Ukrainian Lutheran Weekly

Very Cold Weather

2012-02-13T08:40:00.005+02:00

We have been struggling with a very cold weather for almost three weeks. Lots of snow and especially very low temperatures. Black Sea near its northern shores, including the Crimea, froze (I cannot recollect such news in my life), the Danube River is covered with ice, the frozen Strait of Kerch captivated ships and emergency teams had to save ships crew members, almost 150 people froze to death in Ukraine.

It has been a very difficult time for our congregations as well - to keep our church building warm so that the Word could be continued to be preached and Sacraments administered publicly. It has been a challenge. Our special thanks go to the Rev. Neal Schroeder who founded the Barnabas Project and to those people who donate to it. Your love literally warmed Ukrainian Lutherans! May the Lord continue to bless all of you!

Theology of the Cross Presentations in Kharkiv, Kyiv, Kremenets

2012-01-30T10:54:00.000+02:00

Daniel Deutschlander's book Theology of the Cross was translated into Ukrainian and published as a part of the Wartburg Project. Ukrainian Lutherans express their gratitude to WELS (Rev. President Mark Schroeder) for making this book available for the ULC and many other readers in Ukraine. Our special thanks also to Pastor Neal Schroeder (WELS) who has been very instrumental during all the stages of the Wartburg project, including presentations the book to Ukrainian readers. Presentations of the book in connection with evangelism took place in three ULC congregations:

All Saints Lutheran Church in Kharkiv

Resurrection Lutheran Church in Kyiv

Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Kremenets

U.S. Children for Ukrainian Children

2012-01-16T20:38:00.001+02:00

As we continue to celebrate Christmas in Ukraine a very nice Christmas gift has arrived to the Ukrainian Lutheran Church. It was mailed from the students of the second grade of St. Jacobi Lutheran School in Greenfield in Wisconsin (Teacher - Mrs. Kolosovski). The package included hand-made Christmas gifts for Ukrainian children, a very nice greeting, calendars for 2012 and a beautiful picture of U.S. kids with their teacher. Both Lutheran kids in Ukraine and their parents are grateful for such gifts and for such brothers and sisters in faith!

New Citizen of the Kingdom of Heaven

2012-01-16T09:08:00.000+02:00

Myrskykh Kostantyn was born of water and the Spirit on January 15, 2012 in the Resurrection Lutheran Church in Kyiv. The Holy Sacrament of Baptism was administered by Rev. Neal Schroeder, Pastor of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod. After Baptism sincere prayer of the congregation was raised to the Lord of the Church requesting many happy and blessed years for this new member of the Church. We add our prayers, too!

Celebrating Christmas at the Resurrection Lutheran Church in Kyiv, Ukraine

2012-01-09T08:55:00.001+02:00

Christmas Eve Vespers

Before Christmas Day Liturgy

A sermon for children

A Nativity Play

A Nativity Play

New Communicant Members in Zaporizhia

2011-12-29T15:16:00.001+02:00

Liudmyla Nemchyna and Maria Khoroshun have been instruced by Pastor Serhiy Zuev in our congregation in Zaporizhia. Recently they were confirmed in the Ukrainian Lutheran Church and were welcomed to the Lord's Table to commune the true body and blood of our Lord and Savior under bread and wine of the Holy Supper. We wish two new communicant members faithfulness to the Gospel and all the richest Lord's blessings!

No Prompting?

2011-12-26T07:58:00.002+02:00

At a Sermon for Children

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-24T19:21:00.000+02:00

“And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, Who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, “Glory be to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom He is pleased!” (Gospel of St. Luke 2:10-14).

Dear visitors of the Ukrainian Lutheran Weekly,

On behalf of the Ukrainian Lutheran Church I wish you a merry Christmas as you kneel at the manger of our Savior Jesus Christ to celebrate the good news of great joy – His Incarnation for our salvation. May He continue to bless you in the New Year as you give glory to God in the highest and enjoy His peace that He gives us through His precious Gospel!

Христос народився! Славімо Його! Christ Is Born! Let Us Praise Him!

In Christ, our Savior,

Rev. Dr. Vyacheslav Horpynchuk,

Bishop, Ukrainian Lutheran Church

A New Citizen of the Kingdom of God

2011-12-20T20:02:00.005+02:00

"For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ!" (Galatians 3:27) was sung joyfully in the Resurrection Lutheran Church after Oksana Hrymailo was baptized in the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. It happened last Sunday in Kyiv. Now she is dressed into Christ, her Redeemer, is born anew of water and the Spirit and her name is written in the heavenly Book of Life. We rejoice with this small child and ask for your prayers and any possible support since Oksana is an orphan and yet she is adopted as a child of God and has such a big family of believers! Oksana was introduced to the Christian Church by Svitlana Leschenko, a faithful and talanted Gift of Life worker.

