Dave Stotts treks to the grand city of Kiev; the capital of Ukraine; to continue his exploration of Christian history throughout Eastern Europe and Russia.
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Drive Thru History: Ends of the Earth | How Christianity Changed Eastern Europe and Russia | May 16, 2021
- Dave Stotts: Hi, I'm Dave Stotts, and I'm in the grand
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- city of Kiev, an important hub in the Eastern Orthodox Church.
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- I've traveled here to the capital of Ukraine to continue
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- our exploration of Christian history throughout Eastern
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- Europe and Russia.
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- Dave: Over 2.000 years ago, the man known as Jesus of
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- Nazareth was born in the small town of Bethlehem
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- in the land of Judea.
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- His extraordinary life, brutal execution, and miraculous
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- resurrection from the dead attest to the truth of his claim
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- to be the only Son of God.
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- This is the story of how Jesus, through the lives
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- of his faithful followers, has become known around the world,
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- impacting all of human history from the first century
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- until today.
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- This is "Drive Thru History: Ends of the Earth."
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- ♪♪♪
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- Dave: Kiev has an ancient and proud history.
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- One thousand years ago, this was the, quote, mother of Rus
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- cities, the royal capital of a Rus federation of Slavic peoples
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- from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Black Sea in the south.
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- In addition to its central role during the early period of the
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- Kievan Rus, Kiev has been an important commercial center for
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- centuries, with its railroad junction and trading ports on
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- the Dnieper river.
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- The city was severely damaged during World War II, but has
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- been beautifully restored over the years.
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- And the independence of Ukraine from communist Soviet Union in
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- 1991 renewed Kiev's status as a major European capital.
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- I recently saw a Lego model of a swooping vintage
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- Ford Mustang Fastback.
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- Due to its complex curves, it had 1.473 parts.
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- It inspired me to build a Lego version of the car
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- I'll be driving here in Kiev.
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- There are a lot fewer parts because this is a Russian Lada.
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- This 1980 Lada was built by the former Soviet company AvtoVAZ.
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- Loosely translated, AvtoVAZ means automobile factory.
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- The first car from the automobile factory was the Lada,
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- which oddly is named after a boat, which was originally based
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- on the Fiat 124 sedan.
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- The Lada has a long history in Russia and a number of
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- Eastern European countries.
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- They were built to be simple and practical for a wide range
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- of uses, such as police cars, taxis, and public
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- service vehicles.
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- This car has that utilitarian, egalitarian, style-free shape
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- that would've won the heart of any communist central planning
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- committee member.
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- AvtoVAZ is now owned by the French
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- auto manufacturer Renault.
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- Now, today's Ladas are a little more let's just say stylish than
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- their counterparts from the 1970s and 80s.
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- But this awesome vintage Lada classic will be my ride here in
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- Ukraine for the next few days.
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- Church historians say that it was the Apostle Andrew who first
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- brought the gospel of Jesus Christ to the lands
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- of Eastern Europe.
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- The region was mired in the usual pagan practices
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- of the day.
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- Their gods, Perun, Veles, and Triglav almost directly matched
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- the Roman gods Jupiter, Apollo, and Mars, and the Greek Gods
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- Zeus, Phoebus, and Ares.
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- It was a violent, barbarian world.
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- According to the gospels, Andrew was a fisherman on
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- the Sea of Galilee with his brother Peter.
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- Jesus was walking the shoreline when he saw Andrew and Peter
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- fishing, and called them to be his disciples, saying, "I will
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- make you fishers of men."
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- Andrew went on to be one of the 12 apostles.
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- After Jesus was gone, Andrew continued as a fisher of men,
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- spreading the good news of Jesus northward from
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- the land of Israel.
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- According to church fathers Origen and Eusebius, Andrew
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- preached around the Black Sea and into ancient Scythia,
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- which today includes southern Russia and Ukraine.
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- According to tradition, Andrew reached as far as present day
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- Kiev, where he erected a cross here on a hill high above
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- the Dnieper river.
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- He declared that the sparsely populated area below him
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- would one day become a great city.
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- As he predicted, the site grew into the city of Kiev,
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- a center for the Eastern Orthodox faith.
