It’s not often that one gets to witness an actual schism unfold where it began.

​In this short video we get a quick tour of the Transfiguration Cathedral in Vinnytsia from Archdeacon Demetrios of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. This includes a visit to the undercroft which doubles as a bomb shelter, well as the meditation garden which has been used for centuries by monks and priests. Originally a Dominican monastery when founded in 1630, to say it has a fascinating history would be an understatement.

The deacon begins with an explanation that this is the first church in Ukraine that transferred from the Moscow Patriarchate to the new Orthodox Church of Ukraine. A schism brought on by the war and is at the center of the conflict in many ways. Metropolitan Simeon was one of two bishops who came from the Moscow Patriarchate in 2018 to officially consecrate the new denomination as we see in a few photos of the historic signings creating the new church. The cathedral is the center of the Eparchy of Vinnytsia of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, with Metropolitan Simeon, its bishop. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transfiguration_Cathedral,_Vinnytsia  

The tour ended in the sanctuary which, at the time, was being used for the funeral of one of Vinnytsia’s heroes recently killed in battle.

The fact that there are so many soldiers dying for their country necessitates the use of the cathedral for such occasions several times a week.

The role of religion in Ukraine’s war against Russia’s invasion is increasingly evident as we hear about the treatment of Protestant churches and pastors in Ukrainian occupied territory. It is an ongoing story of Russian hypocrisy and terror. Just this week USA Today published an important article all those interested should read.

It’s despicable to see how Russia’s rationale for the war has increasingly moved to the theological. Ridiculous claims of the need to “de-Nazify” Ukraine have evolved to the need for a full scale “de-Satanization” as they ramp up disinformation campaigns for their internal – and international – audiences, including the halls of the U.S. Congress.

​Nowhere is the fight more apparent than in Ukraine itself where the Orthodox Church schism between the Russian and Ukrainian churches started in earnest with Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014 and accelerated with Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022. 

All of which leaves many of the faithful in Ukraine a bit unmoored as they try to navigate changing church calendars and competing claims and loyalties of clergy and congregations. It is a dynamic and evolving situation that I plan to delve into all the more in Beyond Bucha, the third film in the Trek to Bucha series.

In this latest preview from the new film, we go into an Orthodox village church where Vinnytsia’s master blacksmith Roman created some of his best work, including the church’s steel door and candle case. We even get a tour of the inner sanctum behind the doors to the altar where we see the priest put away his robes.

If you’ve never seen the inside of an Orthodox church they are wonders to behold with religious art from floor to ceiling. Everything is ornate and divinely inspired including the vestments/clothes, the bibles, the rugs, the ceilings, etc.

​Even iconoclasts have to marvel.