1500 believers gather in Kyiv to pray with President Zelensky

In total, about 1500 people came together for the event which was held under the patronage of the Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky. Church leaders, missionaries, NGOs and politicians were among those present.

The occasion was marked by special attention to the Ukrainian children who have been abducted by the Russian forces and who now grow up in Russian families. In addition, the event accentuated the situation of Christians who live in territories occupied by the Russian, as they often experience pressure and persecution, a press release of the European Evangelical Alliance (EEA) stated on Wednesday.

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Special man

The EEA was also present at the event, represented by the General Secretary of the EEA, Rev. Jan Wessels, and the incoming President, Mr. Andreas Wenzel.

Jan Wessels found the event very impressive, he says to CNE.news in an interview on Thursday. He had the opportunity to shake the hand of President Zelensky. “He is a very special man”, Wessels says. “He knows what he stands for and that he has to lead his country through this difficult period. He will not give up.”

According to the General Secretary of the EEA, Zelensky was moved by the fact that so many believers from different countries all over the world came together to pray for his country. “He thanked many of those present personally for doing so much for Ukraine”, Wessels says. “You just see that it touches him to see so many people together praying for Ukraine. He said “Thank you for praying for us”.”

Troops

Although Mr. Wessels only met Zelensky for a few seconds, he brought him the greetings of the “Evangelical family in Europe”. President Zelensky really appreciates what Evangelical Christians in Ukraine do when it comes to alleviating humanitarian needs, Wessels says. “Their efforts have really been noticed by the government of Ukraine.”

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Since the beginning of the war, both the Ukrainian Evangelical churches, but also the European Evangelical Alliance have taken a very pro-Ukrainian stance. “We believe that Russia has to withdraw its troops and that it started an unjust war”, Wessels explains. “We have to do justice to the Ukrainian people and their sovereign state must be acknowledged. Their territories cannot be seized just like that.”

The EEA had also asked churches on the European continent to pray for Ukraine this last Sunday on the occasion of Independence Day.

Chaplains

During the prayer breakfast, Wessels was most impressed by the personal stories he heard from chaplains who go to the front regularly. “I sat at a table with chaplains who travel to the battlefield themselves. It is very impressive to pray together with people who work in such difficult circumstances. One of the pastors told me that a soldier wanted to sing with him. But they could not do that because they were too close to the Russians, and they would hear it. So they sang very quietly. Then you suddenly notice that the war is very close by.”

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During his stay, it was remarkably peaceful in Kyiv, says Wessels. During Ukrainian Independence Day on Sunday and the prayer breakfast on Monday, there were no Russian attacks on the city at all, while the day after, the missiles hit again. Wessels believes that this is because Russia is afraid of hitting foreign officials, such as the American envoy for Ukraine Keith Kellog, who were present at the events. “Ukrainians joke about it”, he tells CNE. “When Keith (cat in Ukrainian) is in the window, Putin won't throw missiles.”