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- This is Saint Andrews Church, built to honor the Apostle
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- Andrew and the cross that he erected here.
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- A series of small wooden churches have been built
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- and destroyed at this location over the centuries.
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- This version was completed in 1754.
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- Since Saint Andrews Church is on top of a steep hill, cracks
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- and foundation problems are recurring issues for caretakers.
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- Andrew was ultimately martyred for his faith during
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- the mid first century.
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- According to tradition, he was crucified on a cross, the two
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- ends of which were fixed transversely in the ground.
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- This is where we get the term Saint Andrews cross.
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- Because of his deep connection to the region, Andrew is
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- considered the patron saint of Ukraine and Russia.
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- This is also why Russia uses the Saint Andrews cross on its
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- naval flag even to this day.
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- Within a few centuries after Andrew, the gospel was preached
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- and churches were planted in the lands we know today as
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- Macedonia, Albania, Bulgaria, Montenegro, Serbia,
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- Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Slovenia, Slovakia, and Ukraine.
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- These lands sat on the frontier of the old Roman Empire.
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- They were constantly hit by waves of barbarian invasions
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- from across the Russian flatlands.
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- Among these barbarian invaders was one in particular that
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- settled in this region of Eastern Europe, the Slavs.
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- Then in one of the most significant moments in Christian
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- history of Europe, the missionary brothers Methodius
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- and Cyril brought the gospel to the Slavs.
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- During the ninth century, two brothers named Methodius and
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- Cyril grew up in Thessalonica as sons of a prominent
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- Christian family.
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- Because many Slavic people settled in Thessalonica, the
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- brothers were familiar with the Slavic language, and the region
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- of present-day Russia and Eastern Europe.
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- Methodius, the older of the two brothers, was an important
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- government official, who would have spoken some Slavic
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- as part of his job.
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- Later, he grew tired of public affairs and retired
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- to a Christian monastery.
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- Similarly, Cyril abandoned civil service and moved
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- to Constantinople to become a professor.
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- In about 860, the Byzantine church asked the brothers to
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- travel as missionaries to what we know today as Ukraine.
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- Methodius and Cyril were dedicated to the idea of
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- communicating in a people's native language.
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- Throughout their lives, they battled against those who saw
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- value only in Greek or Latin.
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- Before they left on their mission, Cyril constructed
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- a written script for the Slavic language so that he
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- could translate the Bible and share the gospel
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- with the Slavic people.
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- Cyril's script is considered a precursor of Cyrillic,
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- later developed by his students and named after him.
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- Before Methodius and Cyril, the Slavic people had no written
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- language of their own.
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- Through their Bible translation and missionary work, the
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- brothers influenced the cultural development of all Slavs
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- by developing the first alphabet for the region.
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- They went on to disciple kings, convince scholars,
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- and confront--
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- So influential was the brothers' work that centuries later, when
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- the Slovakian people drafted a constitution, it read in part,
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- "We the Slavic people, bearing in mind the political and
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- cultural heritage of our predecessors, mindful of
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- the spiritual bequest of Cyril and Methodius,
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- adopted this constitution."
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- The Cyrillic script has now been used for various alphabets
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- across Eastern Europe and Central Asia.
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- Today, it's estimated that over 250 million people use Cyrillic
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- as the official alphabet for their national languages,
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- with Russia accounting for about half of them.
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- Now known as the apostles to the Slavs and co-patron saints of
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- Europe, the influence of Cyril and Methodius was vast,
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- and their legacy lives on.
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- About 100 years later, Prince Igor and Princess Olga ruled the
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- increasingly powerful Kievan Rus from here in the city of Kiev.
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- The Kievan Rus was a loose confederation of Slavic tribes
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- coming mostly from the modern nations of Belarus, Russia,
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- and Ukraine.
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- After Igor was murdered by a tribe who wouldn't pay tribute
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- to Kiev, Olga avenged her husband's death by totally
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- wiping them out.
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- This put Olga on the to be reckoned with map.
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- In 955, Olga was invited to Constantinople on a diplomatic
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- and commercial mission.
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- While there, she witnessed the beauty of Christian culture,
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- worship, and prosperity for the first time.
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- In short order, she converted, was baptized,
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- and returned home to Kiev.
