Demand for Bibles rising in Ukraine

Since Russia invaded their country, more and more Ukrainians have asked for a Bible, PRO writes. The growing numbers were reported by the General Secretary of the Ukrainian Bible Society, Anatoliy Rajchinets, during an online event from the German Bible Society. The Bible Society in the Eastern European country sees that people are currently "very open to the Gospel", Rajchinets said on Tuesday.

Since the beginning of the war, the Ukrainian Bible Society has been distributing Bibles "around the clock in emergency shelters, bunkers, basements and wherever people were looking for refuge and protection from the war", PRO writes. In addition, the organisation supports humanitarian aid offered by other organisations and churches.

Trauma treatments

The Bible Society notices that many Ukrainians no longer want to speak Russian or read books in Russian. Therefore, the organisation started working on a modern translation of the Bible into Ukrainian.

In addition, the Bible Society offers trauma treatments. It trains healthcare workers, specialising in trauma, but is also involved in military pastoral care and services in hospitals. Furthermore, it published a booklet on coping with trauma. That has been reprinted several times already.

Together

The Ukrainian government appreciates the help from Christian churches and organisations, Rajchinet says. "All Christians in the Ukrainian Council of Churches stand close together in the war. The Orthodox Church of Ukraine and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church from the Moscow Patriarchate also stand side by side."