‘War shakes the foundation of people’s lives’ says head of the Ukrainian Bible Society

Following the departure of Russian troops from Kherson, the head of the Ukrainian Bible Society, Oleksandr Babiychuk, who lives in the beleaguered city, has said that people are seeking answers to existential questions about the war. 

‘We should continue bringing the word of God,’ he said, ‘because war shakes the very foundation of people’s lives. They look for answers to crucial questions about why this war happened and why God allowed it.’ 

Kherson was held by Russian troops until last Friday. Bible Society staff returned to their office for the first time since August, to find the rooms full of bullet marks and bottles of vodka. 

Demand for the Bible has grown since the war began as people have existential questions about life and death. Over the summer, the Bible Society in the UK provided some 168,000 Bibles and scripture-based books in Ukraine. 

Oleksandr said, ‘There are so many traumatised people who have experienced loss, of their family members, friends, their memories, their property. This is exactly the field where Bible Society has to work actively along with churches, because it is the word of God only that brings, comfort, and eventually reconciliation.’

Concerns have arisen over tensions in the city as people who welcomed the Russians flee. Oleksandr said that collaboration was ‘the pain of the nation’. 

‘Our role must be balanced. We must find a position between saying there is nothing wrong in collaboration and fuelling hatred, as it is not easy for these people either,’ he said.

‘They will have to answer to the law, while we must find such words that could motivate them to bear responsibility to their own conscience and, on the other hand, they should feel that this is their country and their city, and they have to love and appreciate them even more than before the war.’