Ternopil Church Under Construction

2011-12-07T08:46:00.001+02:00

Saint John and James Lutheran Church in Ternopil is finishing construction of the congregational home. It took many years to start this construction, even now there is no permission from the city authorities to place a cross on it. Thanks be to God that the Word of God is effective even without a cross on the building and the Sacraments do not need any permit from any earthly government!
We have a request from our pastor there, Rev. Taras Kokovskiy to support this project by your prayers and other available resources. Indoor works are scheduled to start in spring.

New Citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven

2011-11-29T08:49:00.002+02:00

On Sunday, November 27, two more citizens were added to the Kingdom of Heaven through the Sacrament of Baptism. Their names are: Natalia and Tetiana Besagin. Before this Sunday two more children were born of the water and the Spirit earlier in our congregation this November: Dominka Oskolova and Maria Mudryk. Our Lord Jesus Chirst says, "Rejoice that your names are written in heaven" (Luke 10:20). We wish our new members and co-heirs od the Kingdom of Heaven many happy and blessed years in the Lord!

They Thank Our Church

2011-11-17T19:18:00.001+02:00

The Organization of the Paralyzed Children (Cerebral Paralysis) has sent a letter to the Ukrainian Lutheran Church thanking our church body for continual sharing with them clothes, shoes, bed linens and for showing compassion, care, mercy and love to our neighbors. To this and other letters we respond, "Glory be to the Lord Alone, because He first loved us! We are unworthy servants, we have only done what was our duty." We also thank our dear Lord and Savior for those His people who share their love with us!

Reformation Sunday at the Resurrection Lutheran Church - Some Pictures

2011-11-01T08:59:00.001+02:00

God's Service

Our Quartet
(Oleksandr Khyliuk, Natalia Hnidko, Maryna Zhukova-Senytska and Liudmyla Yanovska)

Vladyslav and Kateryna Horpynchuk read a poem by Hans Sachs "Wittenberg Nightingale"
(A Reformation time poem)

Children's Trio

(Sviatoslav Horpynchuk, Maksym Rudzik and Yaroslav Horpynchuk)

Another Attack

2011-04-12T08:48:00.000+03:00

Someone has filed a case against the Ukrainian Lutheran Church in the Shevchenkivski court of Kyiv. They would like to use part of the land rented by the church from the city of Kyiv. We have learned about this by accident since the other side has never informed us about that. Please keep our church in your prayers as we try to defend our rights.

Two New Communicant Members

2011-04-03T16:14:00.001+03:00

Brother Dmytro Veselov and sister Larysa Zimenko have become new communicant members of the Ukrainian Lutheran Church. They have studied Catechism with our Deacon Dmytro Prokopchuk (his assiastant was Deacon Serhiy Berezin) and they have also attanded different Bible studies in our parishe, led by Pastor. After public confession of their Lutheran faith they were invited to communion and membership in the Ukrainian Lutheran Church. Resurrection Lutheran Church has presented them with confessional gifts and prayerfully asked for them many happy and blessed years in the Lord. So do we in this blog!

Long Day

2011-03-31T07:17:00.003+03:00

Pastoral Conference of Kyivan Eparchy took place at the ULC office in Kyiv yesterday. Rev. Vadym Zinchenko was leading the Conference and Rev. Victor Khaustov from Kharkiv was the essayist at the Conference. His paper analyzed Jehova's Witnesses' cult groundless crtisism of the Holy Trinity. Pastor Khaustov's essay is a deep analysis on the basis of JW cult journals and Scriptural texts both in Hebrew and Greek. The essay had many quotations from Church fathers as well as from modern authors. After discussing the essay pastors shared news from their parishes, discussed prospectives of church life in Ukraine and took part in the Vespers of the Resurrection Lutheran Church in the evening.

Soon

2011-03-29T11:50:00.002+03:00

Ukrainian readers will get a new book - The Proper Distinction Between Law and Gospel by C. F. W. Walther. We have finished reviewing its Ukrainian translation and we pray and hope that in a month or two it will be published by the Lutheran Heritage Foundation. The book is great and it's a necessary reading for each Lutheran theologian, pastor, teacher and layman. I am looking forward to seeing this awesome book paper edition soon!

