Giant Mural of ‘Saint Javelin’ in Kiev Prompts Calls to ‘Show Respect for Religious Beliefs’
13:15 GMT 26.05.2022 (Updated: 20:56 GMT 19.10.2022)
© AP Photo / Natacha Pisarenko
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Saint Javelin - a concept meme depicting various religious figures carrying the FGM-148 Javelin anti-tank weapon - was conceived by Ukrainian-Polish Canadian journalist Christian Borys to purportedly assist charity purposes. The original design depicted a stylised Madonna cradling a rocket launcher.
A giant mural painted on a building in Ukraine’s capital, Kiev, has triggered outrage with the Council of Churches, a worldwide Christian inter-church organization, reported Sky News.
"The walls of high-rise buildings in the capital are not a private gallery, but a public space, so when creating the latest art products, we ask you to comply with Ukrainian law, which requires due respect for religious beliefs of Ukrainian society," the organisation was cited as saying.
The painting references the Saint Javelin image - a meme originally popularised in 2012 and depicting the Virgin Mary cradling in her arms a Javelin missile instead of the baby Jesus.
The Kailas-V art group behind the mural was cited by the outlet as touting the graffiti as a means to "raise money for the restoration of Ukraine."
The meme was conceived by journalist Christian Borys and resulted in spin-off similar memes, depicting various religious figures carrying the an anti-tank weapon.
It resurfaced on Reddit and Twitter after Russia launched its special military operation on 24 February to demilitarize the country.
Since the crisis exacerbated, the Ukrainian side in the conflict has been actively plying the image as a "meme of resistance." The United States, which has been funneling weapons to Kiev while also spearheading a sweeping sanctions campaign against Moscow over its operation in the neighboring country, has delivered some 5,500 Javelin missiles to Ukraine.
17 May 2022, 16:22 GMT
In response to the statement by the Council of Churches, Christian Borys, who manages the Saint Javelin website, said the "symbol means a hell of a lot to a lot of people now".
"I understand that some religious people are offended by Saint Javelin, but I would suggest they read literally anything about the long, long history of religious icons used for moral support in war," he tweeted.
The meme has since been printed on shirts, posters and mugs sold on the Saint Javelin website. Approximately $1m have already been raised towards supporting Help Us Help - a charity claiming to be focused on humanitarian aid and educational projects in Ukraine.
Some hero in the local Kyiv administration has already desecrated our Saint Javelin by removing the halo. pic.twitter.com/oTsURyIKyM
— Christian Borys (@ItsBorys) May 25, 2022
Earlier, the art group behind the mural claimed it had been vandalised by the city's mayor, Vitali Klitschko, after its blue halo was painted over.
"In the process of creating the mural we received a lot of support from residents of the area. Everyone was happy but Klitschko decided to commit vandalism," said Yama Volk, head of the group's creative team.
