Father Viktor Nechyporuk: Returning to Ukraine and His Path as a Military Chaplain

When Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Father Viktor Nechyporuk  was living abroad and planning to stay there. But when the war began, the call to return home proved stronger than all his previous plans. He came back to Ukraine and joined a volunteer battalion. Military service was not new to him: from 2010 to 2013, he had served under contract in a special unit of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine. After returning in 2022, he served as a grenade launcher operator.

At the end of 2023, while serving in the Orikhiv sector of the Zaporizhzhia front, Viktor sustained a back injury that, as he puts it, no longer allowed him “to run and jump in body armor.” That injury became a turning point — but his path to the priesthood had begun long before.

Father Viktor says his relationship with faith began when he was three years old. “My mother told me that when I was little, I would get down on my knees and recite the Our Father.”

He grew up in a religious family and attended church from childhood. Later, between 2017 and 2022, his path brought him closer to monastic life. For almost two years, he lived as a novice in a monastery and performed various obediences. It was there, he says, that he found spiritual strength and inner peace — and began to see faith from a different perspective: no longer only as a parishioner, but as someone who wanted to serve and bring people together. His faith followed him to the front. In the trenches, Father Viktor carried a small plastic card with Psalm 90 printed on it. He made it a rule to read the psalm at least once every day. By the time of his injury in late 2023, Viktor had already been studying at the Orthodox Theological Academy since 2021. He realized that he wanted to combine two things: remaining close to his brothers-in-arms and dedicating himself to spiritual ministry. While still a fourth-year student, he received the rector’s blessing and went to see the bishop.

The answer was straightforward: “Next week — ordination.” He was ordained first as a deacon and later as a priest. In 2025, Father Viktor celebrated his first Easter service as a priest in Dobropillia, Donetsk region. “I went there to be closer to my brothers and to give them an opportunity to feel at least a little of the joy of the holiday during these dark times.”

That same year, Father Viktor graduated from the academy. He is now pursuing two master’s degrees simultaneously — in theology and history.

Father Viktor has been with his military unit since it was formed. He knows by name those who have been killed. Today, his service means conducting funerals, accompanying bereaved families, visiting wounded service members, and attending award ceremonies honoring both living and fallen brothers-in-arms. And he admits that in some ways, his previous role was easier.

“I often catch myself thinking that it was easier to run with a grenade launcher through the tree lines than to stand in front of people holding the Cross. There, you know where the enemy is. Here, every day you encounter human pain, fear, loss, doubt, and hope. And the most important thing is not to make things worse, not to harm someone who is already devastated.”

When people lose those closest to them, he says, there are situations in which no words can make the pain disappear. “In the grief of losing a loved one, there are no words that can ease the pain. Sometimes, we simply have to pray.” Father Viktor joined the psychological training program for clergy because he wanted additional knowledge and practical skills. His first training focused on working with psychological trauma.

He says there are situations in which pastoral experience is enough — and others in which a priest needs to understand what may be happening psychologically. Sometimes a person is overwhelmed by fear or struggling after a traumatic experience. A priest may not be a doctor or psychologist, but they should be able to recognize when professional support is needed.

For Father Viktor, psychology and chaplaincy are therefore not in competition.

“A psychologist is never an enemy of a chaplain. We work in tandem. There are things a chaplain can do and things a psychologist can do. But everyone should know the basic methods of support — because there may be a moment when no one else is nearby.”

A second training, focused on community needs assessment, encouraged Father Viktor to look beyond his current military service and think about what comes next.

“I understand that I will not always be only a military chaplain. When the war is over, I will combine parish ministry with chaplaincy.”

He is already thinking about how to build a parish not simply as a place of worship, but as a community capable of responding to people’s needs. Preparing in advance, he says, is part of his nature. And after everything he has experienced — from military service to priesthood — his conclusion comes back to the importance of community: “Unity gave us the strength to endure. Our strength is in unity, in love, and in faith. Because only through love can we be saved. Otherwise, nothing will work.”

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.