Interesting Statistics

2011-03-18T11:33:00.002+02:00

A few days ago RISU (www.risu.org.ua) has published data about religions in Ukraine. The data were presented by the State Committee on Religions and Nationalities. Christianity is dominating religion in Ukraine. As for Christian churches Orthodox constitue almost 52% of all the congregations, almost 30% of all the churches are Protestant, others are Catholic (both Roman-Catholic and Greek-Catholic (Uniate))

Prayers Are Needed

2011-03-16T12:59:00.000+02:00

I have just retuned from one of the hospitals in downtown Kyiv - one of our parish members had fell down from the 3rd floor (about 10 meters or 30 feet hight) and broke his legs and feet in many places. His name is Vitaliy. After his confession and absolution I have communed him with the true body and blood of our Lord Savior in bread and wine of the Holy Supper. Prior to that and after that we read the Scriptures and had devotions. Please come to the throne of grace with prayers for this young man - doctors say he will not be able to walk till fall at least.

News from Japanese Church

2011-03-16T08:04:00.003+02:00

As soon as we learned about horrible earthquake and tsunami in Japan, we began to pray for our sisters and brothers in Japan and for their country. I received a message from Rev. Mark Schroeder, President of Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod with good news about our sister church in Japan, Evangelical Lutheran Christian Church - neither people, nor buildings received any injuries. They cannot locate one parishioner, though and we ask to pray for that person. We thank our Lord for such a gracious care for His Church in Japan and we continue to pray for Japanese Christians and for their suffering country.

Funeral of Pastor's Mother

2011-03-14T17:46:00.001+02:00

We had a funeral in our congregation today. Lubov (means Love) Kudryk died. She was 63. She is mother of Pastor Serhiy Kudryk, who serves St. Andrew Lutheran Church in Chernihiv. She is also mother of Alla Plakhotniuk, a faithful member of the Resurrection Lutheran Church in Kyiv. Lubov Kudryk has joined our church in the latter part of her life, she loved Jesus Christ, her Savior and despite of a very difficult case of cancer tried to come to church as often as possible. As she joined the church she began with sitting on the last bench in our worship facility. As her illness was progressing, she was moving to sit closer to the altar to make it easier for her to come to the Table and to receive the true body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ in bread and wine of the Holy Supper. The last time she was in church she was sitting in the very first row and now she is with our crucified and risen Lord in heaven. It was my privilige t be her Pastor and serve her with the Word and Sacrament, and to officiate at her funeral. "I look for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come. Amen."(The Nicene Creed). Come, Lord Jesus!

Prayer Request

2011-03-02T14:04:00.009+02:00

Resurrection Lutheran Church from Kyiv asks for prayer to the throne of grace of our Lord and Savior on her behalf. We were asked to leave our usual place for worship where, in addition to God's services, we had a possibility to have Bible classes, children's choir and Sunday School classes.

We could find a place for worship which is smaller. We cannot have all the regular activities now, except liturgies. The place is also rather cold - many of our people caught cold and other illnesses. Could you pray that we would have a permission to return to the former place of worship, please? Another prayer request - to help our church build or buy our own worship facility. Without it will we will have lots of hindrances for sharing the Word of God and serving God's people effectively.
The Lord says, "Call upon Me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify Me." (Psalm 50:15).

Pastor Balge Visits Ukrainian Lutheran Church

2011-01-25T10:43:00.002+02:00

Pastor Jonathan Balge, official WELS contact man, has visited our church on January 12-17. Pastor Balge has met pastors in Kyiv, Kremenets and Ternopil and worshipped at the Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Kremenets. He has also preached in the Resurrection Lutheran Church in Kyiv. WELS is a sister church of the Ukrainian Lurtheran Church, is a member of the Confessional Lutheran Conference and the largest church body in our fellowship.

New Communicant Members at the Resurrection Lutheran Church

2010-11-09T06:54:00.001+02:00


Volodymyr and Oleksandra confess their Lutheran faith

Three new communicant members have joined the Resurrection Lutheran Church in Kyiv. Having studied the Word of God as it is explained in Small and Large Chatechisms of Dr. Martin Luther, brother Volodymyr Vikharev and sisters: Oleksandra Petrenko and Natalia Syvulia have entered the full membership in the Ukrainian Lutheran Church. Natalia was ill on October 31 and could not participate in the festive Reformation worship service. In the beginning of the service Volodymyr Vikharev and Oleksandra Petrenko have confessed their Lutheran faith publicly and the congregation have appealed in a prayer to the Lord for these new members of the church. Please keep Volodymyr, Oleksandra and Natalia in your prayers.

