‘Our services have not stopped,’ says Priest Aleksey Okhremenko, rector of St. Michael's Church in Mariupol. Even when intense fighting broke out in 2022, the priests held daily services under shelling.
During those months, the church became not only a place of prayer but also a centre of aid. All that time, the city lived under war conditions. People came to the church for support. There they united to survive. They gathered firewood together, cooked food, and melted snow for water.
After Mariupol was liberated, the city began to return to life. The church was repaired. Windows and doors were replaced, electricity was installed, and heating was put in.
This is a video from the joint project by RT.Doc and the Foundation for the Support of Christian Culture and Heritage. The documentary footage from RT.Doc will become part of the exhibition ‘Return of Light: Restored Churches of Donbass.’
