Rome: In east-central Ukraine, Bishop Maksym Ryabukha serves across Donetsk, Luhansk, Dnipro, and Zaporizhzhia regions torn by violence and partly under Russian occupation. At 45, one of the youngest bishops in the world, he says half of his exarchate, the Eastern Christian equivalent of a diocese, is now inaccessible. His cathedral is closed, and his priests have no presence in the occupied territories.
Just 18 miles from the front, residents live in constant danger. “People leave their homes at night in fear of being crushed to death and sleep in the countryside by the lakes,” he explains. The bishop calls himself a “bishop on wheels,” constantly travelling to parishes and meeting the faithful where it is still possible.
Since Russia’s full-scale invasion 1,266 days ago, active parishes have fallen from more than 80 to 37, with the rest destroyed, abandoned, or seized. Occupation laws forbid affiliation with the Catholic Church, either Greek or Latin Rite, cutting communities off from pastoral care.
Bishop Ryabukha says the worst part is not the bombing, but “the feeling of being forgotten.” Yet, in the occupied areas, Christians quietly gather, pray, and support each other despite the risks. Vocations remain strong, with 19 seminarians in training.
A recent trip to Rome for the Jubilee of Youth offered hope. Hearing words of solidarity from the Pope and others reminded him that Ukraine is not completely alone. “Our hope,” he says, “is in God and in seeing our lives through the eyes of Heaven.”