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- For the rest of her life, Olga devoted herself to spreading
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- the gospel in her beloved land.
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- She sent delegations to both the Byzantine and Holy Roman
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- emperors, asking them to send Christian scholars, pastors,
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- and missionaries, which they did.
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- Throughout her land, she built churches, schools, hospitals,
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- and orphanages.
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- At Olga's death, the Kievan Rus kingdom was still pagan,
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- but she had laid the foundations for Christianity.
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- According to one historical account, she was, quote,
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- "the dawning light that heralds the sun."
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- Olga is considered the first Russian saint of the Eastern
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- Orthodox Church, known as the patron saint of widows
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- and converts.
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- However, it would be her grandson, Vladimir, who
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- would convert an entire people to Christianity.
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- In about 988, Olga's grandson, Prince Vladimir the Great, sent
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- emissaries to Constantinople to further investigate
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- Christianity.
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- After attending worship services at the Hagia Sophia, they
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- returned home and reported on their experience, quote,
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- "Not knowing if they had been in heaven or on earth."
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- It was then that Vladimir converted to Christianity
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- and looked to take the people of the Kievan Rus with him.
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- Vladimir sent messages back to Constantinople and began
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- preparations for his baptism and that of his loyal subjects.
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- He even sealed an alliance with the Byzantine emperor
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- by marrying the emperor's daughter, Princess Anne.
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- Within a year, there was a grand ceremony here along
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- the banks of the Dnieper river.
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- Thousands of Kievan Rus were baptized, and the pagan idol of
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- Perun was destroyed, and Christian missionaries were
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- deployed throughout the land.
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- During Yaroslav's lengthy rule, the Kievan Rus reached
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- its military and cultural peak.
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- It wasn't long before the gifted ruler was hailed as
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- Yaroslav the Wise.
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- But in addition to his leadership in politics, law, and
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- commerce, Yaroslav was dedicated to continuing his dad's mission
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- of spreading Christianity throughout the Kievan Rus.
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- To that end, Yaroslav decided to build a church.
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- And not just any church, one of the most stunning I've ever
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- seen, the Saint Sophia Cathedral.
- 00:13:07.937 --> 00:13:12.208
- In 1997, this bronze monument to Yaroslav the Wise was unveiled
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- near the Golden Gate.
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- Here, Yaroslav is sitting on a bench directing his gaze toward
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- the Saint Sophia Cathedral.
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- In his hands, the layout of the church that he built to be
- 00:13:27.723 --> 00:13:32.061
- the centerpiece of his new capital.
- 00:13:32.094 --> 00:13:36.498
- ♪♪♪
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- male: Welcome to Kiev.
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- Dave: Ah, much obliged, amigo.
- 00:13:49.712 --> 00:13:56.752
- This is the cathedral of Saint Sophia, first built in
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- the 11th century during the reign of Yaroslav the Wise.
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- Now, it's one of Kiev's best known monuments, and the first
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- to be granted UN World Heritage status in the Ukraine.
- 00:14:07.463 --> 00:14:11.133
- Now, the name of the church comes from the Hagia Sophia in
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- Constantinople, meaning holy wisdom, rather than referring to
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- a specific saint named Sophia.
- 00:14:18.540 --> 00:14:22.044
- The cathedral is an awesome example of Eastern Orthodox or
- 00:14:22.077 --> 00:14:24.813
- Byzantine architecture.
- 00:14:24.847 --> 00:14:27.116
- It has five separate naves or main worship areas, and five
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- related apses, the arched half-dome section in the front
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- where the clergy performs the service.
- 00:14:34.790 --> 00:14:37.860
- Very unique for Byzantine architecture, Saint Sophia also
- 00:14:37.893 --> 00:14:41.163
- has 13 separate cupulas, those dome features, spread throughout
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- the rooftops.
- 00:14:46.135 --> 00:14:48.837
- In Eastern Orthodox tradition, the number of cupulas or domes
- 00:14:48.871 --> 00:14:51.740
- on a church means something.
- 00:14:51.774 --> 00:14:54.143
- One dome represents Jesus Christ, the head of the church.
- 00:14:54.176 --> 00:14:57.513
- Three domes symbolize the trinity, Father, Son,
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- and Holy Spirit.
