Worshipers gathered at Ukraine’s most historically significant monastery on Saturday to celebrate Orthodox Christmas the same way they have done for centuries.
Priests in silver robes chanted as they passed through the ornate hall while families prayed together. Periodically, the congregation explodes in carols echoing from the golden walls.
But there’s an important difference: For the first time, the head of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church led by Kyiv preached in the monastery’s main church, a symbolic moment that highlighted the deep rift. denominations in the Eastern Orthodox church in Ukraine.
The Moscow-led church, which has long dominated religious life in much of Ukraine, has a tradition of holding Christmas sermons at the monastery, Pechersky Lavra. But that faction has been accused of supporting Russian forces that have invaded Ukraine, acting as a fifth force for Moscow.
Distrust of the Russian-led church is growing, and in recent months, Ukrainian security services has begun to attack the monasteries, including Pechersky Lavra, search for Russian saboteurs and arrest priests for treason. There is a growing debate over whether to completely ban the Moscow-led church from Ukraine, and many churches have switched allegiance to the Ukrainian-led branch.
The sermon, delivered by the leader of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, Metropolitan Epiphanius, was celebrated as a 36-hour unilateral ceasefire declared by Russia — and which Ukraine has never agreed to — not come true during the Orthodox Christmas period. At least three civilians were killed in Friday’s attacks, according to the Ukrainian government, and several others were injured.
On Saturday, women in floral headscarves, soldiers in military uniforms and young families began arriving early, just after 8 a.m. Christmas attendees face intense security checks, with those presenting their passports and going through metal detectors and pocket scanners beforehand. they can enter the church.
Pechersky Lavra sprawls atop a bluff overlooking the Dnipro River. Considered the cradle of Orthodoxy for both Russians and Ukrainians, its 1,000-year-old crypt holds the remains of revered saints. It is owned by the Ukrainian government, which has allowed the Kyiv-led church to conduct the service in the church, not the Moscow-led church.
In Russia, the Orthodox Christmas is also underway. President Vladimir V. Putin attended an overnight service at the Church of the Annunciation in the Kremlin, and on Saturday morning delivered a Christmas message to Russians, noting the church’s role in ” support those involved in a special military operation” – his euphemism for the war in Ukraine.
Patriarch Kirill, the head of the Moscow church and a strong supporter of Putin’s decision to invade Ukraine, had previously suggested a ceasefire over the Christmas holidays. On Saturday, he gave a Christmas sermon in Moscow and delivered a televised message to members of the faith, praying for those killed in the fighting.
Mr. Putin’s announcement of a halt to fighting from noon on Friday until midnight on Saturday, which by all accounts never happened, was seen by his supporters as an attempt of respect. Orthodox faith on the holiday, and, analysts say, an attempt by the Russian leader to strengthen his image as a defender of the faith.
On the Ukrainian front lines, there were There is no sign of a ceasefire on Friday when the 36 hour window begins. In Bakhmut, the eastern Ukrainian city where some of the fiercest battles have been fought in recent weeks, fighting continues unabated and defense analysis indicates that combat level has not changed. Two civilians were killed and 13 injured there overnight from Friday to Saturday when residential areas were attacked, according to the head of regional and Ukrainian authorities. the prosecutor general’s office.
President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine in a speech on Friday night, delivered after the United States announced a new $3 billion package of military assistance to Ukraine that will include Bradley fighting vehiclecalled recent diplomatic efforts successful and vowed to push for more military support from abroad.
For Ukraine, for the first time, there are more air defenses, more armored vehicles – Western tanks, more guns and ammunition, more political and energy opportunities. “And all this means more protection for Ukrainians and all Europeans from any manifestation of Russian terrorism.”
The Ukrainian side, which has never vowed to comply with the ceasefire, does not appear to be giving up. On Saturday, the governor of the Russian-appointed Crimean city of Sevastopol said that a Ukrainian drone was shot down there in the early hours of the morning, following an apparent attempt to hit the port where the base is located. of the Russian Black Sea fleet. Ukraine usually does not endorse attack attempts in occupied Crimea.
But at the Kiev monastery on Saturday, the fighting on the Ukrainian frontline was no longer on many people’s minds as they focused on the importance of the church service.
A choir of young men and women dressed in traditional Ukrainian dress with elaborate beaded headdresses and woolen stockings from one of the western regions of the country sang during the event. ceremony.
As the church filled with worshippers, crowds gathered outside in the chilly morning air and watched the ceremony on the big screen as the snow fell lightly.
Iryna Holovan, who lives in Kyiv, brought her two-and-a-half-year-old daughter, Diana, tightly wrapped in a parka, pink snow hat and boots, because she felt the moment was “elegant” history.”
Nazar Papiuko, 22 years old, accompanied by his wife, Viktoria Papiuko, 21 years old. Although the couple said they don’t consider themselves particularly religious, they feel it’s important to be involved at a culturally important moment.
“This is a big holiday for us,” Mr. Papiuko said. “But this moment is really just a big day for all Ukrainians.”
Alina Hizhe, 59, from the Kyiv region, left home at 5 a.m. with her grandson Nazar Pchelinskyi, 13, to lead the line into the holy place.
“We consider it as the Ukrainian heritage returned to us,” she said. “And it’s a very important event.”
Oleksandra Mykolyshyn Report contributions from Kiev.
