Christianity
has deep roots in Ukraine. The majority of Ukrainians are not actively
religious, according to polls, but Eastern Orthodoxy is still a major force
here. It's the faith that most observant Ukrainians follow, though they're
divided between the Kiev and Moscow Patriarchates. (A number of Ukrainians also
follow Greek Catholicism.) But churches and priests are omnipresent in the
country, and especially so in the protests that have racked Kiev and other
cities since late November.
Ukraine's
Orthodox and Catholic priests have been frequently seen on or near the front
lines of the clashes, ministering to protesters and riot police alike, though
at times some have appeared to more closely align themselves near the
protesters. Perhaps this is because protesters, camped out for three months in
Kiev's Independence Square, and having endured the overwhelming firepower of
security forces, are in more immediate physical need. Perhaps it's because of
the complex historical relationship between church and state dating to
Soviet-era Ukraine. Or maybe it's just where those priests' individual
sympathies lie.
Whatever the
case, photos tracking the priests as they move between both sides of the
physical conflict, as well as minister to the dead and wounded, provide strikingly
powerful glimpses into life on the ground in crisis-racked Ukraine
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