Vynnyky. A Way of the Cross Honouring Ukrainian Heroes

In 1999 a Way of the Cross was created in Vynnyky in the Lviv region, on the slope of Zhupan hill. Its 14 stations mark the path of the Son of God bearing the cross of human sins. Services on the Way of the Cross are held for spiritual renewal and to promote Christian values.

Vynnyky. The Way of the Cross

Novotroitske. The Wooden Holy Ascension Church of 1893

Ancient churches draw believers with their prayer-steeped setting and centuries of history. Pilgrims come to the Holy Ascension Church in the village of Novotroitske in the Donetsk region from all regions of Ukraine to bow before the spiritual relics and to see the only wooden church in the Pokrovsk district that has survived in its original form since 1893.

Novotroitske, Pokrovsk district, Donetsk region. Holy Ascension Church. 1893.

Hustynia. The Holy Trinity Monastery, a Treasury

"visit ... the half-ruined Hustynia monastery, on the other side of the Uday River, three versts from the town of Pryluky. I can assure you that you will not regret it. It is a true Abbey of Saint-Clair ...," — thus, as early as the 1840s, did Taras Shevchenko advise a visit to the holy cloister. In 1845 the classic of Ukrainian literature, as a member of the Archaeographic Commission, made sketches in the monastery courtyard, and later, in 1953, he began his novella "The Musician" with a description of this place of prayer.

Hustynia. Chernihiv region. The Holy Trinity Monastery. The Church of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul

Izium. The Oldest Orthodox Churches of Slobozhanshchyna

Izium is a city in Kharkiv region with the oldest churches of Slobozhanshchyna preserved and still in use. Believers come to its sacred buildings, springs and relics from all regions of Ukraine to bow before the shrines and the miracle-working icons.

Izium. Kharkiv region. Holy Transfiguration Cathedral. 1684

Myropillia. St Nicholas Church and Its Heritage

Like rays from the sun, the streets of Myropillia radiate out from the market square, where weekly fairs once bustled. Each street ended in a church. After the revolution, nationalisation, dekulakisation, Bolshevik reforms and the destruction of the spiritual heritage, the town turned into a village with a considerable decline in population. The only church that survived the upheavals of the 20th century is St. Nicholas Church in the Studenok suburb on Sumska Street.

Myropillia. Sumy region. St. Nicholas Church. 1885

Mykilske. The St. Basil Monastery in the Donetsk Steppe

The Holy Dormition St. Nicholas and St. Basil Monastery is called the cloister of Father Zosyma, in honour of the founder of one of the largest Orthodox shrines created in modern Ukraine.

 The Holy Dormition St. Nicholas and St. Basil Monastery

Chynadiievo. Castles, Churches and Other Landmarks

Two monuments of architecture and history in Chynadiievo, Mukachevo district, Sent-Miklosh Castle and the palace of Count Schonborn — two pearls of Zakarpattia.

Chynadiievo. The palace of Count Schonborn

Rozhirche. To the monastery via Semyhyniv

The cave monastery of the 13th-15th centuries in the village of Rozhirche, Lviv region, is a unique example of sacred building in the rock.

Rozhirche. Stryi district, Lviv region. The cave monastery

Stradch. The cave monastery of the 11th-13th centuries

The Stradch cave church is a unique historical monument that has survived unchanged since the 11th century.

Stradch. Lviv region. The cave monastery. The church of the Mother of God the Indestructible Wall

Kokhavyne. The Monastery of Saint Gerard

Cases of neglect and destruction of monuments of sacred architecture are, sadly, encountered quite often. Sometimes the buildings are restored by parishioners of a different religious denomination, while preserving the original appearance of the church. That is what happened in the historic locality of Kokhavyne, in the settlement of Hnizdychiv in the Lviv region.

Hnizdychiv. Kokhavyne. Church of the Intercession of the Most Holy Mother of God. The former Ascension kostel. 1894.

Krekhiv. The Monastery of St Nicholas of the Basilian Order

For four centuries the Krekhiv Monastery of St Nicholas of the Basilian Order has been one of the largest spiritual centres and a place of pilgrimage for the faithful from all over Ukraine and abroad.

Krekhiv. The Monastery of St Nicholas of the Basilian Order

Chernihiv. The Yelets Dormition Monastery

One of the oldest churches in Ukraine is located in Chernihiv just a 10-minute walk from the Dytynets.

Chernihiv. The Yelets Monastery. The Dormition Cathedral. 12th century

The Kytaiv Hermitage. The Kyiv Athos

The Kyiv Athos — this is the reverent name for the secluded monastery in the south-east of Ukraine's capital.

Kyiv. The Holy Trinity Kytaiv Hermitage

The Hoshiv Monastery. A Pilgrimage Centre in Dolyna

Above the Subcarpathian village of Hoshiv, on the summit of Yasna Hora (Bright Mountain), rises the Monastery of the Transfiguration of the Lord, a place of pilgrimage for Christians from all over the world.

The Hoshiv Holy Transfiguration Monastery