#A Ukrainian priest is proof of his people’s determination

The Ukrainian Orthodox Church has proven, and continues to prove, a bulwark of freedom and faith even as the ruthless Vladimir Putin destroys lives, families, and the religious traditions of the people of Ukraine. One of the quiet heroes of this resistance is a dear friend of mine and my wife, Susan, Father Oleg Sknar. 

Today, Father Oleg continues to minister to his flock even as missiles and rockets rain down around the capital of Kyiv. Indeed, around his church. He prays for his parishioners; he prays for all Ukrainians. He prays for the peoples of the world to unite against tyranny and the tragedy that is the conflict now tearing up history and Ukraine. Indeed, he prays for the people of Russia, too, as they have lived under this jack-booted thug for far too long. 

Father Oleg not only leads his faithful as they seek succor from him. Father Oleg also has built and operates a military hospital that tends to the wounded returning from the front lines adjacent to his church building. He thus provides both spiritual and physical support for the people he loves so much. 

Priest stands up to Russia 

I first visited Father Oleg back in 2015. He had opened his church to provide medical care for Ukrainians who had fought and been injured in the freedom efforts in the city center of Kyiv, the Maidan, not more than a few blocks from his church. 

He told me that the Russian Orthodox church had threatened his life then. If he provided succor and medical help to Ukrainians fighting the Russian-puppet regime, he would be held to account. These threats came not only from Russian political leaders, but from Russian Orthodox leaders as well. For Putin, the church is merely another tool of power — he has used Christianity as a front-line effort to spread propaganda and fear. Putin has used the church as a political cudgel to build on his imperialist agenda and truly faithful Christians wanted none of this — they wanted to worship the Lord, not Putin. 

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In the face of these threats, Father Oleg prayed and served. He saved lives and souls. 

Susan and I have now visited this church and broken bread with Father Oleg and his team several times. As secretary of state, I traveled to the military hospital and spoke with injured soldiers there. As Putin has launched his attack, Father Oleg has stayed in touch with us, providing updates on what he is seeing and doing in this current crisis. 

The conversations are not about high politics and strategy, but about his efforts to provide comfort, spiritual and medical, to all those he encounters. His hospital is open and ready. As God would require, he will treat all-comers — Ukrainian and Russian alike. He will do so with love and compassion. 

We can help Father Oleg, too. We can demand that American energy be provided to Ukraine — crude oil and natural gas — this will deny Putin the premium price he gets today that fuels his terror and will have the additional benefit of reducing energy prices here at home. We should demand that the international agency governing air travel — the ICAO — should prohibit Russian aircraft from landing anywhere in the world. The UN General Assembly should be forced to condemn this Russian aggression because — although such a vote is largely oratory — it would allow rights-respecting nations to join together to defend human dignity and sovereignty of nations with a single voice. American support — intelligence, weapons, humanitarian assistance — should be provided in massive amounts. 

Father Oleg has also told us he is prepared to fight. Fight for the independence of his nation. And for the independence of his church. When the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew made the bold and proper decision to grant autocephaly to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, faithful Christians across Ukraine rejoiced. Father Oleg is proud to have been the first Ukrainian faith leader to sign the Tomas — the document granting his church independence from Muscovite rule. That act was both brave and faithful. His bravery continues today. 

A warning from history 

Not far from Father Oleg’s church is a memorial he asked me to go see in 2016, Babi Yar. 

This memorial remembers the more than 30,000 Jews slaughtered during the Holocaust over just two days in 1941. 

It is a ravine, Kyiv, where men chose to obey orders and kill their fellow man because of their faith. It is a reminder, as Father Oleg shared with me then, that evil still exists and believers of every faith have a duty to resist it. 

We are praying for the Ukrainian people. We are praying for Father Oleg and his family. Praying for their safety, of course. But also praying for their continued courage, strength and faithfulness. 

I know that they will continue to be resolved in their love of their Lord and their country. I know that they will take risk and save lives. And I pray, they will continue to be examples for the entire world that even in the midst of darkness that His light still shines in the hearts of man. 

Mike Pompeo was the CIA director under President Donald Trump.