A Baptist church in Ukraine was destroyed during an evening worship service on April 16, when many Ukrainian churches observe Easter, leaving multiple people injured and one minister dead, according to a former Ukrainian lawmaker.
Pavel Unguryan, a former member of the Ukrainian parliament, confirmed House of Prayer Baptist Church was struck while congregants gathered to celebrate Easter, observed in Ukraine through both Western and Eastern traditions.
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Several church leaders were inside at the time of the attack. Unguryan said seven or eight people were seriously wounded, and minister Ruslan Utyuzh was killed. Utyuzh is survived by his wife and two children.
Calling for prayer
“We are asking you to pray for the church and families,” Unguryan said, noting that up to 700 churches have been destroyed since the beginning of the war in Ukraine.
He described the church as “a beautiful house of prayer that believers built over many years, sacrificing their own finances and strength,” adding more than 300 people had called it their spiritual home.
“Now it lies in ruins,” Unguryan said. “We already know of at least five victims, including one minister, Ruslan Utyuzh, who was inside the church at the moment of the strike. Rescue teams are still working through the debris, and the number may rise.”
“This is not just another building destroyed — this is a direct attack on the church in Ukraine, on people of faith who gathered peacefully to worship God. Please stand with us in prayer and action,” Unguryan said.
Call for just peace
Elijah Brown, general secretary and CEO of the Baptist World Alliance, condemned the attack.
“The ongoing targeting of churches, and places of worship, must come to an immediate stop,” Brown said.
“The destruction of this Baptist church is yet another poignant reminder of the moral bankruptcy of wars of ambition, which leave in their wake the destruction of lives, but not the destruction of faith.
“The Baptist World Alliance prays for the families that were killed and renews our call for the establishment of a just peace, a peace which will only be possible as all of us continue to pray, and advocate for an immediate, and just cessation.”
EDITOR’S NOTE — This story was written by Kendall Lyons and originally published by Baptist Standard.
