Artillery fire rings out and planes are heard.

But residents of Chassiv Iar, in eastern Ukraine, held an Orthodox Christmas service in a cellar, saying they saw the symbol of Christ as an invitation to courage.

Almost all of the choir's worshipers and singers have fled the city for safer areas, and only nine people attend services in the basement of a building that has partially collapsed since a bombing in November.

"Christ was born in a cave. You and I are also in a cave," priest Oleg Krutchinin tells the group, pointing with a gesture to the basement with exposed electric wires and pipes, lit by a light bulb. 

"It probably has a special meaning: don't lose heart, don't give up...", he continues.

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Chassiv Iar is located 10 kilometers west of Bakhmout, the hottest point on the front, and has lived under the constant threat of bombardment for many weeks. 

For the first nine months of the war, the town's Orthodox Christians worshiped in a white brick church with golden domes, although the building had no underground shelter.

But two weeks ago a missile landed in the churchyard and shattered the windows. 

"One of our parishioners lives in this house, and now, as her apartment is partially destroyed, she lives in the basement, and she invited us," said Olga Krouchinina, the priest's wife.

A Christmas party not far from artillery fire

Parishioners did what they could to brighten up the space, placing a small Christmas tree atop a wooden cabinet, hanging white and red tapestries and wrapping branches around a pipe, like a garland. 

Olga Kruchinina says she's proud of the effort, even as she pulls out her phone to point out the ornately decorated church entrance last year.

"For us, everything is going well," she says.

"When I think of the soldiers I know, they are in much worse conditions."

During the two hours that the service lasts, the faithful do their best to ignore the war, jumping only once because of the artillery fire. 

Lighting candles, they lined up to confess and receive communion, as the strong smell of incense filled the room.

The choir, which once had 15 members, now has only one: Zinaïda Artioukhina, 62, who leads the group in psalms that often become solos.

“Normally I sing the alto part, so it was hard to conduct,” she says afterward. 

"It's unusual here. Today is the first time I've been to the basement," she continues.

"Thank God we got together."

Flee, like Jesus

In his words, priest Oleg Kruchinin compared the fate of those who fled Chassiv Iar to that of Jesus, whose family fled to Egypt to escape King Herod. 

"Today, many of our parishioners have also fled. But all of them are praying today with us, wherever they are, where the Lord saved them from bombs and shells," he says.

“And we hope that just as the Holy Family returned to their Jerusalem, so our parishioners will return to their Chassiv Iar,” the priest added.

In the meantime, the church hopes to keep the basement open to worshippers.

Nina Popova, 77, walks three kilometers every day to get there and read hymns – even when the temperatures drop well below zero, like this Saturday. 

“We will serve as long as we have the possibility”, assures Olga Kroutchinina, the wife of the priest.

With AFP

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