Ukraine's soldiers look to Greek monasteries for solace

In late November, 22 Ukrainian soldiers made the journey of more than 1,000 kilometers (about 620 miles) from the Ukrainian city of Lviv to a monastery built on a cliff on the mountainous Athos peninsula in northern Greece — first by bus, then by ferry. Three years of war have left their mark on the men, both physically and mentally.

Ivan Kovalyk was only 22 when he lost both legs below the knee after a shell exploded nearby. The psychological support program organized by Ukrainian authorities and the monastery visits are intended to help young soldiers like Kovalyk forget the agonizing images of war for a few days. "Of course, it helped a lot, because it helped me to relieve stress," he said of the visit to Athos.

The Simonos Petras Monastery is located directly on a cliff at Mount Athos, the spiritual home of the Orthodox Church since Byzantine times. The area was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1988. To this day, only men are allowed to visit.

"A lot of servicemen suffer from the events that took place over the last three years. A lot of them suffer from different illnesses — they are wounded, and we have to rehabilitate them," said Father Mykhailo Pasirskyi, a Ukrainian Orthodox priest who accompanied the men on the trip in November.

Mount Athos, with its proximity to the sea and nature, has a healing effect on the men who visit. The Ukrainian soldiers only visited the Greek Orthodox sites, though the Russian Orthodox Church also has long ties to the area. But with NATO member Greece backing Ukraine in the war against Russia, relations with Moscow have soured. Russian President Vladimir Putin last visited Mount Athos in 2016.

Of course, a trip to Athos is no substitute for comprehensive therapy. But Orest Kavetskyi, one of the organizers from Lviv, told the Reuters news agency that these trips make a difference. "We already see that these five days spent on Athos will replace at least a year of rehabilitation in Ukraine, in hospitals or other medical centers," he said.

"When I visited Athos, I felt God's grace, God's blessing, the greatness of Athos," said organizer Kavetskyi. Ivan Kovalyk is very grateful for his time in Greece, and hopes to repeat the trip. "There was always support from relatives, from friends, brothers-in-arms, support from the state, without that it would not have been possible," he said.