Convention of the Ukrainian Lutheran Church

2010-11-09T06:51:00.000+02:00

On October 20 and 21, 2010 Convention of the Ukrainian Lutheran Church took place in Kremenets. Rev. Steven Petersen has greeted the Convention on behalf of the Evangelical Lutheran Synod, John Moldstad and Bishop Horpynchuk has read a greeting for the Convention from the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod President, Rev. Mark Schroeder. The delegates of the Convention have thanked both ELS and WELS for the support they provide to the Ukrainian Lutheran Church. The Convention has approved the work of the officers of the ULC and her committees. Rev. Neal Schroeder (WELS) has been the essayist of the Convention. His interesting and edifying essay was titled “Stewardship: some Scripture, statements, suggestions, stories”. The Convention delegates have discussed the essay and thanked Pastor Schroeder for interesting insights and for his help to the ULC. Pastor Neal Schroeder has also been the preacher at the Convention Liturgy where 2 new ULC pastors were ordained: Pastor Taras Bosiuk to serve at the Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Simferopol, the Crimea and Pastor Oleksandr Kulchytskiy to serve in Tiraspol Lutheran Church in the Republic of Moldova. A special surprise for the delegates of the ULC Convention has been Holy Cross Lutheran Church children choir presentation. The next ULC Convention is scheduled for 2012.

Radio Kyiv 98 FM

2010-10-09T20:49:00.000+03:00

The Ukrainian Lutheran Church has launched her weekly Concordia radio-program on the local radio FM station in Kyiv - Radio Kyiv 98 FM (http://radio.kiev.fm). The radio-program is broadcast every Saturday at 7:45 p.m. Kyiv time. Bishop Horpynchuk is the preacher. The Concordia radio-program is directed for outreach in the capital of Ukraine, a city of about 5 million inhabitants.
This program has become possible thanks to the WELS grant for the ULC.

Brother Serhiy Nikolayenko Called to His Heavenly Home

2010-10-09T20:48:00.000+03:00

On September 28th Serhiy Nikolayenko, ULC Synodical Council member and a former President of the Council of the Resurrection Lutheran Church has been called to his heavenly home. Brother Serhiy was 73 years old. He has been a good and faithful friend, advisor and brother to many of us in the Ukrainian Lutheran Church. Our sorrow is sweetened, however by sure, comforting and truthful words of the Lord Jesus Christ, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die" (John 11:25). We will see Brother Serhiy alive again in the time of resurrection. Please keep in your prayers Brother Seriy's closest family and especially his wife, Zoya. May the Lord, kind and graceful strengthen us with His Word and Sacrament!

ULC Synodical Council Meeting

2010-09-24T08:32:00.000+03:00

September 15, 2010. ULC Synodical Council meeting took place in Kyiv. The Synodical Council has approved reports of the Church Officers and Eparchhies Heads. First Divine Calles were issued to Ukrainian Lutheran Theological Seminary of Saint Sophia graduates: Oleksandr Kulchytskiy (Tiraspol Lutheran Church in Moldova) and Taras Bosiuk (Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Simferopol). The Synodical Council has also discussed preparations for the Convention in October to be held in Kremenets and other issues of the church life.

The Lord Has Called Pastor Badrusev Home

2010-09-14T09:04:00.001+03:00

September 10, 2010. The Lord has called Pastor Mikalay Badrusev to his heavenly home early in the morning. Pastor Mikalay was 58 years old and is survived by his wife, 6 children and several grandchildren. Reverend Badrusev has sereved two Lutheran congregations in Minsk and Zhodino that joined the Ukrainian Lutheran Church in 2009. The Lord Jesus Christ says, "I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live" (John 11:25). We will see Pastor Mikalay in heaven or in time of resurrection of all the dead when Christ returns in glory soon. He says, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live. For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself" (John 5:25, 26). Reverend Badrusev preached Chirst, the Life. He communed true body and blood of Christ shortly before leaving his earthly dwelling tent for heaven. He is with Christ now. Christian funeral of Pastor Badrusev's body was conducted by Bishop Vyacheslav Horpynchuk in Minsk, Belarus. There Pastor Mikalay's body waits for the resurrection. Come, Lord Jesus!

A Difference in Calendar

2010-08-20T10:04:00.001+03:00

Ukrainian Lutherans celebrate Transfiguration of our Lord Jesus Christ on August 19. This is a custom of all local Ukrainian churches that follow Julian Calendar. However, this difference in dates does not change the message the Ukrainian Lutheran Church brings to people along with all the Confessional Lutheran Churches around the globe that celebrate this event in the life of the Church and her Lord at the end of Epiphany season: the Only-Begotten, eternal and glorious Son of God chose death and resurrection for the sake of His Church that consists of all the believers, both in the Old Testament and New Testament times.

ULC Web-Site Renewed Its Work

2010-08-11T19:20:00.000+03:00

ULC Web-site has renewed its work again. It has moved to a new address: http://www.ukrlc.info/

Its version in English can be reached at http://www.ukrlc.info/eng.htm

So far all the information is old. Soon information will be updated and changed.

