Ukrainian Nationalism as the Enemy of Faith | by Alexander Sich | Apr, 2022 | Medium 21/04/22, 08:35

Ukrainian Nationalism as the Enemy of Faith

The Blessed Virgin Mary Depicted with a Kalashnikov
Alexander R. Sich

Medium - 20 April 2022 https://holopupenko.medium.com/ukrainian-nationalism-as-the-enemy-of-faith-65709204a76e

The following depiction of the Blessed Virgin Mary, holding a Kalashnikov

with Ukrainian Tridents in her halo, is making its rounds mostly among
Ukrainians on Facebook.

The Blessed Virgin Mary depicted as a Ukrainian soldier.

It’s difficult to hold back, so I won’t: this depiction is stupid. It is sick. It is re-
pugnant and it is madness. It’s not a joke nor in any way funny. It is, quite
literally, blasphemy: great disrespect shown to God or to something holy.
There is nothing even remotely Christian about this vile depiction of the
Blessed Virgin Mary. To characterize it as non-canonical is the height of
understatement. A Kalashnikov machine gun, Tridents (from the Ukrainian
coat of arms) in the halo, and a Ukrainian flag patch on the shoulder…
really?!?

It is also a manifestation of Ukrainian nationalism — pure and simple. It

stoops to the same level, for example, of the so-called “iconography” within
the Ukrainian Greco-Catholic Church of the Mother of God of Perpetual
Assistance in L’viv, found here and shown below.

Enemies and Heroes depicted as sinners and saints.

Such nationalistic depictions violate the canonical and cultural integrity of

the church and the UGCC. In the photo one observes the “iconography” of
“saints” on the back wall facing the Iconostas and altar: on the left side Ukrainian
soldiers, a medic and protesters are depicted with halos, holding an AK-47, a
riot shield, and a Molotov cocktail. On the right side are images depicting the
“sinners”: the Head of the ROC — with dollar signs on his cowl, Russian Pre-
sident Vladimir Putin, a Russian soldier, and an Eastern Ukrainian pro-Rus-
sian fighter, facing a saint holding a parchment that reads “Judgment of God
is Near.” Note that the freedom fighters and sinners arelocated directly be-
low the twelve apostles, which in Eastern Christian iconography ought to be
the space reserved for declared and specifically identified as well as official-
ly canonized saints.

I wrote about this and other examples here. Unfortunately, the photos are no
longer accessible at that site. So, I provide access to a text copy with photos
here, with the following one example from that article… and quoting from the
article:

“More troubling is a poster that was temporarily displayed at the Ful-

bright Representative Office in Kyiv, entitled “God Speaks with the Voic-
es of the People,” by Ukrainian artist Andriy Yermolenko. As a crude misap-
propriation of an icon of Christ to support violence (holding a rock and a
Molotov Cocktail), it is an affront to the great number of peaceful pro-
testors on the Maidan [Revolution of Dignity, February 2014]. Moreover,
any possible justification based on the Christ cleansing the Temple of
money-changers is a non-starter, for the Gospel account hasnothing to
do with political aspirations but with keeping God’s Temple holy.”
Many Ukrainians and others rightly criticize the Head of the Russian Ortho-
dox Church (ROC) Kirill’s support of Putin’s War. But this? Please identify for
us just one ROC church or cathedral in which similar blasphemous and dan-
gerous nonsense is portrayed. Please assert, with a straight face, that his
somehow helps the Ukrainian cause. Please demonstrate that this somehow
elevates the many recently tortured and murdered Ukrainians. Please con-
vince us that such depictions don’t wrongly provoke Russians… or any per-
son of Christian faith.

Please, in God’s name, stop.

Mary the Mother of God depicted as an eco-friendly Ukrainian nationalist warrior holding a Javelin system.