The Religious Situation in the Ukraine

St. Andrew’s Orthodox Church in Kiev

I’m back from my vacation in the Ukraine and am still waiting for my schedule to adjust, hence I’m writing this in the early hours of the morning.  Since I blog about religion, I want to give my perspective on how I observed religion in the Ukraine.

The Ukraine is very secular.  The main religion of the Ukraine is Orthodoxy which comprises about 70% of the country.  These believers are divided between the Moscow Patriarchate and the Kiev Patriarchate.  Most Orthodox believers in Russia and other parts of the Orthodox world question the canonical status of the Kiev Patriarchate.

When I say that the Ukraine is “very secular”, I mean something quite difference than Germany, France, Scandinavia and other countries in Western Europe.  In those countries the culture is very anti-Christian.  The average person from France will hate the Catholic Church and all religion and everything it stands for, while on the other hand Ukrainians love their Orthodox faith and boldy proclaim it.  The Church is respected but not necessarily followed.

I remember hearing a homily from a Russian Orthodox priest on the state of Russia before the Bolshevik revolution of 1917.  He describes a country where the Church is on the periphery; people were only having communion once per year, only going to church on holidays and living generally secular lives.  Although I was only there for two weeks, that homily really came to mind as I travelled through the country.

About 8% of the country is part of the Catholic Church.  This is in the West, particularly in Lviv.  An Orthodox priest in Lviv told me that Greek Catholics are the majority religion in Lviv.  He also told me that 95% of Orthodox people in Lviv are with the Patriarch of Kiev as opposed to Moscow.

Then there are the Protestants.  If Ukraine wants to become more Westernized, then they’re going to have to deal with the religion of the West which is Protestantism.  The JW’s are there in full force.  One day I was walking along Khreschatyk Street which is the main street in Kiev and I saw a JW booth.  I walked another hundred yards and saw another booth!  I saw many others as well throughout the country.  If the Ukraine wants to become more Westernized I hope they know what they’re getting into.

On my last night in Kiev, I talked to a young hotel clerk from Donetsk.  She told me that she was no longer Orthodox but had become Protestant and worships in a Calvary Chapel, which she pointed out was only five minutes from the hotel.  She said that Orthodoxy was just about lighting candles and listening to chants and that there is no faith there.  She said that Orthodox people say they’re Christians but they’re not.  This made me a little angry but I’m not surprised by what I heard.  I hear Evangelicals say similar things about the Catholic Church.  I’m not Orthodox or Protestant but I at least want to critique them both fairly.  I would never say that Orthodoxy was just candles and chants.  However, that’s what her new American religion is telling her.

So overall, I would say that the Ukraine is secular but not in an anti-Christian way.  It isn’t as religious as other Orthodox countries that I’ve been to like Serbia or Moldova.  I don’t know where they’re going in terms of religion.  I just know that genuine religion doesn’t seem to be important to the average Ukrainian.