The history of Ukrainian Christianity is as complex as its political history. Sixty-seven per cent of the population declare themselves to be Orthodox believers, 2.2 per cent Protestant, 9.4 per cent Byzantine Rite Catholic, 2.5 per cent Islam and 0.4 per cent Jewish. Only three per cent of the population profess to be atheist. It is against this background that this week’s events are unfolding, and we are asked to pray.

Ukraine is an amazing country with – in contrast to the revisionist version recently espoused by Vladimir Putin – a long history. It is the second largest country in terms of area in Europe – Russia being the first. At over 600,000 sq km it is 30 times the size of Wales (apparently Wales is now the standard by which we measure any country!).
A nation of 43 million people, it has been declining for some time – losing over 300,000 people per year due to emigration and a low birth rate. In 1995 there were 52 million people. The poverty rate has been increasing rapidly and currently stands at around 45 per cent. The median salary is only $775 a montth,,
Ukraine is generally regarded as being the spiritual mother of Russia, with the Rus coming from Kyiv during the 10th and 11th centuries – hence Putin, the great Russian nationalist, being so interested in it. The mass baptism of Vladimir the Rus and his people at Kyiv in the Dnieper in 988 is regarded as the foundation of the Russian Orthodox Church, and indeed the foundation of Russia.
Kyiv is central to the Orthodox Russians – and therefore to Russian nationalism. Putin seems to be a genuine believer in that. If you don’t grasp the almost religious significance of Ukraine to many Russians (who also make up 18% of the population) then you will not understand why Putin is so desperate to keep Ukraine in the Russian sphere of influence, and away from the West.
Whether the Mongols, Poles, Lithuanians, Ottomans, Germans or Russians, Ukraine’s history is one of invasion and domination by its neighbours. Now this invasion has been added to the list.
Since independence from the Soviet Union in 1990, Ukraine has not found it easy. Widespread political and economic corruption has weakened the country – and arguably made it easier for Russia to invade.
The history of Ukrainian Christianity is as complex as its political history. Sixty-seven per cent of the population declare themselves to be Orthodox believers, 2.2 per cent Protestant, 9.4 per cent Byzantine Rite Catholic, 2.5 per cent Islam and 0.4 per cent Jewish. Only three per cent of the population profess to be atheist.
It is against this background that this week’s events are unfolding, and we are asked to pray.
As always in the age of the internet, it is far too easy for people to suddenly become experts on the subject of the day. Twitter soundbites, TikTok videos and Facebook memes turn many of us into ‘know it alls’. But, as is usually the case, things are much more complex.
I am not an expert in Ukrainian history, and I don’t pretend to understand everything that is going on; but as someone who has preached in the country, my heart sank when I saw the news.
In the midst of all the confusion there are some basic lessons for us:

War is normal for human societies

These past couple of years after almost a century without a major plague in the West, we have reverted to the norm of having plagues. In the same way, after 70 years without a major war in Europe, we have now returned to the ‘norm’ of the past centuries.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is showing up the weakness and instability of the West

