The wife of a priest from Khmelnytskyi has become a blogger and is racking up millions of views

Yulia Zalizna, a pastor’s wife and blogger from Khmelnytskyi, shares moments from her life on social media every day. On her blog, you can see her daily life at church, motherhood, workouts at the gym, and other everyday activities.

One of her videos, in which Yulia sings in a church while holding her young daughter, has garnered over 5.5 million views. Her blog has tens of thousands of followers.

Through her posts, the blogger aims to showcase modern church life and encourage people to attend church more often.

5.5 million views—that’s how many views Yulia Zalizna’s video has garnered, in which she sings in a church while holding her young daughter in her arms. According to her, she started blogging after that. She is also the wife of a priest at the Holy Dormition Church in Khmelnytskyi.

“Agnia was very little. And then there was this video. I woke up in the morning, and you know how they say, I woke up a star. Thanks to this very video, people recognize our church; they know me. And I realized that people need this kind of content—something out of the ordinary. A mom with a child in her arms—that’s a picture in the church.”

On her social media, Yulia doesn’t just share church life. She talks about motherhood, cooks, cleans, shares her daily life, and recently started going to the gym—which, she recalled, led to some negative comments.

“Mostly, it’s older people, because young people don’t write that they don’t like it; there were comments saying it’s disgusting for a priest’s wife to go to the gym.”

For her, exercise is a way to take care of herself. She explained that in her daily life, she follows fashion trends and wears whatever she feels comfortable in. She dresses up as if for a holiday when she goes to church.

“I feel perfectly fine wearing pants, even if, for example, it’s raining today. And if there were a service today, I could come wearing pants, because clothing doesn’t interfere with our faith—we need to think about our own comfort.”

At the same time, church life remains an important part of Yulia Zalizna’s daily routine. She sings during services, bakes prosphora, and helps with the church’s decorations. She also runs Sunday school. She explained that she invited entertainers to the opening; they entertained the children on the church grounds.

“It was so unusual for the older generation. There had never been entertainers at the church before. The children remembered that there were entertainers near the church. People may not have all accepted it, but our goal was for the children to enjoy themselves—that’s why we have Sunday school.”

According to Mother Yulia, every Thursday they pray in the church for Ukraine, the military, and those missing in action. For Yulia, singing during services is more than just a hobby.

“It was my great-grandmother who instilled in me a love of singing. It’s a very serious responsibility. For example, if I go to another church and don’t sing, I don’t feel like I belong there. I’ve gotten so used to actively participating in the Divine Liturgy—to singing.”

Yulia has been updating her blog daily for over a year and a half. She explained that her page is not a commercial project for her.

“First of all, I include the #OCU hashtag in every video. And even if you just search for the #OCU hashtag, you’ll find a lot of my videos. In other words, I want to show that our church is modern, that it’s great to go to church, and that church is a good place to be.”

Before posting on controversial topics, Yulia consults with her husband. According to her, he supports her blog and reviews its content.

“I consult with him because I believe his opinion is very important, and so I don’t say anything I shouldn’t. For example, even when I’m writing a script for Reels—I often tell people about holidays, what to do, how to write notes, how to light a candle—I consult with him to make sure it’s all within the right boundaries and presented appropriately.”

However, Yulia said she doesn’t try to create a perfect image on social media.

“I understand that I’m sharing my life as it is. Of course, there are things I don’t show there, but I try to show what’s going on at home. And people sense that sincerity.”

Yulia Zalizna shared this with Suspilne Khmelnytskyi.

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