Plain Believers in Ukraine

Abstract

In the early 2000s, a Ukrainian television broadcast identified a Christian group about 175 kilometers southwest of Lviv in western Ukraine as “Ukrainian Amish,” due to their plain dress, simple lifestyle, and rejection of motorized vehicles. North American Amish and Plain Mennonites working in Ukraine with Christian Aid Ministries and Master’s International Ministries then made contact with the group, curious about its origins and beliefs. In this article, Edward A. Kline reports on his time among the Plain believers in the Ukrainian village of Kosmirin. Kline describes both the similarities and differences in belief and practice between these Ukrainian Plain believers and traditional Amish and Plain Mennonites.