"Service Members in Hospitals Also Need Spiritual Care": A Medical Chaplain from Ternopil on Ministry During Wartime

Father Vasyl Kutyry-Mokrytskyi serves as the rector of two parishes, a spiritual mentor at a training and rehabilitation center, and a medical chaplain at one of Ternopil's hospitals.

His path to the priesthood began with his grandfather, who nurtured in him a deep love for God and the Church. Later, a local priest became his mentor and encouraged him to enter seminary.

Today, his decision to serve as a medical chaplain has been shaped by the realities of war.

"Chaplains are needed not only on the battlefield. Many service members spend weeks or months in hospitals, where they also need spiritual support, guidance, comfort, confession, and Holy Communion," says Father Vasyl.

Whether he is serving in the hospital or in his parish, he finds that people's needs are remarkably similar.

"People need someone to listen, to pray with them, to empathize, and to offer support."

Responding to New Challenges

Father Vasyl believes that psychological and resilience training has become an essential part of modern pastoral ministry.

"Today's clergy face challenges that simply did not exist before. Service members, their families, and internally displaced people have needs that are very different from those of parishioners before the war. A priest cannot know everything or find every answer in spiritual books alone. Trainings like these provide valuable knowledge that helps us respond with greater confidence, competence, and compassion to the realities we all face today."

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 Orthodox Theological Academy and the Lviv Orthodox Theological Academy.