HOPE CHANNEL UKRAINE AS “THE SPIRITUAL FRONT”: MEDIATIZATION OF RELIGION IN THE WAR AGAINST UKRAINE

Abstract

Hope Channel Ukraine (Nadiia TV in Ukrainian) claims to be “the first Christian TV channel in Ukraine.” During the Russian invasion of 2022, its main innovation was the “All-Ukrainian HOPE Marathon” program. It is a live program that is being aired from February 28 to June 22 in morning and evening blocks of one and a half hours. For the first months, the Marathon was broadcast daily without a day off. Since September, it has been aired twice a week under the title “Spiritual Front.” “All-Ukrainian HOPE Marathon ”became the largest live project of Hope Channel Ukraine during its conventional decade of existence (since 2009, 24/7 and broadcasting since 2013 on satellite, cable TV, and Internet). Its contents include reading of biblical Psalms, prayer, and news feeds about the Invasion. The emphasis is on the humanitarian aspect of the war. The pieces are first read by the presenters and later supplemented with live video connections of people from hot spots (front lines and occupied territories), as well as with experts-scholars, historians, lawyers, volunteers, public figures, and church ministers. During 2022, Hope Channel Ukraine almost completely switched to the Ukrainian language, which caused a noticeable transformation of the audience. Its YouTube channel grew from 218K to 250K subscribers, but many Russian-speaking viewers, mainly from abroad, unsubscribed. Before the Invasion, Ukrainians and Russians comprised even halves of the audience, whereas now there are one and a half times more Ukrainians.