Pastor Yoshio Iwamura visits Zaporizhia in Ukraine and talks with thedirector of theological education at Kyiv Theological Seminary“Christian Today” July 1, 2023 22:00
https://www.christiantoday.co.jp/articles/32481/20230701/rev-yosio-iwamura-visited.htm
Related tags:Yoshio Iwamura， Kobe International Sustaining Organization (KISO)，Kayoko Fund，Ukraine

From June 11th to 24th, The director of “Kayoko Fund” Miwa Sasaki, and Pastor Yoshio Iwamuraof Kobe International Christ Church entered Ukraine via Poland. They visited the capital Kyiv, Irpin
and other cities in the central and the southern areas, including Bucha, where a large number ofresidents were massacred during the war by Russia. This time they visited Zaporizhia for the firsttime.
Visit a village on the opposite bankwhere you can see the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant
They left Kyiv on the night of the 18th and traveled about seven hours by bus to Zaporizhia, which
is close to the front lines of the Ukrainian and Russian forces. Zaporizhia, the capital of Zaporizhia
Oblast, is a city that stretches across both banks of the Dnieper River, which flows through centralUkraine. About 70% of the southern part of the province is currently under the control of theRussian military, while Ukraine maintains about 30% of the northern part, including Zaporizhia.

Photo:The Kakhovka Reservoir dried up after the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant dam collapsed1About 250 kilometers south of Zaporizhia, the Dnieper is dammed by dams to form the vast
Kakhovka Reservoir. The Zaporizhia nuclear power plant, believed to be Europe's largest inEnerkhodar, is on the east bank of the Kakhovka Reservoir and is now under Russian militarycontrol.
The Kakhovka Reservoir dried up after the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant dam collapsed.
Mr. Iwamura also visited Vyschetarasivka on the west bank, which faces the Zaporizhia nuclear
power plant, and heard stories from local people, including the village chief. Vyschetarasivka is avillage located about 50 kilometers south of Zaporizhia with a population of about 3,000. Most of
the residents make a living by fishing.
However, in early June, the dam at the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Station, located at thesouthern end of the Kakhovka Reservoir, collapsed. Bishchetarsifka was located upstream of thedam, so there was no flooding damage, but the water level dropped significantly, making it almost
impossible to catch fish. Partly because of this, the village's population has now decreased to nearly
two-thirds.

Photo: Alexander Village Chief of Vyschetarasivka

Pastor Iwamura, who has been involved in disaster relief activities in Japan and overseas for many
years as the chairman of the Kobe International Support Organization, said, “There are many
examples of flood damage due to dam bursts and discharges in Japan, but the water upstream of thedams is depleted. This is the first time I've encountered a case where people are unable to make aliving because of it.”

2Interview with the Director of Theological Education at Kyiv Seminary
The Kayoko Found (headed by Miwa Sasaki), an overseas division of the Kobe International
Sustaining Organization, has been conducting on-site inspections since May last year in order toopen a home for orphans in Ukraine, the Kayoko Children Home. This was his fifth visit, and hisfirst visit to the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra in the Pechersk district of Kyiv. He spoke for about an hourwith the priest Mitrofan Bozko, who is in charge of theological education at the KThS on thegrounds of the abbey.
Pechersk is the oldest district in Kyiv. The Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra has a vast site of 90 hectares,
which is about four times the size of Himeji Castle in Japan, and is located on a hill overlooking thecity of Kyiv. It has a history of nearly 1,000 years and was registered as a UNESCO World Heritage
Site in 1990.

Photo: Priest Mitrofan Bozko

In an interview with Pastor Iwamura, Priest Bozko said, “War is condemned by the law of God,because we should not kill. It is clear that war is a crime.” On the other hand, as citizens of Ukraine
under military invasion by Russia, we understand that it is our duty to protect our land frominvaders. But even so, he said, “If soldiers want to come to our church and partake of the sacrament,
they must confess to killing, even if it is their duty.” He took the position that there was no excuse
nor exception for the murder crime.
He also noted that Ukraine and Russia are both culturally and historically Christian (Orthodox)
countries. “In Ukraine, not only we Orthodox but all Christians pray for the Ukrainian government.
3and the army that protects the country. But when we cross the border, Russian troops (with theblessings of the clergy) are heading towards Ukraine. So it's a test. How on earth can Christians
antagonize each other and face each other like enemies?” However, Bozko pointed out that suchactions will probably become a big problem after the war is over, especially when it comes towitnessing Christ to those who do not believe in Christ, citing that some Protestant churches inGermany blessed Nazi leader Adolf Hitler during World War II, he said:

Photo: Interior of a building damaged by a Russian military drone attack“Even if we say that the Orthodox or Christian way of life is to live in peace with God and man, tobring the whole human race back to Christ, and to heal this wounded world, I'm sure people will
say, 'That's a good thing to say. (You religious leaders) support war.' So this is a big test for us. “In addition, Priest Bozko said, “As St. Paul said, we do not have a home in this world, but we areheading for heaven.” It's in a proper kingdom, and that's where our citizenship is.” However, evenso, he admits that it is difficult to have such an idea in wartime. It's hard to have these two
perspectives, that we are all one in Christ.”4

Photo: From the right: Pastor Yoshio Iwamura of the Kobe International Christian Church, Mr. Vlad Rybalevskyi who
showed us around Zaporizhia, and Miwa Sasaki, director of the Kayoko Fund, the secretary general of the Kobe
International Sustaining Organization.

After completing his visit to Ukraine, Pastor Iwamura told the newspaper:“Communism, the two world wars, and fascism arose from the Christian realm. And now, the wars
brought about by Christianity, which fights to the bone and flesh, are pushing the limits ofdemocracy, which was born from Christianity. Modern philosophy. The United Nations, whose
predecessor was the League of Nations, which was born from the thought of Immanuel Kant, who issaid to be the founder of the world, the Taiwan emergency, China's “One Belt, One Road” initiative,and economic globalization, humankind has not found a clue to a solution. It is precisely because ofsuch times that radical eschatological ideas have sprung up. In a sense, humanity is on the verge ofdeath. Christians are the first to show that the essence of human beings is love of neighbor, which is
not threatened by death. Christ said, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have
loved you, so you must love one another.” (John 13:34 NIV). As I said, Christians have aresponsibility to practice this new command” .

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