An Interview with Pavlo Davydyuk 

Pavlo Davydyuk is director of Light in the East in Ukraine. Headquartered in Germany as Licht im Osten, this nondenominational missionary union was founded in 1920 in order to convey Christian literature to Soviet Russia. Co-founders Jakob Kroeker and Walter Jack had both ministered to Russian prisoners of war remaining in Germany following World War I. Kroeker (1872-1948) was a native of the Mennonite colonies in the southern Russian Empire—now territory in independent Ukraine, while Jack (1878-1939) was a German Reformed pastor who had ministered in pre revolutionary Russia. 

Davydyuk discussed the work of Light in the East in Ukraine with the editor of the East-West Church Report in late 2018. The interview took place in Russian in his native Kyiv. 

What was the impact of Light in the East after its foundation in 1920? 

When the prisoners of war were released and allowed home, the mission provided each man who had repented with a set of Christian literature. They then spoke about their faith using these books. They were on fire for Christ. Around 2,500 churches were founded in Ukraine alone; this was the most fertile soil. Today we are a family of partner organizations with equal status serving in 10 countries [Armenia, Bulgaria, Estonia, Germany, Kazakhstan, Lithuania, Moldova, Russia, Ukraine, and the USA]. Each organization has the right to determine its service independently, but we are all united in one aim: to preach the Gospel. 

In Ukraine, we have one office here in Kyiv with 35 staff, and two missionaries serving in Poltava and Zhytomyr Regions. The largest service we do is printing Christian literature. We believe that books and magazines are missionaries that can enter homes where we cannot go, and that God will work through them. We publish the magazines Faith and Life [Ukrainian: Vira i Zhyttya, Russian: Vera i Zhizn’] and The Little Path [Ukrainian: Snezhinka, Russian: Tropinka] in two languages. We have around 85,000 subscribers in Ukraine.

To what extent is your work charitable? 

In order to receive six issues per year, we propose a charge of $2.66, which covers the printing and mailing costs. But around 50,000 people still receive our publications free of charge. We also have a recording studio here where we record our magazines and books in audio format, and we send those to the blind. That service has around 1,400 subscribers. In practice, the post-Soviet Ukrainian state has not taken care of blind people. That means that many of them do not know Braille and require recordings. For that, we hire a professional narrator from Ukrainian radio, because we want to offer the best that there is. 

Our children’s service also includes puppet and theater shows; we organized a festival of The Little Path children’s magazine at Lesia Ukrainka, the top theater in Kyiv. 

In Ukraine, does Light in the East work with a particular Protestant church or churches?

 We are registered as a religious organization founded by the Baptist Union of Ukraine. But we have had Orthodox and Pentecostals working here; the mission itself does not belong to any particular denomination. We preach the Gospel to all, and we work with any church that is interested in working with us. 

We have subscribers who are Orthodox, Catholic, and Lutheran, and also many who do not affiliate with any church. When we put Faith and Life magazine together, we always try to ensure that it is interesting and simple to understand for non-believers as well as believers; it is a missionary magazine, after all. For example, one year Faith and Life was devoted to the Beatitudes: “Blessed are the pure in heart,” “Blessed are the peacemakers.” We tried to examine a particular Beatitude per issue. In another issue we looked at the Lord’s Prayer. For example, what does, “Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us,” mean? After this issue was published, I began to think seriously about whether I wanted God to forgive my sins in the same way that I forgive those who sin against me. If I have not truly forgiven them, I am condemning myself. 

Did you or your forefathers become Christian through Light in the East?

 I know that both my grandfathers were not believers prior to this mission, but I am not sure whether their repentance was connected specifically with Light in the East. My two grandfathers became pastors of churches, and my father too is a pastor. I know that God has no grandchildren, only children! But it turns out that I am the third generation of believers. 

In Russia it is very common for Protestant pastors and missionaries to have Ukrainian roots. According to recent polling [Pew Research Center, 2017], 16 percent of Ukrainians attend worship services every week, while the corresponding figure for Russians is around half that, or seven percent. Do you think people are more religious in Ukraine?

