You'll often spot various monuments or plaques dedicated to Uastyrdzhi, a deity of the traditional Ossetian religion, in Ossetian parks and along roadsides. Yet officially, most representatives of the people practice Orthodox Christianity.

Christianity reached the noble ancestors of the Ossetians back in the 10th century. But ordinary people continued to practice their traditional religion. After joining the Russian Empire, missionaries from the Russian Orthodox Church came here and began converting the locals to Orthodox Christianity. To simplify the process, they decided to replace the traditional deities with corresponding Christian saints. So Uastyrdzhi was equated with Saint George. But it's safe to say this didn't really help much.

Ossetians may call themselves Orthodox, but alongside Christian rituals, they continue to perform traditional ones as well. For example, one of the most widely celebrated religious holidays is the Week of Uastyrdzhi.