Renewal of the web-site became possible thanks to the Barnabas Project created and promoted by Pastor Neal Schroeder (WELS, Divine Peace Lutheran Church, Renton, Washington).

Pastor Neal Schroeder Visit to Ukraine

2010-08-03T21:13:00.004+03:00

Pastor Neal Schroeder from the Divine Peace Lutheran Churh (Renton WA), has visited Ukraine, teaching VBS at the Holy Trinity Lutheran Church (ULC) in Kam'yanets Podilskiy. His assistant in that sucessful school was Silah Elmkvist, a WELS student from the United States. After the VBS was finished Pastor Schroeder and Silah Elmkvist have taught the Word of God to children at the sea-camp near Odesa. At the end of July Pastor Schroeder has been providing Christian advice and encouragement to Ukrainian Lutherans in Kyiv. Pastor Schroeder's activities in creating and promoting Barnabas Project have helped ULC workers to survive under very difficult circumstances that have been in Ukraine for the last year. Barnaba's project has been also very instrumental in ULC evangelism in Kyiv. Thousands of people in Kyiv can hear "Light for My Path" FM radio program supported by donations given by God's people to Barnabas project. The Lord responds to evangelism by sending new visitors in our church. We hope and pray the Lord Holy Spirit will create and sustain saving faith in those people through the means of grace. We thank the Lord for His faithful servant Neal and all the people who support the Barnabas Project. Soli Deo gloria!

Local Kremenets Newspaper About VBS

2010-07-26T09:18:00.002+03:00

This year has been the tenth time that in the Ukrainian Lutheran Church the Vacation Bible School was held with the participation of the volunteers from the USA.

From July 04 to July 11 the building of the church was full of loud voices and bright, sincere smiles of the children of the town of Kremenets, Lutsk, Vorobiivka village, and other neighboring villages. Over a hundred of children every day were taught Bible stories, showed their knowledge in music, art and crafts, and just had an opportunity to speak English with the native speakers – volunteers from the USA that have come to Kremenets. All the children were great and they all had so much fun together.

The best students from different states and colleges of the USA are as follows: Emily Helwig, Alyssa Ruege, Beth Schwartz, Tracy Traxler, Erin Mathiak, Krista Komay, Megan Lepke. Together with our children, in addition to studying, they took part in different suggested activities, tours around the town.

All the teachers were working together with translators to ensure the understanding between the volunteers and children. The translators were the students and graduates of foreign language department of our local pedagogical institute and have proved their sufficient knowledge of English. They are as follows: Natalia Brodina, Alina Hontaruk, Pavlo Andreychuk, Alla Savchuk, Yulia Rubinets, Vita Rubinets, Yulia Chornooka, Lesia Pidhurska. As the translators also worked the pupil of Kremenets Specialized school #2 Larysa Brodina and a studentl ofa School of Shumsk, Uliana Muzychenko.

Music maestro Ihor Kravchuk has been working with the VBS for already ten years in a row by now. This year wasn’t an exception. He provided musical accompaniment in learning songs in Ukrainian and English. The children that took part in the VBS loved his lessons very much and enjoyed attending them since Ihor is the professional and he always knows what he’s doing.

Also, sincere words of gratefulness are to be sent to Olia and Myroslava Tymofiivna Kozlenko, Oleksandr Yemets, and Pavlo Andreychuk who took care of the organizational moments of the VBS.

An atmosphere of spiritual enrichment ruled the church during that week. According to the words of the parents the central hall of the church during the final concert was filled with spiritual singing of loud children’s voices.

The final concert summed up the VBS and all the participants were very satisfied with their work.

Lots of sincere words were said in the direction of those who organized the whole event. Special thanks are to be sent to Vasyl Andreycuk and pastor Roman Andruntsiv, and also to the professor Roger Kovaciny. We also express the words of gratitude for financial support, help and understanding to Kremenets businessmen Volodymyr and Tetiana Stefanski, Volodymyr Fendych.

All the parents whose children attended our VBS this year were very satisfied that during summer break their children had such a great opportunity to study the Word of God from Bible, improve their knowledge in English, Art and Crafts, singing and just got a chance to relax.

See you next year in our Vacation Bible School.

From the "Dialogue" Newspaper, Kremenets

The author of the article: Anastasia Fed-Titova

The author of the picture: Alla Olshanska

The translation: Natalia Brodina

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, USA!