I would distinguish between the concept of religiosity and faith in God. I am skeptical about statistics. For example, one of my friends preached about Jesus Christ to a young man on the street. This young man said to him, “Why are you telling me about God? I was baptized as a child, I wear a cross.” My friend asked, “When Christ returns, will you be on the side of God or the devil?” He replied, “Do you really believe in those fairy tales, that there is God and the devil?” That is, this person was baptized and regarded himself as a believer, but he didn’t believe in God. 

I don’t pretend to have the absolute truth, but I will give my opinion. Ukraine has gone through very serious trials, such as the famine in the 1930s. Life has been crushing. It is possible that because of that Ukrainians are more receptive to the Gospel; somehow God grants a special blessing. Very many missionaries went from Ukraine to Russia and served there until the well-known events of recent years [i.e. the 2013-14 Maidan protests followed by Russia’s annexation of Crimea and support for pro-Russian separatists in the Donbass region]. Now they are being sent out [Editor’s note: For example, Yevgeny Peresvetov—a Ukrainian citizen and Pentecostal pastor of Moscow’s Restoration Christian Center—was barred entry to Russia in November 2018]. I can only connect this missionary zeal to the fact that our people are open to God’s action—God directed them, and they obediently followed through. 

Do you find that the subscribers to your publications are evenly spread across Ukraine? Or is there more interest in particular areas? 

It seems that the western part of Ukraine is more active and receptive than the eastern part. 

There was a shorter period of Soviet rule in the far western part of Ukraine.

 Yes. However, I cannot distinguish according to the degree of influence of the Soviet Union. For example, there are churches in Dnipropetrovsk Region [in eastern Ukraine] that are on fire for Christ, not only those in western Ukraine. Also, we had a project offering our publications to all secular libraries in Ukraine. There was one senior woman at the National Library of Ukraine in Kyiv; she received the Hero of Ukraine award from President Yushchenko. She was in her 80s when our project started, and she agreed to help us. We told her, “You know we are not Orthodox. We are Protestant, while you are Orthodox, and the country is Orthodox. Won’t you have problems?” She answered, “So what if I am Orthodox? I am not afraid of anything. Apart from anything else, I’m over 80—What can they do to me?” She wrote a circular letter to all libraries in Ukraine explaining that we were distributing books free of charge and asking that they be displayed prominently. Thanks to that project, more than 5,000 libraries received our books. 

Do your person-to-person missionaries find a similar reception across Ukraine? 

This year we had missionary expeditions to 46 small towns, and our tent stood in each one for a week. We held gatherings in the tent, but we also went around the towns and preached the Gospel wherever people were willing to listen. But it is true that when we go into the easternmost regions— Donetsk and Luhansk—it is always a great test for us. We have been in situations in which people tried to set fire to the tent, and our missionaries were beaten. 

Did that occur in the territory seized by pro-Russian separatists?

We went there before it was occupied; now we would not be allowed into it. It was particularly hard for our missionaries there. In Donetsk Region, people placed a canister of gasoline next to our tent and said, “If you don’t take this down and leave today, we will torch it.” But God performed miracles. Right after that there was such a downpour that they would not have managed to torch anything! 

Yet Donetsk and Luhansk Regions also have many Protestant churches—over 850 are registered with the Ukrainian authorities. How is the situation in the parts of the regions that are under separatist control? 

There are many Protestant churches there, and I know many pastors who have not left, although they could have gone to America as refugees. They stayed there in order to serve, and they are very dedicated. I recently spoke with a pastor from Donetsk. He told me straight: “The times now for Protestant Christians in Donetsk have become much worse than in the Soviet Union.” [Although strictly controlled, some Protestant churches were at least able to function publicly in the late Soviet period.] The legislation there means that, in practice, all Protestants are faced with the danger of their buildings being seized. They are all living in fear that the authorities could confiscate their premises and ban them from meeting. They have not registered any Protestant church that has submitted registration papers. It is not just that the majority has been weeded out; not one has been registered. They are now thinking about how to divide into small groups, so they can continue to worship in private homes. They have been living in such a state of stress for two years. Plus, the churches are constantly being checked. Someone from the security services comes and insists that you open up the safe, or checks your documentation. The churches there have become used to that. 

