THE DEMONIC PRINCE OF UKRAINE:
A STUDY OF PRE-SLAVIC GODS, DUAL FAITH AND NEOPAGANISM IN UKRAINE

By Mike Manna, Director, National Center for Youth Ministry,
Kyiv Theological Seminary (June 13, 2005)

INTRODUCTION

Crossing The Ukrainian Border

The following experience comes from my American background. I brought my family to live in Ukraine in June of 2002. We were not prepared for the culture fatigue of living in a different culture, for the depression we experienced, or for the deep emotional issues. But probably the greatest change in our lives was the difference in the spiritual climate between America and Ukraine. We came to Kyiv to minister with our Ukrainian brothers and sisters in Christ. We were not expecting the spiritual oppression we faced in coming to our host country.

In the summer of 2003, we were in need of a break from the cultural differences. We got in our Ford Windstar van and drove 700 miles to Schloss Mittersill, a Christian conference center located in the Austrian Alps. As soon as we crossed the Ukrainian border into Hungary we felt the pressure leaving us. We assumed it was because we were driving West and closer to our own culture, but it soon became apparent that there was something spiritual to this feeling. For the next week, my wife, myself and each of the kids spent hours soaking up God’s word in our personal devotions in a Christian atmosphere. We felt the spiritual burdens of the past year melting off of us. It was a wonderful mountain top experience and it stayed with us until we drove back to Kyiv. We reached the border, and all the old feelings returned. It was like a dark blanket had been draped over us. We all wondered if what we were feeling was Satan’s control of Ukraine. We have since driven in and out of the country a few times, and the feelings have been the same each time. Several Western missionaries living in Ukraine agree with us that the spiritual oppression feels like a heavy weight which disappears at the border. This feeling has brought me to the conclusion that Satan has Ukraine in his grip.