Local pastor goes to Kyiv to teach, preach
Saturday, January 14, 2012 12:00 AM | 
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A couple of years ago, I was invited by members of International Theological Education Ministries (ITEM) to go to the Kyiv, Ukraine area in order to preach and teach, and finally this November, the opportunity became a reality.
I arrived at the Boryspil Airport in Kyiv and was met by two Ukrainians, both named Vitaly. Pastor Vitaly Tkachuh has been both a pastor and college president for many years. The younger Vitaly is a deacon in his church and also is dean of the Kyiv Bible College. The trip to Veshneve, a town of 40,000 inhabitants, took about 35 minutes. Veshneve is located to the southwest of Kyiv. There are primarily high rise apartments in the city in which most of its citizens live. Only about one in five owns a car, so they leave early in the morning to either catch the train or bus to work, and then they return about 7 p.m. for the evening.
I was brought to the Church of the Gospel, where I was shown my room, which was very spacious. It had a solitary cot, to which I eventually would become acclimated. Since it was time for dinner, I was taken to the dining hall and had a wonderful meal. The Ukrainians claim that they have always been organic, and they state that they do not use any pesticides on their crops. I had lots of vegetables, rice, chicken and pork dishes. They also love yogurt, potatoes, varieties of macaroni-type dishes, and hot tea.
On Saturday, Nov. 19, I had the delight of taking a tour of Kyiv. The European soccer games, Euro 2012, will be hosted in Kyiv, and everywhere preparations are being made for this huge event in the city’s history. Some of the worst battles of World War II were fought in this area, especially near the Dnieper River. I saw the Motherland Memorial which contains not only a 335-foot, 650-ton stature of a woman carrying a shield and a sword, but also magnificent engravings in rock depicting the war in which a massive number of Ukrainians lost their lives. On Independence Street in the middle of the city, a large crowd was celebrating the seventh anniversary of the Orange Revolution, which brought about the end of the Ukraine’s centuries’ long dependence upon Russia and the hope of becoming a viable member of the European Union.
The Eastern Orthodox Church has kept a tight hand on religious matters in the country for centuries, and even today with the emergence of the Baptists, they attempt to control the Ukrainians’ religious lives. Two of the more outstanding cathedrals are St. Michael’s Cathedral and the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra Monastery. At the monastery there are vast underground catacombs where many worshipers go throughout the maze offering their worship to departed saints who are entombed in various caskets.
We also saw Independence Square, a large street where the old Communist party showcased weapons and troops especially during the era of the cold war. In 2004, the Orange Revolution occurred there. While I was touring this area, a large group of people were forcefully expressing their opposition to the current political regime.
The Ukrainians seem to be taller and more fit than Americans. They do not believe in eating fast food, and they said that when the fall of Communism took place, people started eating like Americans and they noticed that they were gaining weight, so they determined that it was time to go back to their usual ways of eating. Curiously, many talked about all the bad things the West has brought, especially America, such as the food, music, and culture. On the other hand, almost everyone said that they wanted to come to America! While one cannot state such dogmatically, it appears that the Ukrainians have been persecuted more than almost any other ethnic group. I heard stories of the atrocities under the Communists, Lenin and Stalin, and of course the Nazis almost destroyed the country in their attempt to take Russia.
The group I was with is Baptist, and their theology, of course, would be at variance with the Orthodox Church. The Baptists in the Ukraine heard what they believe is the true Gospel first from the German Mennonites in the mid-19th century, and because of the difference in theology, a large number of Ukrainian Baptists were persecuted, many giving up their lives. Nikita Khruschev, Soviet dictator from 1954-1964, took his shoe off in a U.N. meeting, pounded it on a table, and said that he would bury America. He also claimed he would do the same with Christianity. He lived for many years in Kyiv, and obviously failed in his prediction.
I preached twice at the Church of the Gospel in Veshneve through an interpreter named Lena Tkachuk who spoke in Russian. Historically, the Ukrainians were not allowed to speak their language, so a large percentage today speak only Russian or are bilingual. I also taught 25 seminary students with the help of an interpreter named Katya Bochevar. The students are eager, and it was a pleasure to lecture four hours daily for five days. I taught them basic theology, and they acted excited to be there. They will take what I taught them and use it in their churches or for further study.
Though the building in which I stayed was somewhat cold because of governmental restrictions on the amount of heat which churches may use, the showers were hot, but immediately upon stepping out, one is hit with cold. Because of this heating restriction, we usually wore our coats in the church, which was a large three-story structure.
I grew up in Minnesota, and the climate of Kyiv reminds me somewhat of that of Minnesota. The soil is perhaps the richest in the world, and still today the Ukraine is called, “the bread basket of the world.” The people are humble and proud, but in a good sense. They bear the burdens of life with grace and a strong faith in God. Friendships and family are very important to them. Few know English, but they love to practice.
Besides developing a bad cold, which took much of my voice the last two days, the trip was wonderful. I will continue to pray for the Church in the Ukraine, and ask you to pray for them also. Hopefully in the future, I will be able to return again to teach and preach to the delightful people in the Ukraine.
Dr. Jeffrey Richards lives in Salisbury.