2010-07-04T17:04:00.002+03:00

Happy Birthday to the United States of America and lots of thanksgiving to God for this country on the 4th of July! I thank our Lord especially for American Christians who were broadcasting Christian radioprograms to the Soviet Union, thus sharing the Word of God with many millions of inhabitants of that Evil Empire. Ukrainian Lutherans thank God for those Americans who brought the Gospel as soon as the "iron wall" fell down and for those Christians in the United States who share their blessings by supporting pure Gospel preaching all around the world, and especially in Ukraine. You celebrate your country's birthday and we celebrate it with you together, prayerfully rejoicing. "Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance" (Psalm 33:12). Happy Birthday!

VISIT TO ORPHANAGE

2010-04-19T07:54:00.000+03:00

Deacon Serhiy Berezin, Deaconess Emilia Zinchenko and Resurrection Lutheran Church President, Oleksandr Khyliuk, have visited orphanage in Potiivka, Zhytomyr Oblast. They delievered Easter gifts bought by the Resurrection Lutheran Church members and they also shared the Word of God with children in the orphanage. The trip was made in cooperation with the National "Ukraine for Children" Charitable Foundation, represented by Mrs. Iryna Kilariova. The visit has proven to be fruitful by letters exchange that takes place now between Deacon Berezin and children from the orphanage. Deacon Serhiy is explaining children the basics of the Christian faith in his letters.

CELEBRATING EASTER

2010-04-08T09:20:00.000+03:00

Some pictures from Easter celebrations at the Resurrection Lutheran Church in Kyiv, Ukraine.

CHRIST IS RISEN! HE IS RISEN INDEED!

2010-04-05T11:15:00.002+03:00

“I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end He will stand upon the earth… in my flesh I will see God” (Job 19:25, 26).

Christ Is Risen! He Is Risen Indeed!

Dear visitors of the Ukrainian Lutheran Weekly Blog!

Christ lives! Please accept most sincere greetings from the Ukrainian Lutherans on these light days of Easter! Jesus Christ is our Redeemer, by His holy sufferings and death on the cross He has redeemed us from power of sin, devil and death forever. May He fill your heart and spirit with Easter joy, Christian faith, cheerfulness and confidence that Christ’s victory is our victory and guarantee of eternal life in the Kingdom of God.

Sincerely Yours in Christ, the living Redeemer,

Rev. Dr. Vyacheslav Horpynchuk,

Bishop, Ukrainian Lutheran Church

TWO PRESIDENTS IN THREE DAYS

2010-02-26T18:08:00.006+02:00

Being the Bishop of the Ukrainian Lutheran Church means you can see two different Presidents of Ukraine in three days in a row. This is what has actually happened to me this week. On Tuesday, February 23, 2010, I was invited to join All-Ukrainian Church Council to express birthday greetings to President Yuschenko at his Office. My gift to the President was the book of sermons "We Preach Christ Crucified" published by the Lutheran Heritage Foundation in the Ukrainian language. President Yuschenko thanked me that I stood all his term along with him faithfully and we had some wine together.

On Thursday, February 25, 2010, I was invited by the new President of Ukraine, Victor Yanukovych to visit his Festive Reception at the Ukrainian House, downtown Kyiv. There were many guests there and I was one of them. I personally was able to approach President Yanukovych and greet him on behalf of the Ukrainian Lutheran Church as well as wish the richest blessings of the Lord in his presidency and promise prayers of our Church for him as the President of our country and Ukraine. The new President expressed his hearty thanks to our church body and me.

Such invitations and visits show respect Ukrainian authorities have to the Ukrainian Lutheran Church and also give us a possibility to promote freedom of confession in our country.

NEW DECONS AND DEACONESSES

2010-02-26T07:54:00.000+02:00

On February 14, 2010, three new deacons and three new deaconesses were commissioned in the Resurrection Lutheran Church in Kyiv. Their names are: Anatoliy Dmytrenko, Serhiy Berezin, Dmytro Propkopchuk, Hanna Kuchma, Anzhela Horpynchuk and Emilia Zinchenko. They will "wait on tables" (Acts 6). The Resurrection Lutheran Church has prayerfully asked the Lord to grant those brothers and sisters many happy and blessed years as they serve their neighbors and share the Gospel.

GRADUATES OF THE DIAKONIA SCHOOL

2010-01-22T09:26:00.005+02:00

Eight ULC communicant members became graduates of the Diakonia School that was conducted in the Resurrection Lutheran Church in Kyiv. They are: Anatoliy Dmytrenko, Serhiy Berezin, Dmytro Prokopchuk, Emilia Zinchenko, Anzhela Horpynchuk, Hanna Kuchma, Svitlana Leschenko and Victoria Sukhotska. They received special Certificates from the Ukrainian Lutheran Theological Seminary of Saint Sophia and in the near future they will receive special tasks to "wait on tables" (Acts 6:2) in order to serve the needy and assist their pastors in other ways.

