February 24th marks four years since the Russian Federation launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. This anniversary is marked not by distant memory, but by a continuing reality that affects families, congregations, and communities across the country.
In Transcarpathia, as in many regions of Ukraine, the Reformed congregations have lived these four years in prayer, service, and perseverance. Churches have opened their doors to those most affected by uncertainty and instability, offered comfort to grieving families, and sought to be instruments of peace in a time overshadowed by war. The weight of loss and uncertainty remains, yet so too does the steadfast presence of God.
Transcarpathia (or Zakarpattia) is the westernmost region of Ukraine. Transcarpathia has a distinct historical identity with numerous minority demographics living together peacefully. The Reformed Church in Transcarpathia (RCT) was founded in 1921 and is a constituent member of the Hungarian Reformed Church, the regional church communion comprising the autonomous and independent Hungarian-speaking reformed communities living in the different countries of the Carpathian Basin situated within central and eastern Europe. It is a member church of the World Communion of Reformed Churches, the Conference of European Churches and the Communion of Protestant Churches in Europe. The RCT has over 100 congregations across three presbyteries, with over 70 pastors remaining to minister to the community throughout the conflict.
This day is also an occasion of gratitude for the Reformed Church in Transcarpathia. Throughout these four years, churches and Christian communities across Europe and beyond have stood in faithful solidarity with Ukraine and the Hungarian Reformed community there. Through prayer, humanitarian assistance, advocacy, and personal encouragement, partners have demonstrated that the Body of Christ transcends borders. Such support has strengthened ministries, sustained hope, and reminded many that they are not forgotten.
As the fourth year of war is remembered, the call remains clear: to pray for peace, to uplift those who suffer, and to continue in solidarity. In 2026, the Year of Prayer in the Reformed Church in Hungary (RCH), the hope for a just and lasting peace to endure, as does the conviction that even in times of uncertainty, God’s faithfulness is unfailing. In this spirit, Bishop József Steinbach, Ministerial President of the Synod of the RCH, calls on our Christian siblings across the world to join in prayer, uplifting those affected by the war in Ukraine:
Supplication
on the Day Marking the Outbreak of the War Four Years Ago
“Jesus got up, rebuked the wind and said to the sea, ‘Be quiet! Be still!’ Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.” (Mark 4:39)
Risen Lord,
All honour and thanks belong to You. We thank You for all the gifts and trials through which You have shaped us. Receive our contrite hearts as we come before You, clinging to Your grace and trusting in Your forgiving love. We give thanks that You are with us in the boat of our lives and, as the Lord who calms the storms, You do not allow us to perish.
We ask You, Lord, grant us the joy of Your deliverance. Let the World witness the certainty of Your saving power.
On this day, marking the outbreak of the war four years ago, we offer our intercessory prayer. We pray specifically for peace negotiations, for the leaders who are in dialogue with one another, and for the nations that have turned against each other. We come before You, Lord who grants relief, on behalf of those living in bodily and spiritual anguish caused by the war: for torn-apart families, for widows and orphans, for the war-disabled veterans, for those fighting on the front lines, for our brothers and sisters in Transcarpathia, and for all suffering from the war. Have mercy on us, Lord, and grant that wherever we may live, we too may become instruments of Your peace and Your helping love.
Blessed are You, Lord, that You do not burden us beyond our strength, and that You grant a way forward, for Your peace surpasses all frail human understanding and selfishness until it prevails in victory. Blessed are You for the assurance that through Your redeeming love, the complete, eternal, and joyful resolution is already ours by faith.
Help us always to look to You, Risen Lord, that we may not lose heart, nor grow weary in actions born of faith, nor diminish in hope, nor wither in the joy of life that comes from You:
‘Grant us, O Lord, the grace to laugh; a morning that greets us with smiles; a melody that walks with us each mile, and a clear window in our eyes…’
We know, Lord, that You, the God of life and peace, have already heard us.
Amen.
(József Steinbach, 24 February 2026)
Photo: József Steinbach