Kharkiv Chaplain Dmytro Shapovalov on the Training That Reshaped His Perspective on Ministry

Father Dmytro Shapovalov is an archpriest, Chancellor of the Kharkiv Diocese, and a military chaplain at the Kharkiv National Air Force University of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He grew up in Kharkiv in a family that was not religious and found his way to faith as a teenager while searching for answers to fundamental questions: Who are we? Why do we live? Where are we going?

“Once I had learned more about history, I realized that I needed the Ukrainian Church. I started looking for it in Kharkiv. And when I attended a service, I almost immediately felt an inner certainty: my place was there, at the altar. I didn’t understand it at the time. Later, I was told that this is sometimes how a calling reveals itself.”

He studied Ukrainian philology at Kharkiv University while also taking theological courses within the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church. He gave himself time to test his calling and was ordained after the age of thirty.

Today, his ministry spans several very different settings: a church on the northern outskirts of Kharkiv, where FPV drones now pose a security threat; a parish in Valky, where he substitutes for a priest who left during the war; a chapel at a missionary center in central Kharkiv, opened only a few months ago; and, most importantly in wartime, ministry with military units.

“During wartime, it seems to me, there simply is no other option.”

Father Dmytro joined the Eleos-Ukraine training program as soon as he learned about the opportunity. He completed psychological first aid training with Tetyana Rudenko in Kyiv and training on trauma and PTSD with Iryna Raspopina in Lviv.

For him, the value was not limited to the curriculum.

“The trainers create such a great atmosphere that people become genuinely involved. By the end of the two days, a real community had formed and we didn’t want to leave. In Lviv, we became very close. There were so many like-minded people — priests and laypeople, people from different professions and cities. New connections, new experiences.”

But perhaps the most important outcome was a change in perspective. The training helped Father Dmytro reconsider situations in which his previous approaches had not worked.

He recalls one particularly simple example.

“A man came to me complaining about irritability, anger, and emotional outbursts. I thought it was a spiritual problem and started thinking about what prayers I should recommend. But after the training, I began asking him about his daily routine. It turned out he simply wasn’t getting enough sleep.”

Instead of prescribing a special prayer rule, Father Dmytro gave him more practical “homework”: monitor his sleep schedule for a week.

“A week later, he came back and said everything was great, his family wasn’t irritating him anymore. He had simply started getting enough sleep. Such a basic story — but we were able to help.”

Father Dmytro believes this is precisely why clergy need opportunities to continue learning.

“We have a certain professional deformation, similar to teachers. We are used to teaching, we are used to speaking — and we are very little used to learning and listening.”

For him, continuing to learn is not something separate from Christian ministry.

“Christ’s disciples are, first and foremost, students. They are called to learn constantly. Clergy need this in order to remain relevant and provide better support, rather than relying only on old approaches that may once have worked well but are no longer sufficient in new circumstances.”

Father Dmytro hopes that the training program will continue and reach even more clergy and communities.

“A huge thank you to Eleos-Ukraine and everyone involved — the theological academies and partners. I would really like this project to continue developing. But even if it ends at this stage, I am deeply grateful for everything that has already been done.”

The project “Clergy and Communities in Support of Mental Health: Innovative Support Practices During the War in Ukraine” is implemented by Eleos-Ukraine in partnership with DanChurchAid and Norwegian Church Aid in Ukraine, with financial support from the Government of Norway (NORAD), in cooperation with the Kyiv and Lviv Orthodox Theological Academies