Destroyed Temples of Ukraine
In partnership with the Maidan Museum/National Museum of the Revolution of Dignity in Kyiv, the Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies at the University of Alberta was honoured to host a travelling photo exhibit depicting the damage and destruction wreaked upon various places of worship in Ukraine as a result of the Russian Federation's war against Ukraine. The exhibit,“...And They Will Rise in Glory and Power”: Destroyed Temples of Ukraine was displayed in the University of Alberta's Rutherford Library in March 2024, as part of the International Conference - "Religion and War in Ukraine: The Political, the Public, and the Possible".
As early as March 2022, Ukraine had accused Russia of damaging or destroying at least 59 religious sites across the country since its invasion began. They included an Orthodox cathedral with its steeple ripped apart, a Jewish school struck by shelling, and parish churches left almost totally flattened. According to the Institute of Religious Freedom, by February 2023, the number of religious buildings in Ukraine that had been destroyed, damaged, or looted because of the Russian invasion had risen to 494.
Targeting historic monuments and cultural heritage sites is a war crime under international law, according to the Hague Convention. Most churches, mosques, and synagogues were destroyed in occupied Donetsk (at least 120) and Luhansk (more than 70) regions of Ukraine. The scale of destruction is also high in the Kyiv region (70), where desperate battles were fought in defense of the capital, and in both the Kherson and Kharkiv regions, with more than 50 destroyed religious buildings in each. However, damaged religious sites are spread across all of Ukraine, from Kherson in the south to Chernihiv in the north.
According to the State Service of Ukraine for Ethnic Affairs and Freedom of Conscience, at least 307 religious sites in Ukraine were ruined during the first 11 months of Russia's attacks, including Protestant, Ukrainian Orthodox, Roman Catholic, and Greek Catholic churches, Jehovah's Witness kingdom halls, as well as many mosques and synagogues. UNESCO has verified more than 250 of these sites.
Earlier in 2023, the Museum of the Maidan launched the exhibition " ... It shall rise in glory ... it shall rise in power" (1 Cor. 15:43}: Destroyed Temples of Ukraine. This exhibition of Ukrainian sacred sites destroyed by the Russian Federation full-scale invasion took place in the Refectory Chamber of the National Preserve "Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra", and included 40 flat stands with photographs accompanied by artifacts from the sites collected during expeditions by Museum staff. A stunning and important exhibition designed by Ukrainian graphic artist Oleksandr Komyakhov provided additional information to viewers through QR codes.
In collaboration with the Maidian Museum, CIUS was honoured to display an adaptation of this exhibit, and make it accessible for display in Canada and North America.
Exhibit walk through with Ihor Poshyvailo, Director of the Maidan Museum:
Past Exhibit Showings:
U of A Campus - Rutherford Library Atrium - March 1-31, 2024
The Ukrainian Film Festival in Edmonton , Metro Cinema - April 12-14, 2024
Basilian Fathers Museum in Mundare, Alberta - July 17 - October 10, 2024
“Destroyed Temples of Ukraine” has been made possible through a partnership between CIUS (RPRC), Національний музей Революції Гідності • Maidan Museum, and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC).
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