In Kiev, the battle of the Russian and Ukrainian Orthodox Churches

Ihymns in Church Slavonic (Old Slavonic) resound in the crypt of the Lavra of the caves of Kiev. Monks guide themselves by small candle to the relics of the saints, where Metropolitan Pavel is saying a mass, shadows flicker on the golden icons. For the Russian Orthodox, the Lavra is the second holiest place after Jerusalem. Like St. Sophia Cathedral in Kiev, it is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. “The spiritual and intellectual influence of the Lavra greatly contributed to the spread of Orthodox faith and thought in the Russian world in the 17^andXVIII^and and XIX^and centuries,” says Unesco.

The Russian soul and Orthodoxy, intimately linked, take root in the heart of Kiev. St. Sophia Cathedral, St. Michael’s Monastery and the Lavra are…