Father Vasyl Hovera: ‘In Kazakhstan One Feels the Mystery of the Persecuted Church'

This year the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC) in Kazakhstan, which has a long and dramatic history in this country, experienced a significant event. On September 15 in the capital Astana the Church of St. Joseph the Betrothed was consecrated. It was was built over 10 years. Also, in the spring the Permanent Synod of Bishops of the UGCC visited Kazakhstan. The bishops had the opportunity to learn about the life and problems of the local Greek Catholics.

The current rise of Greek Catholic life in this country is closely connected with the charismatic figure of Father Vasyl Hovera, Apostolic Delegate for Greek Catholics in Kazakhstan and Central Asia, who in the late 1990s went as a missionary to the land where once his father lived with his deported family.

We spoke to Father Vasyl about the past and present of the UGCC in Kazakhstan.

— The history of the Ukrainian presence in Kazakhstan is measured in centuries. It begins in the 17th century, and the last wave of emigration dates from the 1960s when by the appeals of the party many Ukrainians settled in the lands. Two decades ago, in Kazakhstan there were over 900,000 Ukrainians. How does the situation look there today?

— Now there are about 300,000 people – this is the latest statistic. In fact, the number is greatly reducing, because a decade ago the number of Ukrainians reached half a million. The reasons vary – some are returning home, some are assimilating into the local life. There are a lot of mixed marriages.

— What are the statistics of the presence of the UGCC in Kazakhstan? How is the church structured?

— We have 5 registered communities: in Karaganda, Astana, Pavlodar, Shederty (Pavlodar region) Satpayev. In addition, 10 communities exist in other places where priests visit. In the city of Almaty the community is not registered, but there is a priest who works there. In total we have 9 priests and 5 Sister Servants (three of them work in the Karaganda parish and two in the Apostolic Nunciature in Astana). Last year was the first time there was an increase in the number of priests – two came from Ukraine, and one from Russia. He is a former Orthodox who converted to Greek Catholicism.

Currently there is no territorial structure in Kazakhstan – we need more faithful, parishes, and priests. But hopefully with time it will happen. I perform the duties of the delegate of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches. In other words, I am the apostolic delegate. But we are independent from the Roman Catholic Church. Kazakhstan and Belarus are the only countries where the apostolic delegates have greater powers.

— Who are the Greek Catholics in Kazakhstan? Are there differences between them in different parishes?

— The life of the UGCC is very diverse. The parishes are different, both numerically and qualitatively. For example, in Karaganda is a traditional Greek Catholic parish, in which 90% are children and grandchildren of deported Galicians (in 2013 we marked the 65th anniversary of the great deportation).

Eastern Ukrainians, children and grandchildren of those who came to settle the virgin lands belong to other communities. They feel they are Orthodox, but come to our church: they want to hear the Ukrainian language in worship. Therefore, they identify themselves with the UGCC. And, of course, there are communities that have never had any church or parish, and which appeared only when there a priest started to visit them.

— In what language are the services held?

— In such cases, Russian or Church Slavonic. It all depends on the circumstances, the needs of the community. For example, there are communities where the services are in Ukrainian and preaching is in Russian.

— Tell us, please, how does the Ukrainian Church live in a non-Christian country, how are the relations with the authorities, the Russian Orthodox Church?

— During the last two decades since the independence of Kazakhstan, after the collapse of the USSR, the religious situation in the country has been relatively stable, and the attitude of the state toward religion has been liberal. However, recently, in connection with certain trends in society (such as the influence of fundamentalism, radical Islam, the emergence of various extremist movements) the state revised its policy on religion and two years ago the parliament passed a law on religious associations, which changed the existing situation. The state now has greater control over the church; it has became more difficult to register communities, to build churches, etc.

The Russian Orthodox Church in Kazakhstan is developing quite dynamically. Until recently there were only three eparchies, but now six more have been created. Now there is a metropolitan county, churches are being built, new communities are being established. Between our churches we have good relations, there is no stress. Their metropolitan is a very open person; he often meets with the Roman Catholic bishops. However, joint actions between the Christian Churches have not been held – other than small statements defending Christian values ​​– anti-abortion, etc.

— And how religious are the Kazakh people?

— Most of them are quite religiously neutral. The situation there is similar to the one that is in Russia or Eastern Ukraine – that is, they nominally identify themselves as Muslims, but there is a very small percentage of actually practicing believers.

— Have there been cases where Kazakhs have converted to the Greek Catholic Church?

— No, it happens only rarely in Protestant communities. But in general, this is a very difficult situation. The state does not support the Christianization of Kazakhs; the society perceives such things very aggressively. The converted then have problems in their families, their relatives often renounce them, so for Kazakhs it is a very difficult step.

— You previously stated that you planned to stay in Kazakhstan for three years: but you went there and discovered that the community in Karaganda needs a priest. What about the Kazakh land captivated you that made you stay there?

-— Kazakhstan is a special place. On the one hand, it is a place of hard labor. People were not deported to a resort – here was have difficult living conditions, with rapid changes in climate, wind, snow, frost, vast distances – three times the size of Ukraine. Life is much more complicated than in Ukraine or Europe. But when you learn about the history of the Greek Catholic Church on this land, how many martyrs it received, then you realize you are feeling the mystery of the persecuted church. And the understanding of this helps you serve people who found themselves in difficult situations.

When I tell Americans about the Eastern Ukrainian diaspora, I am asked why we are serving there. They ask is it not better to take these people to Ukraine. They believe that nothing should be built there, that it is not worth establishing parishes, that we should try to return the Ukrainians, as did the Germans. I answer: this is the state’s task. We – as the church – need to be with people who for different reasons and at different times found themselves far away from home. To help them to not forget their roots. And, of course, to carry out evangelization, to help people find God.

The Kazakh land has extensive experience in the underground church and martyrdom. A lot of concentration camps were on the territory of Kazakhstan. We are now looking for information about prisoners. It is already known that there were over 200 priests in prisons here. In 1955 when the majority of the prisoners were released, most of them returned to Ukraine. But there were many who remained and continued to work. There exists a large German diaspora (half a million Germans were deported) so Ukrainian priests served them as well. This is a very good example of cooperation.

The cult of the Blessed Priest Martyr Olesky Zarytsky exists among Roman Catholics. He is recognized as the patron saint of Karaganda, a statue of the blessed is found in the Catholic Church in Karaganda. In fact, today's Roman Catholic structure in Kazakhstan is actually attributed to the Ukrainian priests, their sacrificial work.

Kateryna Labinska