NEW COMMUNICANT MEMBERS IN THE RESURRECTION LUTHERAN CHURCH

2010-01-22T09:09:00.001+02:00

With Christmas celebrations on January 7 (since Ukrainian Lutheran Church follows Julian Calendar as most churches in Ukraine do), 3 more men were invited to become communicant members of the Resurrection Lutheran Church in Kyiv: Dmytro Bobrynets, Oleksiy Boiko and Hryhoriy Samoilenko. After Catechism studies, examinations and public confession of their Lutheran faith, they were welcome into our fellowship. According to a long-standing tradition each of them was presented with a copy of the Ukrainian translation of the Book of Concord ( published by the LHF), a Luther's seal pin, and a white rose, symbol of Christ's righteousness.

A NICE GIFT FOR A NEW YEAR

2010-01-02T20:57:00.003+02:00

A nice New Year gift was received by Lutheran theology followers and good and qualitative Christian literature readers. The Lutheran Heritage Foundation has published the next volume of the People's Bible series in Ukrainian: Galatians/Ephesians. The book is written by Rev. Professor Armin Panning who is well-known to Ukrainian readers by his commentaries on the Epistle to Romans. The book can be ordered at local Lutheran congregations in Ukraine or by writing to my e-mail address: vhorpynchuk@hotmail.com. Have a happy and blessed New Year and pleasant, edifying reading!

UKRAINIAN LUTHERAN CHURCH CONVENTION

2010-01-02T20:50:00.000+02:00

Ocotber 21 and 22, 2009. The 18th, annual Sobor (Convention) of the Ukrainian Lutheran Church took place in Kremenets. Key points of the Sobor included a wonderful essay of Pastor Serhiy Kudryk "I Believe in the Communion of Saints". Pastor Kudryk who serves Ukrainian Lutheran Church in Cerhnihiv has researched what it means to confess those words from the Apostle's Creed today. After many years of studies and negotiations the Sobor has incorporated into the ULC two Lutheran congregations from Belarus (Minsk and Zhodino) on their request. Pastor Badrusev is ministering those congregations. He has also translated the Book of Concord into Belarusian.
At the Sobor Liturgy, a Saint Sophia Seminary graduate, Dmytro Didkivskiy, has been ordained to the Holy Ministry in Malyn, Zhytomyr Oblast. Special words of thanks were given by the Sobor to Pastor Neil Schroeder from WELS for his active part in building the ULC and charitable work among our nation. Three pastors were congratulated on 10th anniversary of ordination and pastoral ministry: Rev. Taras Kokovskiy (Head of the Galician Eparchy); Rev. Yuriy Fizer (Pastor of the Nativity Lutheran Church in Kiev) and Rev. Andriy Honcharuk (Pastor of the Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Kam'yanets-Podiliskiy).

DIAKONIA SCHOOL

2009-10-10T08:37:00.002+03:00

October 6 and 7, 2009. Diakonia school evening classes took place in the Resurrection Lutheran Church in Kyiv. Lay-people, that are getting ready to serve as deacons in the Ukrainian Lutheran Church, studied topic of Evangelism. Professor John Vogt, the Rector of the Ukrainian Lutheran Theological Seminary of Saint Sophia, was presenting the subject. As always classes went well, with an active participation of students which were discussing ways of sharing the Gospel, so that more people in Ukraine could be saved by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

BUDGET COMMITTEE MEETING

2009-10-10T08:29:00.003+03:00

October 6, 2009. ULC Budget Committee meeting took place in Kiev. The meeting, that was attended by representatives of all the three Eparchies of the Ukrainian Lutheran Church, was led by Deacon Vasyl Andreychuk from Kremenets. Professor John Vogt and Bishop Vyacheslav Horpynchuk took part in the meeting as well. Brothers have discussed principles of the budget rules of the ULC for the future and established priorities for the next year. They have thanked the Lord for the support in the past and asked His blessings and help for the year 2010 that promises to be very difficult financially for the church because of the world economic crisis.

FRATERNAL VISIT FROM THE ELS

2009-10-03T22:20:00.002+03:00

The official delegation of the Evangelical Lutheran Synod has visited the Ukrainian Lutheran Church: Rev. Steven Petersen, the Administrator for the World Outreach of the ELS; Rev. Paul Fries, the Chairman of the Board for the World Outreach and Brother Keith Wiederhoeft, the Treasurer of the ELS. Brothers from the ELS have visited all the three Eparchies (Districts) of the Ukrainian Lutheran Church, met Ukrainian Lutheran Pastors and laymen, participated in three Pastoral Conferences in Ternopil, Kyiv and Mykolaiv and at the Synodical Council meeting in Kyiv. Pastor Petersen and Fries have preached on the Holy Cross day in the Resurrection Lutheran Church and Nativity Lutheran Church in Kyiv accordingly. The visit from the brothers from the ELS has been an encouragement for their brothers in Ukraine. May the Lord continue to bless the fellowship founded on on the pure Gospel!

