“Dialogue in Action” joined the chaplains' meeting “The Power of Presence” in Zaporizhia

On April 7-8, Zaporizhzhia hosted a gathering of chaplains from the 17th Army Corps and the Unmanned Systems Forces titled “Power of Presence.” The event brought together around 60 participants, including chaplains, their assistants, psychologists, service leadership, as well as National Guard of Ukraine chaplains serving on the Zaporizhzhia front.

The programme addressed key challenges of ministry in wartime, including emotional burnout (from both psychological and theological perspectives), conflict management, moral injury among service members, leadership, and pastoral care during crises of faith.

As part of the supervision support of the “Community Building and Effective Engagement” program, experts from the "Dialogue in Action" educational programs: Olena Kopina and Dmytro Fedorchak also joined the event. Dmytro led sessions on team building, theological reflections on burnout, and leadership in high-pressure environments. Olena worked with participants on the psychological aspects of burnout and practical approaches to conflict resolution, supporting the development of skills for both self-care and supporting others.

The gathering served as a platform for experience-sharing, peer support, and strengthening the professional chaplaincy community.

We thank the Zaporizhzhia Regional State Administration and Bishop Photius of Zaporizhzhia and Melitopol (OCU) for organizing and holding such important meetings. And we are also grateful to Father Job (Olshansky) for the invitation and the Robert Bosch Stiftung for supporting the “Community Building and Effective Engagement” program!

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