Some Ukrainians seek refuge in the church in the middle of the war.
The church is pretty, but the atmosphere is devout. We are in the Saint Uspensky Cathedral in the center of Odessa.
Young Vesna goes to light a candle. He is one of the many people from Odesa who have come to the church to calm down.
It’s a war. And it’s felt everywhere.
Vesna, like all other Ukrainians, is personally affected by the Russian attack.
– My 19-year-old little brother is at the front. I fear for him. We hope that he will return home soon, says Vesna.
He says he is in faith.
– Faith is the hope that everything will turn out well in the end. I believe in a brighter future, that all this [sota] would end, he says.
Comfort for children too
Ten-year-old Aleksei walks through the church hand in hand with his mother. And not for the first time.
– We go to church so that things stay good for us.
The young boy says he enjoys a peaceful environment.
– Going to church makes it easier for me, Aleksei says firmly and says that he prays for his relative on the front.
Two wars
Father John thinks about the war a lot. He is one of the five priests of the church.
According to him, the crisis affecting the entire nation has made people think about spiritual matters more than before.
– People are disappointed and afraid, many are mentally lost. That’s why they want to come to the church now to be close to God, Father Ioann says.
War is also a difficult issue for faith. In war you have to kill.
The priest says that he instructs the young men who are sent to the trenches to be kind to themselves when it comes to their religion.
– There is an offensive war, and there is a defensive war. Our soldiers did not start this war, they had to go to the front.
Father Ioann hopes the same as everyone else:
– Peace must come so that little children don’t have to run to bomb shelters.