On the outskirts of Kosmyryn, a village in western Ukraine, several men poured the foundation for a house. They used hand tools — shovels, wheelbarrows, a manual cement mixer. No engines, no electric cables.

They let themselves be photographed, which is rare. Most members of their Christian community shun images of any kind. Their homes contain no pictures or icons. They believe that creating images of people, or of God, violates the Second Commandment and distracts from the true faith.

They call themselves simple believers — viruiuchi prostaky, in Ukrainian — or just believers. They strive to live by biblical law and remain apart from the modern world. Its members’ houses have no electricity, and instead of cars they use horses and wagons.

The group focuses on faith, prayer and a strict adherence to Scripture, said Vasyl Rashydov, 60, one of its informal leaders. Some innovations, however, have taken root. Their homes now glow with lamps powered by solar panels, not kerosene, and they use old flip phones “because they’re only for words,” Mr. Rashydov said.