- 00:15:01.083 --> 00:15:02.785
- Five domes signify Jesus and the four evangelists, Matthew, Mark,
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- Luke, and John.
- 00:15:07.056 --> 00:15:09.124
- Seven represent the seven sacraments of the church, nine
- 00:15:09.158 --> 00:15:11.827
- the nine ranks of the angels.
- 00:15:11.860 --> 00:15:14.697
- And the rarely seen 13, like we have here at Saint Sophia's
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- Cathedral, signifying Jesus Christ and his 12 apostles.
- 00:15:19.168 --> 00:15:24.006
- After the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church is
- 00:15:24.039 --> 00:15:27.376
- the second largest Christian tradition in the world.
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- It operates as a communion of autonomous churches, each
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- governed by its own bishop.
- 00:15:35.484 --> 00:15:37.086
- While the Eastern Orthodox Church has no central governing
- 00:15:37.119 --> 00:15:39.922
- authority like the Catholic pope, the patriarch of
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- Constantinople is recognized as the first among equals
- 00:15:42.858 --> 00:15:47.429
- of all the bishops.
- 00:15:47.463 --> 00:15:49.798
- The word "orthodox" takes its meaning from the Greek words
- 00:15:49.832 --> 00:15:51.834
- "orthos," right, and "doxa," belief.
- 00:15:51.867 --> 00:15:55.971
- Therefore, the word "orthodox" means right belief.
- 00:15:56.005 --> 00:16:00.976
- The orthodox tradition developed from the Christianity of the
- 00:16:02.544 --> 00:16:05.280
- Eastern Roman Empire, and was shaped by the pressures,
- 00:16:05.314 --> 00:16:08.851
- politics, and peoples of that area.
- 00:16:08.884 --> 00:16:11.153
- Since the eastern capital of the Roman Empire was Constantinople
- 00:16:11.186 --> 00:16:14.823
- or ancient Byzantium, this style of Christianity is sometimes
- 00:16:14.857 --> 00:16:19.661
- called Byzantine Christianity.
- 00:16:19.695 --> 00:16:22.231
- The Eastern Orthodox Church shared communion with the Roman
- 00:16:22.264 --> 00:16:26.168
- Catholic Church until the east-west schism of 1054 AD,
- 00:16:26.201 --> 00:16:30.773
- triggered by disputes over doctrine and authority.
- 00:16:30.806 --> 00:16:35.477
- Today, the Eastern Orthodox tradition comprises over a dozen
- 00:16:35.511 --> 00:16:39.114
- churches, including Constantinople, Antioch, Greece,
- 00:16:39.148 --> 00:16:42.951
- Poland, Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria, and Russia.
- 00:16:42.985 --> 00:16:47.856
- Recently, the Orthodox Church of Ukraine separated itself from
- 00:16:47.890 --> 00:16:52.161
- the Orthodox Church of Russia, which is considered a pretty
- 00:16:52.194 --> 00:16:55.631
- controversial act in this part of the world.
- 00:16:55.664 --> 00:17:01.503
- About a ten minute drive from the Sophia Cathedral through the
- 00:17:01.537 --> 00:17:04.773
- heart of Kiev is another stunning location founded during
- 00:17:04.807 --> 00:17:08.377
- Yaroslav's reign.
- 00:17:08.410 --> 00:17:10.079
- Today, it's an expansive monastic complex with beautiful
- 00:17:10.112 --> 00:17:13.816
- churches, chapels, towers, and underground catacombs.
- 00:17:13.849 --> 00:17:17.953
- Looking at it today, it's amazing to consider that it all
- 00:17:17.986 --> 00:17:20.989
- started in a cave.
- 00:17:21.023 --> 00:17:24.059
- The Monastery of the Caves is an Eastern Orthodox monastery first
- 00:17:24.093 --> 00:17:27.563
- established by Yaroslav the Wise in 1051.
- 00:17:27.596 --> 00:17:31.733
- Also known as the Lavra, it was considered one of the most
- 00:17:31.767 --> 00:17:35.304
- famous centers of Orthodox scholarship and learning in
- 00:17:35.337 --> 00:17:38.540
- Eastern Europe for centuries.
