Vahan Ishkhanyan,Vigen Galstyan
‘Women of Saint Michael’

Every week, five middle-aged women conduct the Sunday Mass without a priest. Not long ago, the choir of the Saint Michael’s Church were much larger… Located in the north of Armenia, the church and the community of Privolnoe was founded by Russian soldiers in the 1850s. The once prossperous village is now sufferring from neglect and the heirs of the soldiers have mostly emigrated from Armenia since the 1990s. There are only 80 Russians left in the village today, primarily older women. In this forgotten corner of the world, they find meaning only in the church and their faith.
The film ‘Women of Saint Michael’ tells their story during the preparations for the Feast of the Holy Trinity.