Inside a Ukrainian Village Orthodox Church

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.