Our church experience in Ukraine has been very different than Latvia and Asia. Here in Lviv, almost every one is either Greek Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, or Atheist. Our host also work with the Jewish community in the city, and are pastors of an independent church. The church used to be affiliated with the Baptist denomination, but decided to become independent when the Baptist church gave them certain requirements the church leaders did not agree with keeping.
The village we are staying in is Catholic, but the entire village is also very superstitious. We cannot work outside on any Catholic holidays or Sunday, otherwise we will bring a curse down on the village. We also cannot whistle indoors (well, in the houses of the villagers; Our hosts don’t mind). There is a shrine for Mary fairly close to our house, and we often see people there praying and giving gifts.
Unlike Latvia, the Soviet occupation did not deter people from holding onto their religion, and seems to have actually made religion become a steadfast pillar in the lives of many. The atheism the Soviets brought seems to be more prevalent in people between the ages of 30-40, who were raised in Soviet schools. Now the young people (20-30) are seeking for something more and the younger kids are seeing the steadfast religion of their parents.
Altogether, I’m seeing a very crazy dynamic of religious backgrounds and ideas. I’m not sure what to make of them all…
#GodIsInControl #redefiningdisciple
#THIRD
