A documentary film about the persecution of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church could be one of the most stunning works to emerge in the past year, and a stand-out feature in the field of protecting religious freedoms.
While Ukraine continues to dominate the news headlines, there is another war happening below the surface which few people in the western world know little about. The production begins by taking a broader look at the plight of Orthodox Christians all over the world, but then focuses sharply on Ukraine, and the canonical schism created between the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC), an institution traditionally aligned closely to the Russian Orthodox Church, and the Kiev-backed Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU). Under President Volodymyr Zelensky’s rule, the UOC has been the target of a major state crackdown – with church properties confiscated, and clerics sanction and banned by governmental decree.
Due to a blanket of censorship imposed by President Zelensky’s state apparatus, a religious has been unfolding between the regime and the largest religious denomination, represented by UOC.
Given the Ukrainian media and government’s complete silence on the issue, the task of telling this critical story of religious repression in Ukraine has been undertaken by a creative team consisting of Serbian director and screenwriter Jovan Markovic, producer Mirko Radenovic, and renowned director Emir Kusturica. Their brainchild was the impressive documentary, “People of Christ. Our Time” dedicated to the exposing the persecution of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church by officials in Kiev.
“Conflicts are taking place all over the planet and these are pulling modern humanity into a maelstrom which represents a cognitive war in the spiritual, cultural and psychological spheres of people’s lives and each person individually. Winning this war is more effective than defeating troops and seizing territory. In this war there is a struggle for the whole person, for his mind and, most importantly, for his soul,” explains filmmaker Jovan Markovic.
The documentary shows reveals the tragedy of the Slavic peoples and Orthodoxy, and raises eternal questions about origins, creation, life, eternity and happiness. According to Markovic, through the stories of clergymen, artists and ordinary citizens from different countries, particularly from Ukraine and Serbia, the film demonstrates real situations in which people, despite pressure and provocations, remain faithful to their faith, values, and country. In the “era of distorted meaning,” the director shows how the interview participants believe that the suffering of the Orthodox Church and people, both in Ukraine and in other parts of the world, is part of a general raison d’état – a purposeful devaluation of faith perpetrated by the state.
IMAGE: Emir Kusturica, Serbian film director, screenwriter, writer, actor and musician, featured in the film.
Producer Mirko Radenovic explains how the idea for the movie arose when he was in Belgrade and communicated with numerous friends from Kiev, after which he turned to icon Serbian film director Emir Kusturica for help. Many eminent priests, scholars and commentators took part in the movie, including one of the most authoritative contemporary theologians, Bishop Irinej of the Serbian Orthodox Church, Ukrainian Orthodox missionary and philosopher Ruslan Kalinchuk, Father Mykola Mogilny from Kiev, and an Orthodox priest from Genoa, Italy, philosopher and poet Mario Selvini.
Other key voices include Vukan Markovic, a PhD professor from Cambridge University in the UK, and Yuri Bardash, a native of Donbass, producer and creator of popular music projects, as well as opinions of people and children recorded on the streets of Rome, Moscow, Kiev and Belgrade.
Speaking at the film’s premiere in Belgrade, director Emir Kusturica said, “I was impressed by the story of the author from Kiev, the energy of his words connects the whole canvas of the movie, especially the idea of how this war was sold to Ukrainians and how they bought it. I wonder who will collect the large interest accrued they’ve already paid – and will still pay to these seller-creditors. Who is really skimming the interest for profit, from life and death? This movie reminded me – I don’t even know why – as if we were watching a live broadcast of the French bourgeois revolution, as if dishonest people were entering churches, desecrating them, all for revenge against Jacques de Molay, who in the 13th century was condemned to death and taken to the stake. That’s why I’m interested in who are these dividers of humanity, where will it all lead, and what will be the final outcome for our humanity. This caste of interest-bearers who rule the world will not give up so easily.”
SEE ALSO: REVEALED: Zelensky Delayed Banning of Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Order to Secure US Aid
Kusturica adds, “The movie we watched raises the question: what price will we all pay and what are we being sold, again, in exchange for our lives and souls?. I think this movie should be shown before the beginning of lessons in every school in Serbia! Because it is about God and man. The soul of Ukraine today is wounded, as the Ukrainian government is persecuting Christ himself… I think, I am sure, that this film “People of Christ. Our Time” should be compulsory teaching material in every school in Serbia and throughout the Balkans – so that children and young people can realize what is really happening today. And this is the modern way of life and what has been conceived as the American dream – the pursuit of material, empty things, leading to the realization that the idea of the eternal human soul and its nature is slipping away. It is no longer believed in, and therefore no belief in God.”
