Support for the people of Ukraine following Russia’s invasion continues to pour in through Halifax’s orthodox Christian community, where some eastern European members have roots in both countries.
St. Vladimir Orthodox Church in Halifax has always provided a home away from home for orthodox Christians who have immigrated to Nova Scotia from eastern Europe — but lately, the connection to the space extends beyond religion.
Alina Kirsanova, a parishioner of 20 years, is half Ukrainian and half Russian, “so everything hits really close to home.”
“We fought together in World War II, and now they fight each other,” she told Global News on Sunday.
Kirsanova immigrated to Nova Scotia from Saint Petersburg a few years after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
She remembers the fight for Ukraine’s independence and doesn’t want to relive it — and her loved ones who remain in Russia also do not want this war.
“We really want this to stop, and we don’t want to lose any more innocent lives,” she said. “To see all these old cities bombed by (the) Russian army, that’s really awful.”
She has a sister in Saint Petersburg whom she has been able to reach. However, her family has been unable to contact her mother-in-law’s sister, who lives in Ukraine.
“It’s really concerning,” she said. “We hope for peace. We really hope for peace.”
‘We haven’t learned’
Archimandrite David Edwards, the church rector, condemned the violence against Ukraine.
“The people of Ukraine decided that they want to be independent, they wanted to be a country of their own,” he said. “Nobody has a right to take that away from them, and certainly nobody has the right to go in and start killing people.”
Edwards was born toward the beginning of World War II, and has lived through events like the bombings of Southampton, England, where he grew up.
“I didn’t think that this would ever happen in Europe again,” he said.
“I just do not understand. What worries me is that we haven’t learned, we don’t learn.
“The world has not learned what this type of thing does to people. It doesn’t make sense to me. It really doesn’t.”
His overarching message to his parishioners is one of support. He said everyone is welcome to come to the church, offer a candle and pray for their loved ones.
“The people here, who have loved ones who are fighting, and having to fight, and are being killed – may God protect them, and their families,” he said.
It’s a message of comfort for people like Kirsanova, whose thoughts are with loved ones on the front lines of great uncertainty.
“I really hope all the world leaders will be able to come together and stop this war,” she said.
— with files from Alexa MacLean