Yuliia Dashchuk, a faithful member of the Zhydychyn Monastery, candidate of economic sciences

“I am willing to talk, but we are on our way to Lviv, heading to a conference. We are creating a model of an effective operator of sacred heritage,” Yuliia Dashchuk told me — a scholar, candidate of sciences, and a faithful member of the Zhydychyn Monastery, whom we met during a parish trip to Lviv.

Back then, passing station by station through the monastery complex, each of which was enveloped in love and was the source of its own story, we marveled at how, again and again, one can reveal to visitors the “potential” of both the monastery walls and the land on which the monastery stands.

It was a living answer to the question: what does it mean to incorporate tourism marketing strategies without violating the integrity of life and the core charism of the monastery.

This tour was given to me by young women who sang in the choir and never missed services. If you will, we obtained an accurate portrait of this very operator of sacred heritage. Yuliia has specialized education, she is a lecturer at the department of tourism, and she, the daughter of believing parents, has been a faithful member of this monastery from the very first day of its founding. Only a believing, practicing professional can transform a monastery into sacred heritage. Later we came across posts on her Facebook.

Now they are launching a new project at the monastery, now she shares her impressions of the tourist sites of the Baltic states. Now she draws conclusions.

Sacred architecture is not frozen history. It is a living organism that needs professional management, love, and new visions.

A true garden grows not from seeds, but from love, patience, and calloused hands."

Objects become heritage only when the architect, the historian, and the clergy hear one another.

These are the lines from her account. We, for our part, asked Yuliia a few questions traditional for our column, and then we simply listened.

The thoughts of Yuliia Dashchuk.

I am originally from Zhydychyn. Our village has always stood out for its special patriotic stance regarding the Ukrainian Church. Even back in the 1990s there were many conflicts here and a struggle for the right to have it.

Most residents of Zhydychyn, including my family, supported the idea of the Kyiv Patriarchate. When there was not yet a Church of our own, we used to travel to the neighboring village of Maiaky.

Later a monastery appeared and the community began to gather around the Zhydychyn Monastery, and so, little by little, everything came into being.

Historically, the entire architectural complex of the Zhydychyn Monastery was a monastery until the mid-nineteenth century. Later it was abolished, and in Zhydychyn there remained an ordinary parish church, which by then was under the jurisdiction of the Moscow Patriarchate.

In 2003 one of the buildings of the monastery complex was handed over to the Kyiv Patriarchate, and monastic life was revived there.

Before the monastery began to function, there was a school in this building. My parents and other relatives studied in it. And even today, when I ask people whether they realized they had studied within the walls of an ancient monastery, most reply: “No, we were never told about that.”

Probably this very thing became one of the impulses to revive the history of the monastery, to devote my time and labor to it. I wanted the coming generations to know their sacred heritage, to feel a connection with it, and for this memory not to be lost.

I remember, we came for the first time, it was around 2012–2013. On one winter evening: my mother and I were getting ready to go to church and decided not to travel to the neighboring village where we usually went, but to stop by the monastery. It was the Nativity season. We came there for the first time — and we stayed.

Back then much had not yet been repaired, the monastery was only being revived. But, you know, it is not the walls that make a sacred place special. It is created by people, by prayer, by the presence of God. Our first house church still remains very dear to many — quiet, intimate, a true spiritual heart.

Ever since school I have been fascinated by tourism. I graduated from university with a degree in “tourism management,” entered graduate school, and wrote my dissertation also on a tourism theme. This was the main direction of my professional activity.

At the same time, we simply lived the life of the monastery: youth ministry, prayer, community. We did not set ourselves the goal of developing any large projects — everything happened very organically.

In 2014 I was elected head of the Zhydychyn village council. It was then that a deeper realization came that Zhydychyn has powerful potential as a sacred, cultural, and social center.

Every community should have its own uniqueness and be able to show it. And then it became clear: our value is the heritage of the monastery.

After my term ended, we felt that we needed to move forward. Great credit for this belongs to our abbot, Fr. Kostiantyn. He used to say: “You have the desire — so do not sit idle. I will give you a can of paint and brushes, and you go and do it.”

Thus was born the Tourist Information and Pilgrimage Center “Zhydychyn-Center,” which for more than seven years now has been receiving pilgrims, researching heritage, doing marketing, and developing the territory.

In truth, there is nothing new here. For the Ukrainian lands this was historically natural. If you look at the old Rus' hill-forts, their center was always the citadel — the church.

It was precisely around it that the life of the community gathered.

Therefore there is no need to invent something artificial. If at the center of a community there is a living monastery with a proper spiritual life, then around it a community, ministry, mutual support, and cultural and social initiatives naturally take shape.

But a church cannot be presented the same way as a castle or a museum. It is a different dimension.

We travel a great deal, studying various practices of working with sacred heritage. And it is very painful to see beautiful churches that have become mere tourist sites — cold and empty.

For us it is important to show that a church is not a building. It is a community of people, prayer, life. And the best witness to this is not words, but one's own example.

When you love your work, love God, and labor honestly, then an understanding emerges of exactly what people need at a particular moment.

At first we realized: if people are going to come to the monastery, they must be received worthily. Thus arose the Tourist Information and Pilgrimage Center.

Then we wanted to tell more deeply about the history and heritage — and so the project “A Majestic History Among the Walls of Centuries” was born.

During the war it became evident that people need support and restoration. Thus appeared the Center for Spiritual and Psychological Support.

Later we realized that it is important for a person not only to talk or to pray, but simply to be in silence. So arose the idea of the eco-cultural space “Prystan” (Haven) — a place for inner restoration.

All of this is born naturally — out of the needs of people.

It is a story of love and patience.

Every year at the monastery the rite of the Burial of the Shroud of the Most Holy Mother of God takes place — a very special divine service. We decorated the church, we had a few lavender bushes, and we noticed that young shoots were appearing near them.

Thus began the lavender fields. Lavender turned out to be a very hardy plant. We planted it in various conditions, tended it — and gradually it grew into large fields.

(Our outlet wrote about the volunteer center and the station at the monastery with a fire truck. — ed.)

Sacred heritage can be a powerful resource for the development of a territory: from landscaping and youth projects to psychological restoration and the building of a strong community.

When at the center there is a living monastery, and around it an active community, then an environment arises that is able to develop and to support others.

Today there is much talk about sustainability of development. But the Church is an institution that has already existed for two thousand years. And it would be a sin not to use this potential for the development of communities.

The history of Zhydychyn is inseparably bound up with the monastery. Without it there would be no Zhydychyn itself in the form we know.

Therefore, when we speak of cultural heritage, it is very strange to ignore churches, when it is precisely they that, for most people, are the main symbols of their region.

We must not be ashamed of this, but, on the contrary, show the world our tradition, which helped Ukrainians endure throughout the centuries.

Based on materials from: ORTHODOX UKRAINE