Since the breakup of the Soviet Union, Ukraine's military had not had a chaplaincy as a result of the Soviet legacy of keeping religion out of the army. With the outbreak of hostilities from the Russian invasion three years ago, however, the need for chaplains to minister to military families had grown exponentially. ACCTS, along with several of our ministry partners, helped the Ukraine Ministry of Defense develop a formal military chaplaincy, even as volunteer clergy have heroically filled the gap by going to the front with the troops.
During their ministry trips to Ukraine after the invasion. ACCTS staff became aware of the need for a multi-confessional chaplaincy. Working with our ministry partners at CRU Military Ministry, the International Association of Evangelical Chaplains, Military Ministries International, and Olive Branch International, ACCTS collaborated in a series of Pray and Plan sessions to develop point papers on the basic requirements for a chaplaincy, and the practical steps involved in creating one. In addition, working through the Ukraine Military Christian Fellowship, ACCTS helped organize a conference to discuss the issues involved in forming a Ukraine chaplaincy, and helped coordinate various chaplain ministry training efforts and initiatives to deal with "compassion fatigue" on the part of clergy serving as volunteer chaplains.
At the Fellowship of Christian Military Ministries meeting in March 2015, a focus group discussed the various issues surrounding a Ukraine chaplaincy. A follow-on videoconference with several US and Ukraine military ministries helped highlight the major factors to be addressed, and suggested courses of action for the Ukraine Ministry of Defense to consider. In addition, a number of short-term training sessions were coordinated to better prepare the volunteer chaplains for their work.
God faithfully superintended all of these efforts, and in April 2017, the Ukraine Ministry of Defense announced that the first chaplains from various confessions would start serving in May. The Defense Ministry said it that this initiative included chaplains from Ukraine's most prominent Christian confessions - Eastern Orthodox, Greek and Roman Catholic, Baptists, Pentecostals, and Evangelicals - as well as Muslim imams. Up to four chaplains per brigade were assigned to help meet soldiers' spiritual needs, and provide counseling for those suffering from combat trauma and moral injury as a result of their experiences in the war. Chaplains have now been assigned to military detachments throughout the country, including army, air and naval forces and airborne special units.
Volunteer chaplains continue to serve, but now with a modicum of training in the basic precepts of chaplaincy, an relationship with the "official" chaplaincy, and an understanding of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and the special needs of military families when a loved one is deployed or killed in action. Pray that God will continue to bless the Ukraine Military, and the chaplains who serve them.
