Toward a Theology of Hope For and From Ukraine

After more than a decade of war and years after the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, there is a growing history of dehumanization, destruction, hatred, violence—and fatigue.

How do we nurture hope in this situation in Ukraine? How do we enact hope as a virtue in our families, communities, institutions, and the civil sphere?

Russia’s war of aggression will undoubtedly leave its traumatic mark on Ukrainian identity and exacerbate the collective trauma created by war. What is our moral imagination about healing the wounds? What does theology have to offer as many people ask existential questions: Why do we have to endure this suffering? When will it finally end? Has God forsaken us?

The horrors of war fuel these doubts and make a Christian response even more challenging.

There is also a risk of assuming a victim-based identity and looking at the world with hatred and bitterness. Another risk is of adopting an attitude of learned helplessness, and renouncing all control over lasting stressful or adversarial situations.

What can we do as Christians, as a Church, as theologians, as ministers in such a situation? The Christians and people of faith in Ukraine are called to be a source of hope and consolation for those who endure unspeakable trials, and who desperately look for solidarity and support.

When asked by the ​​Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC) Head Sviatoslav Shevchuk how best to serve the citizens of Kyiv in these difficult times, the capital’s city mayor, former world boxing champion Vitali Klitschko, said: “More than bread and clothes, we need from the Church a word of hope. Be a sign and herald of hope!”

Ukraine's courage and resilience in the deadly struggle for freedom serve as a profound messages of hope to the global community of good-wiledl people. They have inspired acts of solidarity with the Ukrainian people and fostered networks united in the pursuit of justice and truth across communities, societies, and nations.

This conference will explore the theological and spiritual depth of the promise: “Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength” (Isaiah 40:31). The conference seeks to develop, through interdisciplinary conversation, a theology of hope for Ukraine; this theology of hope is inextricably linked to a pedagogy of hope and the question of how to cultivate the virtue of hope.