But Protestant churches are active along the front line, in the Kyiv-controlled parts of Donetsk and Luhansk Regions? 

Starting in 2014, people became very active. In western Ukraine people filled their cars with sugar, potatoes, onions, diced pork, and brought it all there. Some churches just turned into warehouses where all this aid was brought, and the church then allocated it to people. The Church’s authority has risen hugely because it has been able to show love in practice, not just in theory. 

This still goes on. There are a lot of very active churches; for instance, Light of the Gospel Church, 25 miles from the front line in Druzhkivka. I have visited several times: the church is piled high with clothes, groceries, sugar, and flour, and people come in a steady stream. The churches have taken a very pro-active position.

How has the political conflict between Kyiv and Moscow affected your co-operation with Light in the East in Russia? 

We used to have about 4,000 subscribers regularly receiving our magazines and books in Crimea. We distributed there until the last possible moment. And then, when it became impossible, the solution proved easy, because we have a relationship of trust with our partners in Russia. We asked them to take on those subscribers and gave them the database of addresses. They continue the work. 

In Russia, is Light in the East also under the Baptist Union? 

Yes.

Given Russia’s legislative restrictions on missionary activity—the so-called Yarovaya Law—that status must help. 

Yes, but formally they could be visited at any moment and told, “You are violating the law here, here, and here.” 

The authorities can always find fault using some technicality? 

es. But I am delighted with our Russian partners. They are so dedicated and enthusiastic, and they have not slowed down. This situation has not scared them; they continue to serve as they did before. How long it will last, only God knows. But that is how things are now. 

And how is co-operation among churches within Ukraine? 

We have our own internal council of Protestant churches, but there is also a public organ including Orthodox, Catholics, Jews… that is, representatives of all faiths [the Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations]. It meets regularly and makes joint statements on spiritual issues, which the president of Ukraine takes into account.

It was striking how this body—including the Moscow Patriarchate representative—issued joint statements during the political crisis of 2014.

To me this is a very serious indicator of how Christians can unite. There are things that we will never agree upon, of course, but they are of secondary importance. This is something I really like about Ukraine. I have not contributed any effort towards it, but I see that in Ukraine people are able to come to an agreement and somehow stand united. So it seems that the concept of unity does exist for the Ukrainian people, including in religious affairs. When everything is going well in a country, some kind of sickness starts, and the churches divide: “We believe this, you believe that; you are wrong.” But when tragedy came—what is still happening in the east of Ukraine, in connection with what began in 2014—it firmly united us. In Ukraine there was even a joke that Putin has done more for our country than any Ukrainian president has been able to do! He has united our people. And this has definitely also affected religion. We came to a point when all the religious leaders reached out to one another to try to do something together.

Are there particular problems in Ukrainian society where faith is especially needed?

I don’t know any sphere of life where faith is not needed. But people have become very poor—in fact, I still do not understand how people survive. And I recall that in 2014 people had very great hope that something would change in connection with the fact that Yanukovych had left his post. I even heard this from many people: “We are ready to go through the greatest difficulties, we are prepared to put up with deprivation, to live on breadcrumbs, as long as there are prospects, the possibility of an upturn.” But nothing happened. It is no secret to anyone that everything has worsened. Corruption in Ukraine is colossal, and emigration is a huge problem. So people’s last hope fell through. 

Clearly, there are also many positive signs—very many. If someone were to ask me, “If you knew that everything would turn out as it has done, would you repeat what happened in 2014?” I would say that I would repeat it. For one thing, we have unprecedented freedom to preach the Gospel. If the events of 2014 had not occurred, they would be turning the screws here as they are in Russia now. 

Those in power have not coped with many things, and people have lost hope. Yet if we link our dreams only with this life—with “at least things will be good for our children, our grandchildren”—if we put our bets on that, then we will still lose. It will be hard going for us, for that path leads to depression, to no hope at all. I believe our homeland is not on earth but in heaven, and when God fills our lives, and they are dedicated to Him, we are able to be happy irrespective of the circumstances that surround us. This means people need the Gospel and to know God in order to see this terrible situation which Ukraine is in from God’s perspective, from the perspective of eternity. Then everything will change.