Serving God Under Siege: How War Transformed a Ukrainian Community (Valentyn Syniy) - A Review
When Russia invaded Ukraine in
February 2022, I was serving in an interim capacity at a local church. We
placed a Ukrainian flag on the digital sign with the words "Praying for
Ukraine," as a sign of solidarity. Initially, it seemed as though the more
powerful Russian Army would reach Kyiv in just a few days, perhaps
incorporating Ukraine into a new Russian Empire. It’s been nearly four years
since the Russian invasion, but the Ukrainians continue to fight back, keeping
the Russian Army at bay, despite constant bombardment from drones and missiles
that seem to be directed at civilian targets. Here in the United States, the
plight of the Ukrainian people has taken a backseat as we address other
pressing matters, even as the current administration at times seems to back
Russian goals. The longer wars go on, the easier it is to abandon alliances and
devote one’s energy elsewhere. Nevertheless, we should not forget the Ukrainian
people who have resisted their powerful neighbor at the cost of many lives. With
that in mind, it is helpful to hear from voices from the front lines to better
understand what is truly happening.
In Serving God Under Siege: How
War Transformed a Ukrainian Community, Valentyn Syniy, president of Tavriski
Christian Institute, an evangelical seminary in Kherson, Ukraine, offers a
firsthand account of the devastation brought upon the Ukrainian people. I had
an opportunity to meet and hear from Valentyn Syniy at the recent 2025 AARSBL
meeting in Boston. Therefore, I was able to hear firsthand about the challenges
facing the Ukrainian people, including Christian communities like his. Syniy,
his family, and the community of which he is part live in Kherson, which lies
in the southern part of Ukraine, near Crimea. While the Russians illegally
occupied Crimea in 2014, they seek to occupy the entire Kherson region. The
city of Kherson, which the Russians occupied but eventually lost, when the
Ukrainian Army reclaimed the city, lies close to the border and was an early
target of the Russian invasion.
In Serving God Under Siege, Syniy
takes us on a journey that begins with the February 2022 invasion that led to
the evacuation of the seminary, much of his family (his father, who is a
Baptist pastor in Kherson, remained in the city), along with thousands of Ukrainians
who live in Kherson. Although they had begun preparing for the possibility of
an invasion, the Russian attack came quickly, forcing a quick departure as the
Russian army approached the city. As he tells the story of the invasion and
evacuation, we get a sense of the true realities of the war, especially as it
affects civilians.
As we read Serving God Under Siege, we follow Syniy, his family, and members of his community of
evangelicals, as they flee to the western part of Ukraine, along with thousands
of others, trying to stay ahead of the Russian advance. He tells of the
challenges of finding vehicles as well as gas to carry the people to safety,
along with the challenge of finding places to stay along the way. Because so
many people were evacuating, progress toward safety was slow. Needing
additional transportation as they departed the city, they purchased a Mercedes van,
that had flat tires when they purchased it, as they left the city. While they
got the tires inflated and the van started, they faced numerous mechanical
problems. The book, at times, reads as if it were an adventure story, only that
this is not an adventure; it is a life-and-death struggle for survival. As the
story continues, Syniy and his community reach the western Ukrainian city of
Ivano-Frankivsk, where TCI had made arrangements with Baptist churches for
housing (they were not the only refugees streaming toward that city). They
would make that city in the foothills of the Carpathian Mountains their home
until Kherson was liberated.
The good news is that the people in
the city of Ivano-Frankivsk welcomed the refugees. However, there were cultural
differences that proved challenging for the refugees from southern Ukraine. As
for TCI itself, the seminary's ability to provide education for pastors in
training was curtailed. Instead of focusing on education, Syniy and others in
his community began organizing efforts to provide support to the refugees from
the frontline areas. They also began making trips into Kherson to bring people stranded
in the city to safety. Syniy also considered joining the army, but he
recognized that he could be more effective in leading relief efforts. Even as
he and his community committed themselves to the relief effort, they began to
hear reports from Kherson about what was happening at the seminary property,
which Russian soldiers had occupied. The soldiers looted the buildings, taking expensive
equipment and resources, while laying waste to the library. Syniy shares very
matter-of-factly the challenges of gaining support for their efforts from
outside the region. While he had developed a strong set of connections in
Western Europe and the United States for the educational and missional efforts,
sometimes these outside supporters were less interested in supporting the
relief efforts. Nevertheless, they persisted in the work.
There is good news to share amidst
the devastation. We hear stories of how the communities came together to
support each other. This includes other seminaries that helped support TCI,
especially once they returned to Kherson and began rebuilding their seminary. But
even before they returned to Kherson, TCI set up a makeshift educational center
in Ivano-Frankivsk, in part with the help of other schools. While they lacked
all the resources of the school that had been built up over the twenty-five
years of the seminary's existence, they were determined to continue with their
calling to raise up pastors and leaders for the churches. They even found time
to celebrate the twenty-fifth anniversary of the founding of the seminary. Syniy
also addresses the need for prophetic voices in the face of the challenges
posed by the Russian invasion, even though they failed to raise the consciousness
of Russian Christians, considering the atrocities committed against the
Ukrainian people by Russian soldiers.
As we progress through time, we
watch as the people connected to TCI long to return home in Kherson, even while
settling into their exile in their adopted homes. Syniy offers a strong defense
of self-sufficiency while recognizing the need for assistance from outside.
Throughout the book, Syniy raises theological questions, reminding us that a
situation like this one can challenge a person’s and a community’s theology in
ways that are very different from situations that are much less dire. He acknowledges
that the war did serve as a blow to the faith of many Ukrainian Christians.
Many left their churches and stopped believing in God. He offers a chapter
titled "Theology After Bucha," which wrestles with the Russian
massacre of the people of the village of Bucha, a massacre that demonstrated
that the Russian purpose was to annihilate the Ukrainians. The situation in
Ukraine raises important questions about how Christians should involve
themselves in politics and matters of state. Should they stay neutral as their
nation is being invaded? But as we see here, that is not possible.
There is good news in the end.
Kherson is liberated, and the people have begun returning home (at least for
now). Unfortunately, the TCI property, which had been built up over twenty-five
years of existence, had been devastated. But they could return home. That is
the good news. Of course, the war is not over. The tide could again turn
(Vladimir Putin desires to control the Kherson region). However, a book like
this can help those of us living at a distance from the war gain a close-up
view of the situation that seemingly doesn’t affect our lives. As one who has
tried to stand in support of the Ukrainian struggle, I am grateful that Valentyn
Syniy wrote Serving God Under Siege so that we in places like the United
States, where support for the Ukrainian effort is tenuous at best. I hope the
book will gain a wide readership so that others, especially those who are
skeptical of the Ukrainian cause, can get a better sense of what is happening
in Ukraine. Having the opportunity to not only read this firsthand account of a
community’s struggle to survive in the face of a war, but also to meet the
author in person, has helped me gain a better understanding of what is at stake
in this war, especially when it comes to the church in Ukraine.
Copies of Serving God Under Siege can be purchased from your favorite retailer, including my Amazon affiliate bookstore or my Bookshop.org bookstore.
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