How a Nigerian built one of Europe’s largest churches in…Ukraine
The astonishing tale of an unlikely merchant of miracles
AT 5AM ON February 24th 2022, Sunday Adelaja woke to the sound of explosions. The 57-year-old Nigerian was living in Irpin, just outside Kyiv, close to a military airport. Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine was starting. Mr Adelaja hastily gathered his wife, four students staying with them, and a backpack. They took a car as fast as they could to the Polish border.
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This article appeared in the Christmas Specials section of the print edition under the headline “The megapreacher Putin hates”
Christmas Specials
December 21st 2024- A journalist retraces humanity’s journey out of Africa—on foot
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- How the axolotl rose from obscurity to global stardom
- A Bible-bashing, gun-toting governor holds lessons for today
- The incredible story of Afghanistan's exiled women’s cricket team
- A chart that shows everything that has ever existed
- Inside the RSS, the world’s most powerful volunteer group
- How better data could lead to better sex
- A day in the life of Toyosu, the world’s greatest fish market
- When doing the right thing goes wrong
- How retired aircraft find a second act
- How a Nigerian built one of Europe’s largest churches in…Ukraine
- How premodern energy shaped Britain
- Finance, consulting and tech are gobbling up top students
- Of all the geological periods, the Triassic was the most fabulous
- The harsh economics of the Arctic
- What a fourth-century drinking game tells you about contemporary China
- Why do small children in Japan ride the subway alone?
- The beginning of the end for oil in California
- Cancel culture in Ukraine
- What a 70-year-old firebreathing lizard reveals about humanity
- A network of volunteers is rescuing dogs and cats by bringing them north
From the December 21st 2024 edition
Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents
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The year as told through illustrations
Our art department staff looked back to highlight some of their favourites from the past year
A year of our visual journalism
In 2024 we found new ways to cover a range of topics, from war to the future of energy—and, of course, elections.
What a 70-year-old firebreathing lizard reveals about humanity
Each incarnation of Godzilla reflects the fears of its time
The beginning of the end for oil in California
What happens to an oil town when the drilling stops?
Why do small children in Japan ride the subway alone?
The pluses and pitfalls of the world’s most disciplined primary schools
A network of volunteers is rescuing dogs and cats by bringing them north
Tens of thousands of animals are moved to new states each year, so they can find homes