War as Institution Builder: The Emergence of Interfaith Military Chaplaincy in Ukraine

In Ukraine, war did not simply reshape religious institutions—it generated a new model of military chaplaincy. While in most countries chaplaincy developed gradually within stable state structures, Ukraine followed a different trajectory: it emerged during an ongoing war and was initially driven by civil society rather than state policy. Drawing on original qualitative research, including a personal interview with Colonel Larysa Polianska, head of the Military Chaplaincy Service of Ukraine, this study examines how volunteer clergy, interfaith cooperation, and institutional improvisation shaped chaplaincy under wartime conditions. The Ukrainian case reveals a model of bottom-up institutionalization, in which grassroots religious initiatives preceded state recognition. It also shows how interfaith cooperation, gender transformation in leadership, and the legacy of Soviet secularism are reshaping the relationship between religion, civil society, and the military in contemporary Ukraine.