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People in Kyrgyzstan are looking for Christ.
Four years ago, a Polish woman living in Dzanydzer (meaning “The New Land” in
Kyrgyz language) started looking for a catholic priest in Kyrgyzstan. As it
turned out, there was a catholic parish in Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan,
30 miles away from Dzanydzer. The priest was able to visit the Polish woman,
and now there are more than 30 people in Dzanydzer who attend the Mass
regularly. Seven years ago two Jesuit priests were working on an
evangelization plan for Kyrgyzstan. At this moment, two little girls came in,
looking for a priest who would hear the confession of their dying grandmother
in a village away from town. Today, in this village called Iwanowka, the third
parish has already been created. This situation is similar all around
Kyrgyzstan - it all starts with just one priest’s visit to a family or elderly
person, and pretty soon a small parish is created.
The Church in Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan is one of the five mid-Asian former Soviet republics that appeared
on the world maps suddenly as independent countries in 1991, but remains
relatively unknown to most of us. Kyrgyzstan borders with Kazakhstan, China,
Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Size-wide Kyrgyzstan equals approximately 2/3 of
New Mexico, with 90% of its surface being covered with mountains reaching over
20 000 feet. Population approaches 5 million, with a mix of Kyrgyzs, Uzbeks,
Russians, Uygurs, Dungans, Germans, Ukrainians, Kurds, Tadjiks, Turks and
Poles – a total of around 100 nationalities. Muslims dominate the religious
landscape, but they are not radicals and their connection to the Muslim faith
is loose. Christianity arrived to Kyrgyzstan in the early Middle Ages, when
the nestorians got there. Their monasteries are still to be seen along the
Silk Trail from China to Europe. In the 14th and 15th centuries, the
Franciscan missionaries started real evangelization work with local peoples.
Most recently, Catholics arrived at the end of the 19th century – these were
the Polish and German settlers. In the thirties and fourties of last century
tens of thousands of Catholics were deported to Kyrgyzstan by Soviet leader
Joseph Stalin. The first legal parish was established in the sixties. At the
end of the eighties Jesuits took over the care for Catholics in this country.
Right now there are 13 missionaries and nuns in Kyrgyzstan. |
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Other than the Bikshek parish, missionaries are visiting about 30 Catholic
gatherings that are spread around the country, each between a few and few tens
of souls strong. The most distant one is in Dzalalabad and was visited by a
priest only once per two months, because the road going through the mountains
up to 16 000 feet high is pretty often impossible to pass. That was the reason
that last year two new parish was open, with chapel, parish priest and sisters:
in Dzalalabad and Talas. Parishioners are mostly Polish, but also Russian,
German, Korean and native Kyrgyz. Most of them are elderly and very poor, but
there is also quite a lot of young people and kids. In 2006 Pope Banedict XVI
estabilished in Kyrgyzstan Apostolic Administration with Bishop Nikolaus
Messmer – this should be a impuls for grow up Catholic Church in Kyrgyzstan. |
Charity and missionary work
The most recent February – March 2005 revolution in Kyrgyzstan was caused
primarily by poverty. Most citizens have no work and often they only eat what
they can plant themselves in their gardens. Retirees are given approximately 5
to 10 $ per month, and 1$ will buy 10 small breads. Field workers, who spend
10 hours working hard in high heat, are paid 1$ per day. This pay is seen as
decent. Lots of children are either homeless or working, instead of attending
schools. There is no medical services outside cities, and in the cities all
the healthcare has to be paid in full by the patient – there is no insurance
system. Major problems besides poverty are: abuse of alcohol and destruction
of family structure – both a legacy of 70 yearsof communism. |
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It therefore seems clear that charity is the major obligation of the Catholic
Church in Kyrgyzstan. Material help coming from abroad, mostly from Germany,
is distributed by us, missionaries, primarily among the sick, invalids, large
families and lonely elderly people. We especially care about the houses for
elderly or invalids. Each time we visit such a house, we try to bring a bread,
an apple or a tomato. I have never before seen people eating bread with such
hunger. Some of these old people have only one pair of clothes – the ones they
wear all the time, so we do our best to deliver clothes from charity help from
abroad. We show them religion-related movies, mostly animated since these are
the easiest to understand, we tell them stories from the Holy Bible, sing and
most of all, and if a priest is present we have a Holy Mass. For these poor
people it is most important that they know someone who remembers them and
likes them. In the houses for elderly even the smallest amount of time spent
together, attention and common prayer has a great, special meaning.
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We are allowed by the authorities to visit 12 prisons, including a prison for
women and minors. In two prisons we have prayer groups, where we meet with the
prisoners on a regular basis to pray and explain the Bible. We also prepare
them for the Sacraments, especially Confession. We have 3 such groups in the
women's prison, including one group in the part of prison which is isolated
for women with small children. These women mostly ask for soap for their
children. One day’s food ration in prison equals one loaf of bread, so many
prisoners are weak and tuberculosis is widespread. |
The two topics prisoners want to hear about most are the God's love and
forgiveness. All of them know the true meaning of injustice and suffering. In
prisons we also show movies like Mel Gibson's “The Passion of Christ” – those
projections are most popular. In helping those prisoners, elderly and invalids,
it does not matter for us whether they are Catholics, Muslims, protestants or
orthodox.
Thank you for your time and help, God bless you all,
Brother Damian Wojciechowski, SJ
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CSsR
