Amna: For the 70% of Ukrainians
who are orthodox Christian, the
celebration of Easter this year
was fraught with extra meaning.
Ukraine's orthodox church split
from its Russian parent when
Vladimir Putin first invaded
Ukraine eight years ago, and now
religion's role in the conflict
is front and center.
Here's Nick schifrin.
Nick: In the center of Ukraine's
capital, where even the divine
needs defense, a priest leads
soldiers seeking blessings.
On orthodox Easter last month,
those who need the most
protection, find a quiet moment
to request it.
Ukrainians are fighting a war
that threatens their very
existence.
And in the presence of god, they
pray not only for restoration,
but also judgment.
Which is what father feodosii
provides.
He blesses Ukrainians, and
scorns Russian soldiers accused
of war crimes.
>> It is tragic that people who
call themselves Christian allow
themselves to do such things.
Nick: Metropolitan epiphaniy,
the head of the Ukrainian
orthodox church, goes further.
He condones killing Russian
soldiers in the name of saving
the country, and has likened
Russian president Vladimir Putin
to the antichrist.
Putin replies with his own
judgment via his own ally.
On orthodox Easter in Moscow,
the service is led by patriarch
kirill, a longtime Kremlin
partner.
He portrays the war as part of
Moscow's defense of eastern
Ukraine from what he disparages
as western ideals.
>> The donbas is a rejection of
the so-called values offered by
those who lay claim to global
domination.
Today, there is a certain test
for loyalty to that power.
>> Do you know what that test
is?
>> It's a gay parade.
>> Putin and his confederates,
including those in the church,
preserve present the war as
almost like a sacred crusade
against the presumably godless
west.
Nick: Cyril hovorun is a
Ukrainian orthodox priest and
professor of theology at
university college, Stockholm.
I spoke to him from Ukraine via
Skype.
>> They believe Ukraine the
Ukraine is the cradle of what
they call the Russian
civilization.
And it has a kind of mystical, I
would say, mythical
connectedness with modern
Russia.
I personally would call this
ideology, make Russia great
again.
I think that is a kind of the
essence of what Putin tries to
achieve with the support of this
of the church.
Nick: Patriarch karill gives
religious cover to Putin's
political ambitions, as he did
on Sunday.
>> I wanted to say my heartfelt
gratitude to those who are here
today, but even more so wanted
to say thanks again to the
government and the army of ours,
that today in practically war
conditions, defend our country.
He also repeats Putin's rhetoric
of self-defense.
>> We are a very peace-loving
country and a peace-loving and
long-suffering people.
Nick: The reality -- kirill
uttered those words the very day
Ukrainian authorities in bucha
exposed mass graves full of
executed civilians, bound and
shot.
Horvorun used to work for
kirill, and quit in 2012.
>> I tried to convince him that
this ideology is going to be
extremely dangerous and
destructive for the church, for
himself, for Russia and for
Ukraine.
We see this outcome, this result
of this moving, you know, masses
of people, masses of Russian
soldiers to fight in Ukraine and
securing a very wide support for
Putin in his war.
Nick: For more than 1000 years,
Ukrainian orthodox churches sat
inside a larger Russian orthodox
church.
But then Russia annexed crimea
from Ukraine.
By 2019, Ukraine's president,
and the overall head of the
orthodox church in
constantinople, declared the
Ukrainian orthodox church,
independent.
That means at this Ukrainian
orthodox service in lviv, father
Viktor kayda can feature the
Ukrainian language, and speak
freely about Russia.
As seen on a local TV report, he
used to lead a Ukrainian
orthodox church in the southern
city of kherson, parts of which
are occupied by Russia.
He says religious divides became
political.
>> Belonging to either the
Russian or Ukrainian orthodox
churches makes a big difference.
Russia knows that, and that's
why it is so important for them
to maintain its influence.
When the priest says that this
is good and this is evil, people
listen and believe.
It's an element of control over
a large number of people, and
let's be frank, it's
brainwashing.
Nick: Pope Francis has also
criticized the Russian orthodox
church, and recently warned
patriarch karill against
becoming Putin's, quote, "Altar
boy."
In 2016, the two broke 1000
years of schism between the
Vatican and the orthodox church,
but recent attempts to meet have
failed.
And pope Francis, the leader of
a billion catholics, repeatedly
condemns an unnamed aggressor.
Pope Francis: Peace upon
tormented Ukraine, sorely tried
by the violence and destruction
of the cruel and senseless war
into which it was dragged.
Nick: Dragged, but not defeated.
And on this recent orthodox
Easter, the flock was reminded
of Ukrainian tradition.
>> Even before this war, for
generations, we've had this
saying, "Christ has risen,
Ukraine will rise too."
We have hope that maybe, after
having celebrated the
resurrection of Christ, we will
have our own resurrection.
Nick: For the "Pbs newshour,"
I'm Nick schifrin in lviv.
Amna: And a reminder that our
coverage of Ukraine is supported
in partnership with the pulitzer