Wounded Ukrainian Soldiers Seek Peace Through Faith at Mount Athos

TaiwanPlus News

Twenty-two Ukrainian veterans who survived injuries while fighting against Russia's invasion are healing spiritually at a holy site in Greece. At Mount Athos, they say they are finding peace after almost three years of war.

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00:00A 1,000-kilometer bus trip brought Ivan from Lviv, Ukraine, to northern Greece.

00:08On the sacred slopes of Mount Athos, he and other veterans are seeking peace after enduring

00:13life-changing injuries in the largest war fought in Europe in 70 years.

00:17Ivan and 22 other veterans, scarred physically or emotionally in Russia's invasion of

00:29Ukraine, are on a four-day pilgrimage organized by Ukrainian authorities.

00:34The trip aimed at healing soldiers deeply affected by the ongoing war.

00:56A UNESCO World Heritage Site, Mount Athos is a spiritual home for the Orthodox Church.

01:04Since the 10th century, it has been a pilgrimage destination available to men only.

01:22Mount Athos has longstanding ties to Russian Orthodoxy, and hosted President Putin in 2016

01:28to mark 1,000 years of Russian monastic presence.

01:31But Greece, a NATO member, supports Ukraine in the war, straining its ties with Moscow.

01:37Ivan and his comrades visited only Greek Orthodox sites where they took communion in incense-filled

01:42chapels overlooking the Aegean Sea.

01:46Ivan's fellow soldiers carried him over cobblestones and up the narrow stairs of the monasteries

01:51where he found strength in his faith.

02:01On Mount Athos, Ivan and his comrades seek more than rest.

02:04They seek spiritual healing from the scars of a war that's ravaged their homeland.

02:09Through faith and prayer, they are guided towards peace and strength by a grace that

02:13transcends their wounds.

02:15Patrick Chen and Bryn Thomas for Taiwan Plus.

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