An interfaith prayer for Ukraine held in Bucha

02.08.2022, 11:12
Interconfessional
An interfaith prayer for Ukraine held in Bucha - фото 1
"Prayer for Ukraine", dedicated to the 1034th anniversary of the Baptism of Rus-Ukraine, was held on August 1, 2022, in the church in honor of the holy apostle Andriy the First-Called in Bucha.

According to the official website of the OCU, the prayer was attended by representatives of the All-Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations, rector of the local Church Archpriest Andriy Galavin, chaplains and clergy of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, head of Kyiv Regional State Administration Oleksiy Kuleba, head of Gostomel Serhii Borysiuk, mayor of Bucha Anatoly Fedoruk and residents of the Bucha territorial community.

The primate of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, Metropolitan Epifaniy, offered a prayer for Ukraine and addressed the event's participants with a consecration speech.

"Unfortunately, this cruel war continues to this day, and many of our defenders, the modern time heroes, give their lives to protect us. Here, in the Kyiv region, we now have relative peace. We gather, pray and thank God for He helped us to drive the enemy away. And we believe that we will expel the aggressor and liberate the entire territory of our state," noted the Head of the OCU. "We are now fighting for our European future, the future we chose long before the Revolution of Dignity and gaining Independence. The holy apostolic prince Volodymyr was first to take this step. Therefore, we must continue to fight and do everything we can to bring our victory closer."

Metropolitan Epifaniy called to remember and pray for all those who are no longer among us, who died at the hands of the occupiers. We must remember and pray for them, for it is through prayer that we show our love and respect for them, testify that they are not forgotten, and continue to live in our memory and hearts.

The quartet of soloists of the People's Choir Chapel, named after P. Chubynskyi (Velika Oleksandrivka village), performed the works of Vitaly Mulyar "It hurts... My Ukraine!", Roman Gurko "Rejoice, Virgin Mary" and Mykola Lysenko "Prayer for Ukraine".

The event ended with the laying of flowers at the cross installed at the place of mass burial (mass grave) of the innocents killed in Bucha.