- 00:17:38.574 --> 00:17:40.275
- Although the monastery complex has a more recent history as a
- 00:17:40.309 --> 00:17:44.213
- cultural museum, it is once again active with over 100 monks
- 00:17:44.246 --> 00:17:49.084
- in residence.
- 00:17:49.118 --> 00:17:51.086
- This is the great bell tower of Lavra, one of the most notable
- 00:17:51.120 --> 00:17:55.057
- structures in the Kiev skyline.
- 00:17:55.090 --> 00:17:58.727
- With the cross at the top, the tower measures 316 feet.
- 00:17:58.760 --> 00:18:03.332
- When it was built in the 1730s, it was considered the tallest
- 00:18:03.365 --> 00:18:07.002
- freestanding bell tower in the world.
- 00:18:07.035 --> 00:18:10.239
- Let's go inside and take a look.
- 00:18:10.272 --> 00:18:14.042
- The structure is pretty awesome, with four tiers and a gilded
- 00:18:14.076 --> 00:18:16.378
- dome at the top.
- 00:18:16.411 --> 00:18:18.213
- The second tier is decorated with 32 Doric columns.
- 00:18:18.247 --> 00:18:21.950
- The third tier is decorated with 16 Ionic columns.
- 00:18:21.984 --> 00:18:25.888
- And the fourth tier is decorated with eight Corinthian columns.
- 00:18:25.921 --> 00:18:29.758
- Here on the third tier of the great bell tower, we get an
- 00:18:29.791 --> 00:18:32.628
- incredible view of Kiev.
- 00:18:32.661 --> 00:18:38.700
- The growth and prosperity of the Kievan Rus here in Kiev spawned
- 00:18:38.734 --> 00:18:42.004
- growth and prosperity in the Russian church, which lessened
- 00:18:42.037 --> 00:18:46.375
- its dependence on Constantinople.
- 00:18:46.408 --> 00:18:49.478
- Although the Russian Orthodox Church continued to profess a
- 00:18:49.511 --> 00:18:52.714
- formal allegiance to the Byzantine patriarch, it had
- 00:18:52.748 --> 00:18:56.418
- already begun to separate itself.
- 00:18:56.451 --> 00:18:58.620
- The metropolitan bishop of Kiev and later Moscow exercised full
- 00:18:58.654 --> 00:19:02.424
- territorial authority, such that the church became more and more,
- 00:19:02.457 --> 00:19:07.296
- well, uniquely Russian.
- 00:19:07.329 --> 00:19:09.631
- The death of Yaroslav the Wise in 1054 and the great schism
- 00:19:09.665 --> 00:19:14.369
- between east and west in that same year accelerated the divide
- 00:19:14.403 --> 00:19:19.141
- between Russia and the Byzantine authority.
- 00:19:19.174 --> 00:19:22.511
- The Russian Orthodox Church became increasingly isolated,
- 00:19:22.544 --> 00:19:26.481
- and its focus on the mystical grew.
- 00:19:26.515 --> 00:19:29.384
- Monastic communities sprang up in secluded forests
- 00:19:29.418 --> 00:19:32.921
- in the north.
- 00:19:32.955 --> 00:19:34.323
- Literacy was so rare in the region that the power and
- 00:19:34.356 --> 00:19:36.358
- importance of visual icons became more ingrained in the
- 00:19:36.391 --> 00:19:39.795
- everyday practice of Russian believers.
- 00:19:39.828 --> 00:19:42.965
- Waves of raiding barbarian tribes from the east soon
- 00:19:42.998 --> 00:19:46.802
- isolated the Russian church even more.
- 00:19:46.835 --> 00:19:49.905
- In 1206, Genghis Khan consolidated his control of the
- 00:19:49.938 --> 00:19:54.142
- Mongols and began conquering huge swaths of the Eurasian
- 00:19:54.176 --> 00:19:58.247
- landmass.
- 00:19:58.280 --> 00:19:59.715
- By 1274, the Mongol hordes invaded Russia, destroyed Kiev,
- 00:19:59.748 --> 00:20:05.687
- and sent the remnants of Russian nobility further north and
- 00:20:05.721 --> 00:20:08.857
- deeper into the forests.
