Kiyv: The three biggest Evangelical Protestant churches in Melitopol were shut down by occupying forces, as were churches in Mariupol. According to reports, pro-Russian soldiers who participated in another raid said that only Orthodoxy would be tolerated.
During a worship service, Russian troops raided the Grace Baptist Church in Melitopol, closed it down, and told the pastor to leave the city.
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Release International, based in the UK, collaborates with allies to aid the world's persecuted Christians. Christians in the area are in contact with sister organisation Voice of the Martyrs Korea and are providing accounts of life under occupation.
When describing the September 11 raid on Grace Baptist Church, Hyun Sook Foley said:
"While the congregation was singing a hymn, "they entered the sanctuary, stopped the worship service, registered the names of everyone present, and detained several ministers." She claims that Mikhail Brisyn, a pastor, was also given just 48 hours to leave the city by the occupiers."
When the troops arrived, a live broadcast of a worship service at Grace Baptist Church was in progress. Soldiers interrupted the service as viewers watched online. Since then, that video has disappeared from the web.
The largest Protestant church in Melitopol was demolished by occupation forces the month before. The charismatic Melitopol Christian Church is renowned for its large campus, palm trees, fountain, and auditorium with 1,000 seats.
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Remove the cross
Release International allies claim that occupation forces demolished the building's cross and transformed it into a "cultural sports entertainment complex." The Word of Life Church in Melitopol was also shut down in that same month. Soldiers from the Russian Federation broke into a church in the nearby village of Chkalovo, interrupted the evening service, and shut the church down. They reportedly told the congregation, "Your feet won't be here after the referendum," according to reports. Orthodoxy is the only faith we practise. Every day since the war started, worship services have been held in the village of Chkalovo. On September 21, it was abandoned.
Release According to international allies, Mariupol and other Russian-occupied cities are also experiencing the seizure of churches and the detention of pastors.
Masked raiders
Baptist Pastor Leonid Ponomaryov and his wife Tatyana were detained by masked, armed soldiers at Mariupol's Kurchatov Church. On September 21st in the evening, they broke into their house.
As the pastor and his wife were being taken away, neighbours claimed to have heard groans and cries. The family and church members were not informed of the reason for or location of their detention.
Russian officials allegedly claimed the Ponomaryovs were engaged in "extremist activity," according to the Oslo-based Forum 18. Following a search, the occupying forces sealed the Baptist Church to stop further worship services.
Mariupol is located in Ukraine's Donetsk region. In May 2022, the city was seized by Russian forces and forces loyal to Russia from the so-called Donetsk People's Republic.
Forces allegedly searched and sealed off places of worship, detained religious leaders, and drove churchgoers out. They insisted that church leaders sever their ties to Ukrainian religious institutions as well. Similar actions have been taken in other Ukrainian regions that are under occupation.
Pushed underground
Lysychansk was taken over by Russian forces and separatists in the Luhansk region in July. Leaders of the six Protestant churches were compelled to leave after locals revealed where the Christians were residing. The congregation's remaining members were forced underground. The Lysychansk Christian Center was taken over by forces, who destroyed the entire church library and dumped all the bibles and children's books in a heap in the adjacent yard.
Christian women who stayed in the city have recovered the books and taken them to a safe location in the hopes that they will one day be returned to the church.
Around 80% of Lysychansk's 100,000 residents, according to Radio Free Europe, have now left. Volodymyr Zelensky, the president of Ukraine, has referred to Severodonetsk and nearby Luhansk as "dead cities." The occupying forces from Russia have received harsh criticism from the UN for "violations of the right to freedom of religion and belief."
Along with the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which is free from Russian control, other groups that have been targeted include Christians, Muslims, and Jehovah's Witnesses.
The Primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church visited the Archbishop of Canterbury in the UK in July. In occupied territory, Justin Welby claimed to have heard "the most heartbreaking stories of atrocities against civilians and against Orthodox clergy."
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Pastors detained
Release International, based in the UK, collaborates with allies to aid persecuted Christians all over the world. It's not surprising that the Russian occupying forces are closing Protestant churches and imprisoning pastors, according to CEO Paul Robinson.
Since they took control of and forcibly annexed Crimea in 2014, they have been acting in the same way. The precedent for what came after was set by this.
They have raided places of worship, shut down churches, outlawed missionary activity, fined people for leading worship services, seized religious literature, and forced religious communities to re-register with the state while refusing to do so for the vast majority of them in Crimea and other occupied territories.
And right now, we're witnessing churches being searched, sealed, and shut down, as well as the detention and disappearance of pastors in the occupied territories.
The presence of Ukrainian Christians is not new. They are then driven back to the Soviet-era clandestine churches. However, history should serve as a clear warning to Russia: under similar circumstances, the Christian faith is still thriving in China even after 70 years of Soviet totalitarian rule. The church can only grow stronger under persecution.
Around 30 different nations are served by Release International. It works with partners to provide practical, pastoral, and spiritual support to the families of Christians who have been martyred or imprisoned for their faith. It also supports Christians who are subjected to violence and oppression as well as those who must flee.