The New Testament saved the life of Stepan, a 35-year-old fighter with the Territorial Defense Force in Ukraine. The book, given to him by a priest years ago protected the man from death from the blast that hit just 10 meters away from him.
The story of the fighter was shared with Ukrainian Pravda by Oksana Korchynska, a public activist and volunteer working at the stabilization point for the wounded.
The fighter was in the Zaporizhia region when the incident occurred. On April 2, after being wounded, he was brought to the stabilization point, which is located on the border of Donetsk and Zaporizhia regions. The fighter’s wounds looked extensive so the medics were preparing for the worst. “When they brought him in, he was conscious. The wounds looked horrible. However, when the doctors opened the bandage and did an ultrasound, they were shocked. There was no shrapnel in his abdomen,” says the volunteer.
It turned out that the fragment stuck in the volume of the New Testament, which the soldier kept in his waist bag. The man sustained only lacerations, and the internal organs of the abdominal cavity were not affected. According to Oksana Korchynska, Stepan is a Greek Catholic by faith. He has been carrying the New Testament on him for 17 years before it eventually saved his life.
When Stepan was in the 10th grade of school, a priest came in and presented him this book.
The fighter is currently in a hospital in Kyiv, feeling well.
According to Oksana Korchynska, the Museum of National History expressed interest in his story. They want the New Testament, cut in half, to be exhibited there to which the fighter does not object.
The volunteer added that the worst thing is when injured children are brought to the stabilization point.
“I remember my brother and sister who lost their parents. Many civilians passed through us, including those with severe head injuries,” says the volunteer.
According to Oksana Korchynska, currently, combat medics are in dire need of armored vehicles to evacuate the wounded from the battlefield.