- 00:20:08.890 --> 00:20:11.693
- Ultimately, Moscow would assume the place of prominence that
- 00:20:11.727 --> 00:20:15.330
- once belonged to Kiev.
- 00:20:15.364 --> 00:20:18.934
- Perhaps no greater symbol for Russian prominence exists in
- 00:20:18.967 --> 00:20:22.337
- Ukraine today than this huge statue in the distance.
- 00:20:22.371 --> 00:20:27.175
- This is the Motherland Monument, a stainless steel statue
- 00:20:27.209 --> 00:20:30.245
- towering high above the World War II Museum here in Kiev.
- 00:20:30.279 --> 00:20:34.816
- The memorial complex was ceremonially opened by the
- 00:20:34.850 --> 00:20:38.120
- Soviets in 1981 to honor the heroes of the Soviet Union and
- 00:20:38.153 --> 00:20:43.258
- the heroes of socialist labor.
- 00:20:43.292 --> 00:20:48.297
- The statue itself is about 200 feet tall.
- 00:20:48.330 --> 00:20:51.300
- But including the building and base, it rises more than 330
- 00:20:51.333 --> 00:20:56.004
- feet into the Kiev skyline.
- 00:20:56.038 --> 00:20:58.940
- The shield in the statue's left hand has the state emblem of the
- 00:20:58.974 --> 00:21:03.011
- Soviet Union.
- 00:21:03.045 --> 00:21:05.013
- The sword in the statue's right hand is 52 feet long
- 00:21:05.047 --> 00:21:07.949
- and weighs 9 tons.
- 00:21:07.983 --> 00:21:10.319
- I'm told that the tip of the sword was later cut off because
- 00:21:10.352 --> 00:21:14.523
- the sword was higher than the Christian cross on top of the
- 00:21:14.556 --> 00:21:18.660
- great bell tower of Lavra that we just visited over there.
- 00:21:18.694 --> 00:21:26.234
- In 2015, the Ukrainian parliament outlawed Soviet and
- 00:21:29.204 --> 00:21:32.774
- communist symbols, street names, and monuments
- 00:21:32.808 --> 00:21:35.610
- throughout Ukraine.
- 00:21:35.644 --> 00:21:37.679
- However, World War II monuments like this were excluded.
- 00:21:37.713 --> 00:21:42.117
- In modern Kiev, the World War II Motherland Monument is very
- 00:21:42.150 --> 00:21:45.520
- controversial, with many arguing that it should be pulled down
- 00:21:45.554 --> 00:21:48.824
- regardless of the law.
- 00:21:48.857 --> 00:21:54.996
- So, I've been given special permission to climb up inside
- 00:21:55.030 --> 00:21:57.699
- the statue today.
- 00:21:57.733 --> 00:21:59.401
- They say it takes about 30 minutes,
- 00:21:59.434 --> 00:22:01.236
- so I better get started.
- 00:22:01.269 --> 00:22:04.239
- ♪♪♪
- 00:22:04.539 --> 00:22:14.549
- ♪♪♪
- 00:22:18.987 --> 00:22:28.997
- Dave: In the early 1930s, the Soviet Union perpetuated one of
- 00:22:33.068 --> 00:22:35.837
- the greatest genocides in history on the people
- 00:22:35.871 --> 00:22:39.007
- of Ukraine.
- 00:22:39.040 --> 00:22:40.909
- The terror famine of 1932 and 1933 was designed by Joseph
- 00:22:40.942 --> 00:22:46.181
- Stalin to eliminate the Ukrainian independence movement.
- 00:22:46.214 --> 00:22:50.485
- By confiscating land and crops, and blocking food and aid,
- 00:22:50.519 --> 00:22:55.157
- millions of Ukrainians died in an atrocity many have compared
- 00:22:55.190 --> 00:22:59.227
- to the Nazi Holocaust of the Jewish people.
- 00:22:59.261 --> 00:23:02.297
- The terror famine of 1932 and 1933 is still a part of the
- 00:23:02.330 --> 00:23:07.769
- collective conscience here in now independent Ukraine.
- 00:23:07.803 --> 00:23:11.907
- This is Independence Square, the heart of modern Kiev.