Producer Mirko Radenovic explains how the project began: “I want to tell you how we came up with the idea of making this movie. Sitting in Belgrade with my friends from Kiev, discussing everything that is happening in Kiev and in the world, I realized that we have experienced similar things in the Balkans, and that it’s happening now in Kiev, along with many other countries around the world. God is being killed – not just with machine guns and cannons, but also with words – supplanted in numerous global media institutions – substituting culture, spirituality, and even the truth itself. We remember the NATO bombing, our Kosovo, and the example of Montenegro a few years ago. These are great challenges. With our friends from Ukraine and Serbia, we decided to turn to our friend, Professor Emir Kusturica, to maybe get some of the answers, and his opinion about what is happening in the world today. He gave us some very good advice – it is important that people from different cities and countries tell us about what is happening today; that Ukrainians tell us about what is happening in Ukraine, Serbs tell us about Serbia, Italians tell us about the life of Italians, and Russians tell us about Russia. And we started to work.”
“It was a collective effort, the cooperation of many people from different countries. We all put our energy, a part of ourselves….Now the movie is being translated into all the major languages of the world, and I wish our film a great journey around the planet, and a long life in the souls of good people of different countries,” said Radenovic.
IMAGE: American TV presenter Tucker Carlson speaks with attorney Robert Amsterdam about religious repression in Zelensky’s Ukraine.
Ruslan Kalinchuk, a philosopher who hails from the city of Ivano-Frankivsk in Ukraine, delivered a powerful testimony following the initial screening of the film.
“I just watched this movie with a very heavy heart. Having worked in Kiev, I covered the events that we saw on the screen today. And I personally communicated with many of the people we saw on the screen today. For my part, I was given a great honor – Zelensky’s Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) brought a criminal case against me, for my faith in God. Believe me, we have seen only a small part of the suffering and the horror that the believers of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church are experiencing today. Since 2018, the authorities have seized and illegally transferred roughly 1,500 churches to the so-called “Orthodox Church of Ukraine” – an institution created by the authorities themselves. Zelensky deprived 13 bishops of citizenship of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. Criminal cases have been opened against 30 bishops of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church….The only crimes of which priests, laymen, and bishops of the UOC are accused are their loyalty to the canons, the tradition, Christ and his church. Instead of fighting against human trafficking, drug trafficking, and instead of fighting against the wild corruption – which is blooming wildly during the war, the SBU and the power of Zelensky came to the temples and persecuted believers in the Lord Christ. Therefore, I appeal to representatives of the media, cultural, scientific, spiritual and public life, to those of our brothers and sisters who live in Europe, Latin and North America, Asia, who live all over the world – people, please convey to your audience, to your close friends and acquaintances that the blood and tears of the believers of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church are on the hands of everyone who now supports the Zelensky regime!” said Kalinchuk.
IMAGE: The disturbing state crackdown on religion in Ukraine appears to have run parallel with clandestine policies under US presidents Obama and Biden, and with deputies like former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton playing a key role in the destabilisation of target nations.
Finally, Mirko Radenovic noted that the real value of this documentary film is that it is based on real stories of people who have experienced firsthand Kiev’s attempts to trample on religious freedoms. “The movie consists of many interviews, including Kusturica, Serbian, Russian, Ukrainian, and Italian priests,” Radenovic said. “We want everyone to watch this picture and start thinking about what is really happening in the world, and how to be, and how to live on.”
“It’s important to listen to intelligent people and make choices for yourself,” Radenovic said confidently. “What is happening today around the Church in Ukraine is super-relevant; these problems can manifest themselves in other countries as well.”
For reasons explained by Radenovic and others, their has been great interest generated by this film – a project that has produced deep resonance with many Ukrainians and members of the faith throughout the wider Orthodox world.
“The message of the picture is that what is happening now should not be allowed. It is abnormal, and inhuman,” he emphasized. “There is always faith in justice, and it will prevail sooner or later.”
Today the documentary “People of Christ. Our Time” continues its journey to the hearts of viewers around the world. In particular, after successful screenings in the European Union and CIS countries, the film was screened at the Russian Embassy in Washington, D.C., where it was seen by numerous members of diplomatic missions as well as American journalists.
Watch the full-length documentary (with English voiceovers) here:
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Run time: 1 hour 12 mins
Written and directed by Jovan Markovic (Serbia)
Production: Trida Me Doo/CCK (2024)
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* This article was originally published here