A NEW BOOK TO BE RELEASED SOON

2009-09-19T19:23:00.001+03:00

Professor Kurt Marquart's book The Church and Her Fellowship, Ministry and Governance is going to be released for Ukrainian readers in October. The book has been transaled into Ukranian and will be an excellent tool both for theologians and laymen. Dr. Marquart, who has been taken by the Lord to His heavenly home 3 years ago, has been a beloved teacher to many Ukrainian Lutherans as wel as he has been very instrumental in Ukrainian Lutheran Church revival after she was physically exterminated by Communists in 1939 and 1944.

NEW SUNDAY SCHOOL YEAR

2009-09-12T14:12:00.003+03:00

As a new academic year at secular schools in Ukraine begins, Ukrainian Lutheran Church congregations continue to teach children at their Sunday Schools. Volunteer teachers - mature Christians of different ages share the Gospel with children, ages 3 to 14. The Lord, through the Lutheran Heritage Foundation (http://www.lhfmissions.org/), provided our church with 3 types of books for children of different ages. My First Catechism (in the Ukrainian language) is the most recent publication of the Lutheran Heritage Foundation for Sunday Schools in the ULC.To make teaching more interesting, attractive and applicable, craft materials are used by our talented teachers. Sunday School Education is vital for Ukrainian kids since all the day schools are filled with atheism and evolution. For some of the children our Sunday School time is the only time in a week they can hear of the Lord Jesus Christ. Please pray this week for the Sunday Schools of the Ukrainian Lutheran Church.

Picture: Kids from the youngest group of the Sunday School in the Resurrection Lutheran Church in Kyiv.

ALL-UKRAINIAN CHURCH COUNCIL

2009-09-05T10:03:00.004+03:00

Ukrainian Lutheran Church is a member of the All-Ukrainian Church Council (AUCC). This Council does not promote joint prayers, worships etc. The main task of this Council is to promote freedom of confession and defend churches' rights in Ukraine.

On September 3, 2009 a meeting of the AUCC Secretariate. Ihor Rudzik, the Ukranian Lutheran Church Secretary took part in the meeting. Church-state relations were reviewed and were evaluated well. Two Ukrainian government decisions make life of churches easier now: 1) foreign missionaries can stay without any additional trouble as long as their religious visas (P-visas) last and 2) natural gas prices for churches are at the level of prices for common citizens. In Ukraine profit companies pay for natural gas more than common citizens. Till recently churches had to pay the same price as commerical companies, although churches are non-profit organizations and their "incomes" are usually offerings and donations of common people. Natural gas is the main source of heating energy in Ukraine, where winter can start in November and last till April.

The above mentioned decisions were made after the AUCC members, including Bishop Horpynchuk, had a meeting with Mrs. Yulia Tymoshenko, the Prime-Minister of Ukraine, in August 2009.

BACK TO SCHOOLS

2009-09-05T09:48:00.002+03:00

Ukrainian kids are back to their schools. Ukrainian Lutheran Church has no Christian day schools - all the children have to study in secular schools, colleges and universities. It's a challenging job, since many teachers and professors are atheists and sometimes they mock believers in Christ. We use any opportunity to spread the Gospel and encourage our children to be faithful to the Lord.

Last Sunday our pastors were blessing children in their congregations as the new academic year was beginning on September 1. Our confessional Lutheran pastors were preaching Christ crucified and encouraging children to be faithful to their Lord, be obedient to parents and teachers, and to spread the Gospel.

On September 1, Bishop Horpynchuk was invited to participate at two events in Kyiv: to be the parents' speaker at one of the central schools in Kyiv and to bless students of the Wisconsin International Univeristy in Ukraine (WIUA). The Bishop shared the Gospel at both places and presented a collection of Lutheran books (sermons and People's Bible Commentaries in Ukrainian) published by the Lutheran Heritage Foundation to the WIUA.

UKRAINIAN LUTHERAN CHURCH OFFICE MOVED

2009-08-29T09:55:00.003+03:00

Ukrainian Lutheran Church Office has been moved to a new location. Now you can reach us at:

Ukrainian Lutheran Church
Honchara 41-a, kv. 3
01034
Kyiv, Ukraine

Our phone and fax number is +380-44-2340804.

Please write and call. We still need some time to organize our working space to invite you to be our guests and share a cup of coffee with us!