When the Berlin Wall fell in 1989 some in the West assumed it was ‘the end of history’ and that mankind had evolved to the extent that ‘superior’ Western values now reigned supreme. Now we know that is not true. The Russians know that no Western power will send troops to fight for Ukraine. And they will have factored in the economic sanctions and they have built up a reserve of over $600 billion.
After Russia’s defeat in Afghanistan, the Soviet Union was fatally wounded. The embarrassing, hasty retreat of the US from Afghanistan told Putin that the West was weak. There are many things I would disagree with the former President Trump about, but in this area, he was correct – the over reliance of European nations on the US for defence has resulted in a weaker Europe and as a result when the US weakens, the chickens come home to roost.
Only France has any significant military resources. The Chief of Germany’ Army tweeted this week: “The Bundeswehr, and the Army that I have the privilege to lead, is more or less stripped bare. The options that we can offer politicians to support the alliance are extremely limited”
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When you find your conversations dominated by complaining, stop and pause for a moment. You have far more to rejoice in than you do to complain about! Let’s stand out as people who know God works all things for our good.
Complaining is a way of life for so many people. It seems to be the default setting in our minds. When something doesn’t quite work out the way we would like, we complain. We complain about traffic, about weather (whether it is too hot or cold or rainy or humid), about our co-workers and family members, about the cost of living, about the government, about anything that comes into our minds.
Just read the comments section on any news article on the internet (and note that the news article is probably also complaining about something!). The comments are just more complaints.
I noticed this complaining bias when I looked online to find reviews of a product I was interested in buying. While I knew it was a good product with a good reputation, there were quite a number of very harsh and critical reviews and a relatively small number of positive ones. Why was this? It is because people who are happy with a product don’t tend to go online to write reviews. The people who go to write reviews are the angry people who are dissatisfied. If we are unhappy with something, the research says that we are far more likely to tell others than if we are happy with something.
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The whole Western world is going through a civilisational moment – as for example the Roman Empire did at the time of Augustine, or Europe did at the time of the Reformation. Scotland is going through a civilisational moment. The question is whether the Free Church just goes with the tide; or seeks to turn it back and is overwhelmed; or learns to surf the cultural waves and seek a renewed Scotland, through a renewed church.

After my recent posts assessing the situation in the Church of Scotland, some have been keen to know how the Free Church is going.  Not having been part of it for the past three years – and bearing in mind Thomas Chalmers statement “who cares for the Free Church compared with the Christian good of Scotland” – I thought it would be interesting to take a fresh look at where the Free Church is going.  I hope no one would be naïve enough to think that the Free Church is the answer for the dire needs of the Church in Scotland – but perhaps it could be part of the answer?
With the caveat that I was not at the General Assembly of the Free Church, and was only able to watch some of it online, nonetheless on the basis of that, reports of friends and written reports, it appears to me that there was much to give thanks for at the FC assembly.    The motto of “a healthy gospel church for every community in Scotland’ is a fine aspiration.
One minister wrote:  “I have loved this week. It’s been in person. There has been great fellowship. Friendships have been renewed & made. It’s been forward looking. There is a sense that the church of Jesus, the part of that of which we are, is in the hands of good people, by the grace of God. It’s been harmonious…I cherish our present unity of heart & purpose, our mutual respect, our love for each other. As Paul says: ‘let us strive to keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace’.”
It was interesting to observe the new faces, increased diversity and general sense of unity.  I found the Missions report of particular encouragement.  What really struck me was a comment from Neil MacMillan suggesting that the Free Church had plateaued.   There are areas where the church is growing – and it is now significantly engaging in church planting – but there are also areas of decline. Only the Seventh day Adventists and the Free Church of the denominations that were founded pre 1900 are growing in the UK today.  See John Hayward’s fascinating research – https://churchmodel.org.uk/2022/05/15/growth-decline-and-extinction-of-uk-churches/
And yet this is not enough.  There are some major areas which the Free Church needs to address immediately, if it is to move on from just maintaining itself, to being a major force for the Kingdom of Christ in Scotland. The Free Church will not survive by planting 30 new churches by 2030.  Our vision should be much bigger than that.  We need to plant new churches, revitalise old ones and even close some.   We have to rethink our approach to education, the poor, the culture and other churches.  Unless we engage with these issues, I suspect that the plateau will soon turn to decline.
Evangelism
Some of our growth is coming from other churches – especially the Church of Scotland.  How many Free Church congregations are seeing growth through conversions – especially from ‘the world’?   There is no use training lots of chiefs if there are no Indians.
Neil MacMillian pointed out that in his 12 years in Edinburgh there had been such a fundamental shift in the culture that Edinburgh looks different and sounds different.    The question is what are we doing to reach the lost?
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