military chaplains pray with soldiers during a Christmas Day service near the front line in Ukraine's Donetsk region, Dec. 25, 2023.
REUTERS
During the nearly two years since Russia’s invasion, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has frequently used one notable word in public comments: despair. He cites it not to consent to it but to, as he says, “not allow” it. With the war currently at a stalemate, he has been battling despair among Ukrainians more than ever.
Yet not in ways easily seen.
The most obvious way is by winning more aid from Western capitals to match Russia’s military might. He has fought official corruption and kept the economy going. Lately, he has boosted troop morale by handing out more medals for combat heroism.
During a visit to the front line in December to hand out medals, he said he found “no despair and no weakness” among the soldiers. A few weeks earlier, he visited a memorial wall to fallen soldiers, saying it was a “wall that fear, despondency, despair, discord, or the thought of giving up won’t break through.”
“We are strong. We are the wall. We stand,” he said.
A year ago, during a visit to Britain in which he was presented with a special-edition Book of Psalms translated into Ukrainian, Mr. Zelenskyy quoted from Chapter 3: “But You, O Lord, are a shield about me, my glory and He Who raises up my head. With my voice, I call to the Lord, and He answered me from His holy mount to eternity. I will not fear ten thousands of people, who have set themselves against me all around.”
The Jewish president says the Psalms tell of people praying often for help from God. “We never know whether our prayer has come close to perfection, and whether the Lord heard it,” he said. “That’s why in harsh times – when we lose loved-ones; when people lose children, ... when a criminal war is conducted against your people; – faith may stagger. It happens that people think that God doesn’t hear and will not hear prayer. And it is important for us, as leaders of nations, to resist despair.”
In the first 15 months after the invasion, demand for Bibles rose fivefold in Ukraine, according to the Ukrainian Bible Society. Online engagement with the Bible also rose dramatically, according to YouVersion, creators of the popular Bible app and Bible.com.
In the year after the war began, the most popular search terms in Ukrainian were “war,” “fear,” and “anxiety,” according to YouVersion. As the war went on, those words were replaced by searches for “love.”
Perhaps that shift can be explained by YouVersion’s finding that the most popular Bible verse among Ukrainians in 2022 was Isaiah 41:10: “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”
Among the top 10 favorite Bible verses among Ukrainians, “curiously absent are verses on evil, anger, and grief,” Valentin Siniy, president of Tavriski Christian Institute in Kherson, told Christianity Today.
Along with President Zelenskyy, Ukraine’s clergy have also been on the front lines, battling despair. One is Mykola Berezyk, a priest with the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
“The war showed us that it is not enough to feed, equip, and arm soldiers,” he told Agence France Presse. “They also need spiritual support.”
Mr. Zelenskyy went further in that idea during his Christmas message last month: “In troubled times, as we defend our land and our souls, we are making our way to freedom. The way to gaining comprehensive independence, including spiritual one.”
His words were one more way Ukraine plans a triumph over despair as much as a victory against an invasion.