'This didn't stop me from cheating and stealing for 22 years': Igor Ershov lost his life for the crime of following the teachings of God. Photo: Colin Freeman
Even by the standards of a Protestant preacher, Pastor Igor Ershov's ministry is a harsh one. He wears a T-shirt and bulletproof vest, not a collar and cassock, and his “church” is any building that still stands in the bombed-out villages of Donbass where his flock continues to live.
And yet, for the inhabitants in villages like Maksimilianovka, located close to the front lines of the ongoing Ukrainian counter-offensive, his sudden sermons in houses and basements are the only chance to hear the word of God.
“Maximilianovka is about 70 percent destroyed and the people who are still there are living in appalling conditions,” Mr Yershov told The Telegraph from his base in nearby Kurakhovo as distant explosions erupted from fighting outside the nearby separatist-held city of Donetsk. .
“They see the church as their only hope and say that if the church leaves, then they will leave, that’s what inspires me to keep going there.”
1006 Ukraine frontline
Yershov, 38, an evangelical Protestant in a country long dominated by the Russian Orthodox Church, is no ordinary secular figure.
A former juvenile delinquent, he spent 10 years in prison for burglary and robbery before he found his faith at the age of 27. When Vladimir Putin then annexed his homeland of Crimea, he again broke the law — or the Kremlin's version of it — after engaging in pro-Ukrainian activism. He joined a group of preachers working with the Ukrainian military, earning, he says, a place on a hit list compiled by separatist militias in Donetsk.
His main church in Kurakhove, a squat cinder block building, cannot be more unlike those luxurious churches run by the Russian Orthodox establishment, with their icons, domes and stained-glass windows.
However, his simple, unassuming style has earned him a loyal following locally amid growing anger in Ukraine over the Russian Orthodox Church's apparent support for Putin's invasion. Its head, Patriarch Kirill, has been praying for the participation of Russian troops in the war, which has led to calls for him to be subjected to Western sanctions.
“The Church should never get involved in politics, and the Bible tells us to love our enemies,” Mr. — Mr. Ershov. «Look at me — I was also a member of the Russian Orthodox Church, and that didn't stop me from cheating and stealing for 22 years when I was a criminal.»
«The rocket fell 20 feet»
About 70 locals of all ages came to his service in Kurakhovo on Sunday to pray for the troops fighting in the counteroffensive and listen to an impassioned sermon on the importance of personal responsibility. Although Mr. Ershov's language is harsh, it is at least understandable; Russian Orthodox services are still conducted in Church Slavonic, an archaic language that few lay people understand.
“I didn’t go to church before because Orthodox services are terribly boring,” said Rimma Akhmedgarifovna, who asked for prayers for her son, who is currently being held as a prisoner of war by Russian troops. “I like the pastor's style, it's very lively and gives hope in this time of war.”
Mr. Yershov's church also has a charity bakery that delivers it to parishioners in Maksimilianovka, literally giving them their daily bread. During his trips back and forth to the front line, he occasionally sees Ukrainian military vehicles transporting dead soldiers. “Sometimes there are not many of them, but sometimes I saw full trucks,” he said.
Due to heavy shelling, not a single church is currently working there in Maksimilianovka. However, during the war, once-fallen souls like Mr. Ershov come into their own — after many years in prison, he is not easy to intimidate.
“Once I was preaching in someone's house, and a rocket fell feet — all the windows were broken, but I did not stop the sermon,» he said.
«I remember, however, how surprised I was that the parishioners did not run away. I was told that when you are in a church service, you are protected by God.”
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