orthodox EASTER

Kharkiv 05-04-2024

My last day in Kharkiv was Orthodox Easter. I got to attend morning mass at the first Orthodox church in Ukraine to split from the Orthodox Church of Moscow. In these photos, you can see that people here all bring a basket with their Easter breakfast to church, so that food can be blessed before they eat it. Besides the food, newborn children and military personnel in particular were blessed.

Inside the church the incense was lit, then the bells sounded and everyone came inside. There the choir started singing, the sun shone in through the stained-glass windows and when the choir finished and people were quiet, the air alarm went off. No one reacted to it, indeed, the choir put in the next piece. Part of the church had been cordoned off because a missile had hit it earlier. All the art that was salvageable from that part had been given a new place in the part that was still standing.

Halfway through the service, we all heard vehicles approaching. The door opened and the mayor with many bodyguards came walking in. There were all camera people and press walking around him. The priest was given a bunch of roses in his hands and had to step aside. The mayor then started talking for half an hour about the importance of the army. When the mayor left again, the service resumed. Here you can see that there is absolutely no separation between politics and church here.

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