A short documentary series titled "No Priests Left" details the persecution of Catholics in Russian-occupied Ukraine. Father Oleksandr Bohomaz described priests being arrested, interrogated, beaten, and held in torture chambers after the 2022 Russian invasion began. Father Bohomaz was forcibly deported from Melitopol in December 2022 after witnessing severe repression against clergy. The head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church stated that currently, no Catholic priests (Greek or Roman) remain in the Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine. The documentary series is produced by "A Faith Under Siege" to highlight the religious persecution occurring during the conflict.
11 days ago
The short-film documentary "No Priests Left," part of the "A Faith Under Siege" project, highlights the persecution of Catholics in Russian-occupied Ukraine.1 Produced by Colby Barrett, Steven E. Moore, and Anna Shvetsova, it features testimonies from Ukrainian Greek Catholic priests like Father Oleksandr Bohomaz and Father Petro Krenitskyi.1
Russia's full-scale invasion on February 24, 2022, led to the arrest, interrogation, beating, and torture of priests and pastors in occupied areas like Melitopol.1 Father Bohomaz, forcibly deported in December 2022, described survivors emerging from captivity resembling Auschwitz inmates, with many dying there.1 Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk confirmed in June 2024 that no Catholic priests—Greek or Roman—remain in occupied territories.1
Archbishop Borys A. Gudziak and Jesuit Father Andriy Zelinsky trace Russia's targeting of Ukrainian Christians outside the Russian Orthodox Church back to the czarist era, communism, and the 1946 Soviet liquidation of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC).1 This repression persisted into the 21st century amid ongoing attacks since 2014.1
The Russian Orthodox Church declared the war a "holy war" in March 2024, framing it as defense against "globalism and Satanism," with Patriarch Kirill promising absolution for soldiers killed in Ukraine.1 Steven E. Moore compares this to Islamist martyrdom tactics, noting up to 80 priests and pastors killed, all non-Kremlin churches shut down, and 700 religious structures damaged or destroyed since 2022.1
In occupied Zaporizhzhia, Russia banned the UGCC, Knights of Columbus, and Caritas.1 Catholic churches have been seized and rededicated to the Russian Orthodox Church.1 Two UGCC Redemptorist priests, Father Ivan Levitsky and Father Bohdan Geleta, endured 18 months of torture before Vatican-brokered release in 2024.1
Archbishop Gudziak urges bishops, priests, and faithful to view "No Priests Left" to mobilize prayer and action against these atrocities.1 He emphasizes raising awareness of the war's "biblical nature" through spiritual, social, and political efforts to aid victims.1
Investigate Catholic clergy persecution under Russian occupation
Catholic clergy, particularly those of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC) and Ruthenian Greek Catholic Church, faced severe persecution under Russian and Soviet occupation, marked by forced "reunification" with Orthodoxy, arrests, executions, and underground existence. This analysis draws from papal documents and historical accounts detailing events from the Union of Brest (1596) through the Soviet era, highlighting the fidelity of clergy to Rome amid ideological suppression.
The Union of Brest in 1596 restored full communion between the Metropolia of Kievan Rus' and the Apostolic See, fostering growth in ecclesiastical structures, education, and spiritual life under figures like Metropolitan Andrii Sheptytskyi. However, this union provoked opposition, leading to ongoing trials. An early prominent victim was Archbishop Josaphat Kuntsevych of Polock and Vitebsk, martyred for his fidelity, with his relics now venerated in the Vatican Basilica.
Pope Pius XII, in Orientales omnes Ecclesias (1945), foresaw intensified persecution under atheistic regimes, recalling earlier suppressions. Under imperial Russia, Catholics—especially Uniates—endured harassment, ghettoization, and re-baptism demands by Orthodox authorities.
"After the union, the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church enjoyed a period in which its ecclesiastical structures flourished... And yet, all this ecclesial vitality was continually marked by the tragedy of misunderstanding and opposition."
Soviet annexation of western Ukraine, Belarus, and the Baltics during WWII decimated Catholic clergy. In Ukraine, Greek Catholics were forcibly reintegrated into the Russian Orthodox Church (1946–1949), with many attending Orthodox services covertly or Roman Catholic Masses where possible, while others sustained underground life. In Transcarpathia (annexed as Ukrainian SSR), the Ruthenian Greek Catholic Church faced vicious persecution: the Užhorod seminary closed in 1946, and the Church was liquidated into Orthodoxy by 1949.
A pivotal event was the "Pseudo-Synod" of Lviv (March 1946), where a group of clerics, under state coercion, falsely claimed to represent the UGCC and severed ties with Rome. This wounded ecclesial unity, intensifying violence against faithful clergy, who were arrested, deported, or forced underground.
"Unfortunately, in those sad days of March 1946, a group of clerics gathered in a Pseudo-Synod who unduly claimed to represent the Church seriously wounded ecclesial unity. Violence was intensified against those who remained faithful to unity with the Bishop of Rome."
Pope Pius XII decried the dire straits of Ruthenian clergy: all bishops arrested, priests targeted, and Church governance prohibited in western Ukraine.
The UGCC produced numerous martyrs during WWII and Soviet persecutions, beatified by Pope John Paul II in 2001 as heroic witnesses against communist atheism. The 25 Servants of God included:
| Category | Number | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Bishops | 8 | Mykolay Charneckyj (d. 1956), Hryhorij Khomysyn (d. 1947), Josafat Kocylovskyj (d. 1947) |
| Diocesan Priests | 6 | Leonid Fedorov (d. 1935), Mykola Konrad (d. 1941) |
| Religious Priests | 7 | Klymentij Septyckyj (d. 1935), Zynovij Kovalyk (d. 1941) |
| Nuns | 3 | Tarsykia Mackiv (d. 1944), Olympia Bidà (d. 1952) |
| Laity | 1 | Volodymyr Pryjma (d. 1941) |
These martyrs embodied fidelity "even at the price of life itself," illuminating Christ's light amid darkness. Pope John Paul II praised their sacrifice as maintaining human dignity against atrocities.
Underground resistance persisted via samizdat publications, such as the Chronicle of the Catholic Church in Ukraine (1980s, Lviv), defying criminal codes against "anti-Soviet agitation."
Popes consistently defended UGCC clergy. Benedict XVI (2006) urged deepening bonds with Peter, noting how persecution purified the Church, yielding "streams of living water" for the universal Church. John Paul II (1989) invoked post-WWII catacomb existence, martyrdoms, and closures, pleading with Orthodox leaders for aid to suffering Catholics.
"The whole Catholic Community recalls with deep emotion the victims of such great suffering: the martyrs and confessors of the faith of the Church in Ukraine offer us a magnificent lesson in fidelity even at the price of life itself."
Post-perestroika (1990), legal recognition allowed rebuilding, though tensions with Russian Orthodox persisted over parishes.
Persecution under Russian/Soviet occupation systematically targeted Catholic clergy to eradicate Roman fidelity, yet it forged martyrs and underground resilience, as affirmed by papal teachings. This legacy underscores the UGCC's mission to preserve Eastern tradition in communion with Peter, promoting unity. Sources affirm heroic witness but note limits on pre-1945 details; fuller archives may exist beyond these references.