‘In the trenches, there are no atheists’

He stood silently for a moment, leaning on his metal crutches before the icon of the Virgin Mary. Then, with reverence, he placed his crutches down, as a soldier would lay down his weapon, and lay face down to pray. He did not kneel, as is customary among the faithful, because he was missing one leg - he had been severely injured in a trench somewhere in eastern Ukraine. With effort, he rose, kissed the icon, whispered something only the Virgin Mary could hear, and then his comrades took their turns, one by one.

Roman was one of 24 Ukrainian veterans of the war with Russia, all suffering from severe post-traumatic stress disorder, who had traveled to Mount Athos, a sacred sanctuary of solace, to pray for the salvation of their souls. His life changed dramatically from that day in 2015 when, during a battle near Donetsk, he was wounded, and doctors had to amputate his leg...