Christians in Ukraine are being helped to deal with the trauma of war has been life changing.
Pavlo Honcharuk is the bishop of Kharkiv, a town in the northeast of Ukraine that has been the scene of heavy fighting since the conflict began. The “Battle of Kharkiv” lasted nearly the entirety of spring 2022 and is regarded as a Ukrainian victory.
Bishop Honcharuk said that the sounds of war have become such a constant for people in the region, that the sound of silence can be alarming.
“There are permanently drones and rockets and we hear them above our heads, every day," he told Aid to the Church in Need.
"The worst are the fibre-optic drones, they have a range of 50 kilometres (31 miles), and they shoot everything that moves and lives. We live in tension. The biggest danger for us is the silence. When there is a silence, we don't know what will happen.”
He also spoke of the daily realities of life in a warzone, “We know we have to do everything to survive. To live, not to die.
"We have so much pain in us, but we know we have to live. And this is our life. We live from one day to the other. Sometimes when we meet each other, we ask: ‘How are you?’ and the reply is just: ‘I'm still alive.’ And that is good.”
Helping civilians and soldiers deal with psychological trauma has become an increasingly important part of the ministry of both regular clergy and military chaplains in Ukraine.
“We see that when they [soldiers] come back to their families they are completely changed, and this also affects the rest of the family," he said.
"When we speak about people who lost their homes or their belongings, that is also a kind of trauma, and also prisoners of war who return, they carry a different kind of trauma and pain. It’s very complex. It’s very important to listen to the people and to try to help everyone in a different way.”
Bishop Honcharuk said that clergy themselves are not immune to the psychological effects of serving in such a situation, adding that the work of healing trauma is vitally important to easing tensions within families, and preventing violence and suicide.
ACN has increased its support for churches in Ukraine since the escalation of the war in 2022, something Bishop Honcharuk described as a “hand of God”.
Russian attacks often target power infrastructure in the country, and so generators and similar aid have been sent as well as vehicles to help priests and religious sisters visit people living in remote areas.
