Ukraine: New Senior Bishop of the Ukrainian Church of the Christian Faith of Evangelical Christians
From May 17th to 19th, the reporting and election conference of the Ukrainian Church of the Christian Faith of Evangelical Christians took place in Lutsk. During this event, which is held every four years, elections were held for the Senior Bishop and his deputies. For the past 25 years, the key position in the Church, which includes over 1,750 local communities and around 106,000 believers, was held by Senior Bishop Mykhailo Panochko (his term of service was extended for one year due to the war). The newly elected Senior Bishop is Anatoliy Kozachok, who previously served as the First Deputy to Senior Bishop Mykhailo Panochko.
Vitaliy Yatsyuk, who previously served as the Senior Presbyter of the Ternopil Regional Association of the Ukrainian Church of the Christian Faith of Evangelical Christians, was elected as the First Deputy. Bishop Mykhailo Panochko has assumed the role of the Brotherhood's treasurer.
Anatoliy Mykolayovych Kozachok was born on August 21, 1972, in Voiehoshchi village, Kamian-Kashyrskyi district, Volyn region. In 1996, he graduated from the Kyiv Bible Institute with a specialization in "Christian Education." From 2000 to 2003, he obtained a Master's degree in Theology from the Evangelical Theological Seminary. From 2008 to 2012, he pursued a second higher education in "Management" at the European University.
Anatoliy Kozachok began his missionary work in Karelia (1992-1993). Upon returning to Ukraine, he entered the Kyiv Bible Institute, where he later became an assistant pastor at the "God's Peace" church, founded by students (1995-1997). Since 1998 and to this day, he has served as the Senior Pastor of the Kyiv "Philadelphia" Church. Since 2000, he has been a member of the board of the Ukrainian Bible Society.
Starting from 2010, he has served as the Senior Presbyter of the Kyiv City Association of the Ukrainian Church of the Christian Faith of Evangelical Christians for several terms. And since 2015, he has been the Deputy Senior Bishop in the Central Region (Kyiv, Kyiv, Sumy, Cherkasy, and Chernihiv regions). During the reporting and election conference in May 2018, Anatoliy Mykolayovych was elected as the First Deputy to Senior Bishop Mykhailo Panochko. Married since 1996, he and his wife Olga have raised two sons and two daughters. (Quelle: www.risu.ua, 18. Mai 2023)