One Polish church in the southern city of Krakow has experienced remarkable growth over the last two years in surprising circumstances: the Covid-19 pandemic and warfare, writes Tim Thornborough.
Christ the Saviour Presbyterian Church (CSPC) currently meets in a converted bank and, as we entered, we were handed headsets to enable us to listen to the live translation of the service from Polish to English. Others picked up the headsets marked ‘Ukrainian’. My main contact in Krakow is Sashko – a Ukrainian from Lviv, just over the border from Poland – who is the assistant minister at the church.
He says: ‘Our church doubled in size during the pandemic and, when the war started, it almost doubled in size again. Because of Krakow’s location, the city has been serving as a gateway to safety because Krakow is one of the first large cities you arrive at once you have crossed the Polish-Ukrainian border.