Faithful Hope: Religion and Resilience in Ukraine

The Nanovic Institute for European Studies

Available on-demand

This essential panel explores Ukraine’s religious pluralism, where faith galvanizes democratic resilience rather than division. Experts analyze “hope as a discipline” and interfaith solidarity, revealing how historical resistance weaponized spiritual energy into a powerful civic engine. Discover why Ukraine’s pluralistic landscape provides an indispensable global model for modern democratic endurance.

Speakers include:

Anna Bisikalo (Harvard): “Emergence from Underground: Hope and the Movement to Legalize the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church”
José Casanova (Georgetown): “The Religious Foundations of the Sociological Miracle of Ukraine’s Vibrant Civil Society”
Andriy Kurochka (UCU): “Faith and Resilience: Ukraine’s Marathon for Life”
Catherine Wanner (Penn State): “Interfaith Mediation and Hope in Wartime Ukraine”

Revolutions of Hope: Resilience and Recovery in Ukraine is a collaboration between Notre Dame’s Nanovic Institute, part of the Keough School of Global Affairs, and Ukrainian Catholic University (UCU). The conference, hosted at the University of Notre Dame in March 2025, focused on the positive and corrective response to this destruction, exploring reasons for hope, sources of hope, and the politics and ethics of hope in Ukraine. How is hope powerful or even revolutionary? How does it encourage resilience and recovery? And, above all, how can we build and promote the integral development of hope in Ukraine? The conference explored the concept, dynamics, and practices of hope through keynote addresses, panel discussions, the arts, and liturgical observances. For more information visit the event website.

Co-sponsors included:

The 2025 Nanovic Institute panel marks a significant strategic milestone in Ukrainian studies, elevating religious practice from a historical footnote to a core subject of inquiry. By synthesizing history, sociology, and theology, the discussion moves beyond simple narratives of survival to present a sophisticated analysis of how Ukraine’s unique spiritual infrastructure—forged under Soviet repression—has become the primary driver of the nation’s contemporary civic resilience and its ability to withstand existential threats through collective, faith-based action.

The Historical Crucible of the Underground Church

Anna Bykala dismantles the notion of hope as passive expectation, instead tracing the “revolutionary hope” of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC). Forced into the underground in 1946, the UGCC survived within the “asphyxiating terror” of the Soviet carceral system. Bykala contrasts generational responses: while elders focused on bare survival, a younger cohort born into an atheist state weaponized an “expansive imagination” to contest Soviet authority. This community re-engineered their clandestine status into a formidable political force, culminating in the 1989 legalization triggered by massive public liturgies. Bykala, quoting activist Mariame Kaba, frames this as a “discipline” practiced daily. This transition from “catacomb” survival to public confrontation demonstrates how spiritual hope was leveraged for unprecedented geopolitical change, forcing even Mikhail Gorbachev to acknowledge the “acute situation” in Lviv. This legacy transformed marginalized believers into primary agents of the Soviet Union’s eventual dissolution, proving how religious practice dismantles totalitarian logic through persistent, visible faith.

The Sociological Miracle of Pluralism

Jose Casanova analyzes a “sociological miracle” forged in the GULAG’s shared trauma. In Soviet labor camps, the forced proximity of Greek Catholics, Orthodox, Jews, and Muslims birthed a unique “sociology of friendship.” Casanova cites the bond between Myroslav Marynovych and Yevhen Sverstiuk as the foundational spark for modern civic nationalism. This ecumenical innovation ensures that today’s religious pluralism isn’t relegated to the private sphere but acts as a public partner for the “common good.” This pluralism is not merely theoretical; it is operationalized in Ukrainian governance. Casanova highlights the absence of religious polarization in elections, where citizens recently chose a Jewish President and Prime Minister without sectarian friction. Furthermore, he identifies the “Orthodox Reformation” legacy of the Kyiv-Mohyla Academy as a unique intellectual tradition that prevents the politicization of faith. By refusing to exploit religious identity for divisive mobilization, Ukraine’s leaders preserve the spiritual unity necessary for national endurance during wartime, proving that pluralism can function as a national security asset.

Faith as Action: Volunteering and the “Nadia-Dia” Paradigm

Catherine Wanner and Andriy Kurochka investigate the “Nadia-Dia” (Hope/Action) relationship, a paradigm where faith catalyzes national defense. Kurochka reports that 71% of ukrainians have volunteered since 2022, a statistic he attributes to the church’s “genetic code” of service. However, Wanner offers a vital critique: she cautions that the term “resilience” can be dangerous. Like descriptions of “resilient” abused children or ecosystems surviving ecocide, the label can mask the underlying suffering and injustice that necessitated such endurance, effectively “letting the world off the hook.” Instead, Wanner, quoting Taras Dobko, argues “you can’t say Nadia without Dia,” insisting that hope must inspire restorative justice and truthful acknowledgment of harm. This disciplined hope allows society to function like a “marathon runner” who refuses to leave the course despite exhaustion. By framing service as “prayer in action,” Ukrainian faith communities provide the spiritual stamina required for a long-term struggle, ensuring that the nation’s response to existential threats remains proactive rather than merely reactive.

The profound impact of these religious dynamics demonstrates that Ukraine’s ability to survive is not merely a matter of military might, but of a deep-seated spiritual and civic solidarity.

These highlights represent the most significant shifts in our understanding of how religious identity strengthens rather than weakens a pluralistic democratic state.

Religious Pluralism as Public Partner: Unlike Western secular models, Ukraine demonstrates a “public square” where diverse religious groups act as essential, visible partners in state-building and civil society rather than private interests.
The GULAG as a Site of Ecumenical Innovation: Shared repression among faiths in Soviet labor camps, exemplified by the friendship of Marynovych and Sverstiuk, created a “sociology of friendship” that remains the bedrock of modern interfaith cooperation.
Hope as a Practiced Discipline vs. a Feeling: Following the “Nadia-Dia” model, hope is redefined as a rigorous daily practice of action, serving as a critical safeguard against burnout and passivity during prolonged existential conflict.
The “Orthodox Reformation” and Intellectual Legacy: Casanova identifies Ukraine as the only Orthodox society to experience a Reformation parallel to the West, fostering a long tradition of pluralism and intellectual independence through the Kyiv-Mohyla Academy.
The “Sociological Miracle” of Non-Politicized Identity: In a global context of rising sectarianism, Ukraine remains a unique case where religious identity is highly visible in the public sphere without being weaponized for divisive political mobilization.

The weight of testimony in this discourse underscores that religious studies in Ukraine are not merely academic; they are a strategic account of lived resistance and spiritual survival.

“Hope is a discipline… we have to practice it every day.” — Anna Bisikalo, quoting Mariame Kaba
“You can’t say Nadia without Dia. You can’t speak of Hope without action.” — Catherine Wanner, quoting Taras Dobko
“The image of the marathon runner came to mind… he runs against all odds and is not ready to leave the course.” — Andriy Kurochka
“Ukraine is the only country that had an Orthodox Reformation parallel to the Catholic and Protestant reformations… no other Orthodox society in the world had it.” — José Casanova
“Religion is not just a footnote in the study of Ukraine but one… of the core subjects.” — Yuri Avvakumov