Church in Ukraine has lost half of its parishes in areas occupied by Russia, bishop says

Father Ivan Levystky (left) and Father Bohdan Geleta (right) were held for more than a year after being captured by the Russians in Berdyansk and released on June 28, 2024. / Credit: Donetsk Bishop’s Exarchy

ACI Prensa Staff, Oct 29, 2024 / 17:20 pm (CNA).

More than two and a half years after the Russian invasion, the Church in Ukraine has lost more than half of the parishes in the occupied regions, said Maksym Ryabukha, the new Greek Catholic bishop of the Donetsk exarchate.

Speaking to the Italian daily Avvenire, the 44-year-old prelate said “the situation is increasingly worrying” since the war began in February 2022.

“We have already lost more than half of the parishes. And with the advancing Russian army, dozens of other churches have been evacuated,” added Ryabukha, whose diocese is partly under Moscow’s control, divided by over 300 miles of trenches.

According to the Italian media, in the churches of Pokrovsk, Mirnohrad, and Kostiantynivka — areas taken by Russian forces — there are no more remaining liturgical furnishings, pews, or adornments.

The new bishop of the Donetsk exarchate said the priests “stay close to the population and visit the refugees who have left their homes.” In his case, he said he is now “a bishop in a time of pain, drama, injustice, and helplessness” as he sees his Church suffering.

Ryabukha said that in the Russian-occupied areas, “those who openly call themselves Catholics disappear: Some are shot, others are imprisoned. There is no right to freely profess the faith. Our faithful keep saying: ‘We’re holding up, but it’s like being locked up in a prison.’”

Among the painful experiences, the prelate recalled the imprisonment of his priests Bohdan Geleta and Ivan Levitskyi, who were held for more than a year after being captured by the Russians in Berdyansk.

Both were released in June, and Ryabukha said their stories “show how the power of prayer is a vital support in the midst of atrocities.”

“Our two priests felt the closeness of the Church that allowed them to hold up under the evil, the torture, the inhumanity they experienced in Russian cells. And it’s with prayer that I also can be close to the communities that they prevent me from visiting. Every day I ask the Lord to protect them,” he said.

The bishop, who regularly visits Ukrainian soldiers, said that many of them, before the war, “were simple fathers or even former Salesian students. They put aside their plans to defend the country.”

“We know that the war will end. But we all want this to happen as soon as possible and with peace in the name of justice,” he added.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.