Deep underground in the Old City of Jerusalem, an orthodox nun prays under the Herodian-era stone portal Jesus is said to have passed through on his way to be crucified.
Exploring the cavernous Church of St. Alexander Nevsky, located yards from the ancient site of Golgotha, is almost literally to step back in time.
However he is in the grip of a conflict that could not be more contemporary.
Hosted by 12 Ukrainian nuns, this discreet place of devotion, a mix of ancient land and 19th-century imperial grandeur, is now the subject of an extraordinary legal battle by the Russian government to seize control of it.
Although he never put the place in place, it has been called as the “favorite church” of Vladimir Putin.
Indeed, Dmitri Pesko, the president’s official spokesman, said that gaining custody of the building – located next to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, built on the site of the crucifixion – is “at the top” of Russia’s diplomatic agenda with Israel.
If the Kremlin succeeds, the Ukrainian nuns will almost certainly be kicked out.
Meanwhile, Putin will win a propaganda victory for his brand of Russian nationalism, which plays strongly on his country’s Christian and mystical roots, at a particularly threatening moment in his war of conquest against Ukraine.
Neither the Russian church nor the state has ever had property in the Old City, the geographical nucleus of the Christian faith, and the autocrat must be the man who puts this right.
The stone door that Jesus passed through on his way to be crucified is said to be in the Alexander Nevsky Church – Eyal Warshavsky
But it is not only the proximity of the church to the site of Christ’s death but its name that makes it such a valuable prize.
Alexander Nevsky, a medieval warrior who became the saint of the Eastern church, under Putin, has been revived as a powerful symbol of the Russian martial spirit that sets the cultural background for the invasion of Ukraine.
Its black silhouette on a white background is the logo for far-Right militias in the country, such as Russkaya Obshchina.
Sister Elizabeth Yakymchuk, 32, has run the church for the past six years on behalf of the Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society (IOPS), which founded it at the end of the 19th century.
It has no doubt that Russia longs for its church in the same spirit of national conquest as it invaded its homeland in 2022.
“For them, this place is especially sacred,” she said. “It is the center of the world, the place where the first Church of the Holy Sepulcher was.
“Being the owner of this piece of land is something particularly significant for the Orthodox Christians.
“If they succeed, it seems that the Lord is on their side and has returned the place to them.”
As a native of Kamianets-Podilskyi, in western Ukraine, Sister Elizabeth’s home has so far remained largely safe from the Russian invaders.
But the same cannot be said for all the sisters as some come from towns captured by Russian troops and their family members live under occupation.
The nuns at the Alexander Nevsky church in Jerusalem are often asked to pray for the soldiers involved in Russia’s war with Ukraine – Eyal Warshavsky
“We are going through this with great difficulty,” she said. “Every day we receive calls from relatives – we will have phone calls at 3am asking because 100 Shaheds [drones] they are flying towards them.
“The soldiers will call to ask for prayers. They know that because we are in the Holy Land, because we are close to the Holy Sepulchre, it is as if we are listening to God.”
The legal battle has followed a tortuous path and has its roots, many believe, in a seemingly incongruous event.
In 2020, Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli Prime Minister, made a big splash by personally intervening to secure the release of Naama Issachar, an Israeli-American who had been detained in Russia on drug charges.
He succeeded. But before rumors spread that he had personally promised Putin custody of the Alexander Nevsky Church as the price for Mrs. Issachar’s freedom.
From Russia’s perspective, things were going well. Israel’s land registry was in the process of transferring ownership as a purely bureaucratic matter.
But a court case brought by IOPS stopped this in 2022.
Nuns in the Russian Orthodox church fear they will be removed from their spiritual home – Eyal Warshavsky
The organization successfully argued that it was the Israeli cabinet alone and not, essentially, a quango that had the authority to transfer ownership.
This was based on a law established during the British Mandate, adopted by the state of Israel, which recognizes the inherently political nature of decisions on sensitive holy sites.
The Russians cried foul.
Former Russian Prime Minister Sergei Stepashin hosted a grave press conference in Jerusalem, where he accused Israel of “trying to please everyone both here and there – what is called ping-pong”.
To some extent, he may have had a point. Israel hosts large communities of Jewish immigrants from both Russia and Ukraine.
Moreover, by then the war in Ukraine was in full swing and Israel’s biggest ally, the United States, was fully supporting Kyiv.
The matter has now been referred to an Israeli government committee, which held the first of several meetings to decide the matter at the end of November.
The sisters live and work in the church in Jerusalem – Eyal Warshavsky
Sister Elizabeth and her colleagues are nervous. Convinced of the legal strength of their case, she prefers a court to decide.
“If that was the case, we would have won the case pretty quickly but no one knows how long it will take,” she said, clutching a rosary.
“This place, and its status, is very unique,” she added. “It never belonged to a state.”
The anti-communist “White Church”, formally known as the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad, established after the revolution, is also part of the new committee’s talks.
The prized church in Jerusalem hides a rich history beyond its unpretentious exterior – Eyal Warshavsky
It owns a number of spiritually important places of worship outside the Old City of Jerusalem, including that of St. Mary Magdalene in Gethsemane where the late Duke of Edinburgh, Princess Alice of Battenberg is buried.
The Alexander Nevsky Church is a strange combination of archeology and devotion.
Under the “gate of judgment” – some archaeologists believe that Jesus took a different route – a giant crucifix is placed on a large mountain of jagged rock said to be part of the mountain of Calvary, bought for the same weight in gold.
Yards away are the original walls of the first church of the Holy Sepulchre, built by Saint Helena, mother of the Emperor Constantine and the woman who discovered the True Cross, according to legend.
Upstairs, there is an ornate chapel of marble and Russian iconography.
Even now, in order to marry there you have to be a member of the deposed Romanov royal family.
The nuns’ team included the Russians, but since the full invasion of Putin the IOPS, which has always been independent from any state, chose to give a chance to the Ukrainians to lead the church.
The saga of this little-known building in the very center of the Christian world reflects the complex relationship between Israel and Russia.
For years, Putin has worked hard to rebuild ties with Russian Jews, but in recent years he has made threatening noises towards the Jewish Agency, a body that helps organize immigration to Israel, allegedly in retaliation for Mr. Netanyahu’s failure to fulfill his promise to return to the church.
And for Sister Elizabeth and her colleagues, although they quietly yearn for a Ukrainian victory, they know how important their church is to Russian believers as well.
Indeed, they sometimes receive petitions to pray for the soldiers of the invading army from desperate mothers, requests they always honor.
“The way we survive is to dedicate more time to prayer,” she said. “The Lord will fix everything. We remain positive. We will not give in to the pressure.”
Try full access to The Telegraph for free today. Discover their award-winning website and essential news app, as well as useful tools and expert guides for your money, health and holidays.