- 00:23:11.940 --> 00:23:16.077
- Although the city square has a long and tumultuous history, the
- 00:23:16.111 --> 00:23:20.348
- current version was named in 1991 after the proclamation of
- 00:23:20.382 --> 00:23:24.453
- Ukraine's independence from the Soviet Union.
- 00:23:24.486 --> 00:23:27.823
- Today, it's the capital city's most visited site, and a
- 00:23:27.856 --> 00:23:31.827
- favorite walking area for locals.
- 00:23:31.860 --> 00:23:34.596
- This 200-foot victory column was erected on the tenth anniversary
- 00:23:34.629 --> 00:23:41.303
- of Ukrainian independence.
- 00:23:41.336 --> 00:23:42.737
- At the top is a statue of a girl dressed in national clothes,
- 00:23:42.771 --> 00:23:47.309
- standing on the globe and holding a rose branch, the
- 00:23:47.342 --> 00:23:51.346
- symbol of Ukraine's freedom.
- 00:23:51.379 --> 00:23:55.250
- And over here on the other side of the square, one of the
- 00:23:55.283 --> 00:23:57.886
- medieval gates of the city has been ceremonially rebuilt.
- 00:23:57.919 --> 00:24:00.789
- On top is a statue of the archangel Michael, patron
- 00:24:00.822 --> 00:24:05.393
- protector of Kiev.
- 00:24:05.427 --> 00:24:07.896
- Nothing tested the faith or strength of the people of this
- 00:24:07.929 --> 00:24:13.068
- region like the rise of Nazism and the subsequent tyranny of
- 00:24:13.101 --> 00:24:17.005
- the Soviet Union.
- 00:24:17.038 --> 00:24:18.707
- Decades of oppression, religious persecution, bloodshed, and
- 00:24:18.740 --> 00:24:22.844
- radical atheism tormented souls and sought to
- 00:24:22.878 --> 00:24:27.115
- eradicate Christianity.
- 00:24:27.148 --> 00:24:29.150
- Then in the early 1990s, the walls came down.
- 00:24:29.184 --> 00:24:33.522
- The Soviet Union dissolved, and former Soviet republics became
- 00:24:33.555 --> 00:24:37.325
- independent nations.
- 00:24:37.359 --> 00:24:39.494
- Many of these new nations, such as Ukraine, emerged Christian as
- 00:24:39.528 --> 00:24:43.365
- a popular rebuke against the overwhelming secularism of the
- 00:24:43.398 --> 00:24:47.903
- Soviet regime.
- 00:24:47.936 --> 00:24:52.207
- In January of 2019, patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople
- 00:24:52.240 --> 00:24:56.378
- granted independence to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church,
- 00:24:56.411 --> 00:25:00.282
- formally separating it from the Russian Orthodox Church for the
- 00:25:00.315 --> 00:25:03.985
- first time since the 17th century.
- 00:25:04.019 --> 00:25:07.155
- Ukrainian president Poroshenko traveled to Istanbul, Turkey for
- 00:25:07.188 --> 00:25:11.459
- the tomos or independence ceremony.
- 00:25:11.493 --> 00:25:14.429
- While there, Poroshenko said, "We pray for peace and unity in
- 00:25:14.462 --> 00:25:19.534
- this new era of Orthodox history."
- 00:25:19.568 --> 00:25:22.704
- As I walk the streets of Kiev, I see signs of restoration and
- 00:25:22.737 --> 00:25:27.642
- rebuilding everywhere.
- 00:25:27.676 --> 00:25:29.644
- I'm reminded of the heart of the gospel, redemption and rebirth.
- 00:25:29.678 --> 00:25:34.783
- It seems that a new chapter in Christian history is being
- 00:25:34.816 --> 00:25:38.720
- written here in Ukraine, in Eastern Europe,
- 00:25:38.753 --> 00:25:42.057
- and to the ends of the earth.
- 00:25:42.090 --> 00:25:44.759
- ♪♪♪
- 00:25:45.160 --> 00:25:50.398
- ♪♪♪
- 00:25:51.499 --> 00:26:01.443
- ♪♪♪
- 00:26:08.183 --> 00:26:18.193