Several thousand people gather in Kyiv for interdenominational prayer for WWII victims
Today on Mykhailivska Square in Kyiv, a national interdenominational prayer was held in memory of the fallen during World War II, dedicated to the 70th anniversary of the German assault on the USSR.
As UNIAN informs, near St Michael’s Golden-Domed Monastery representatives of different denominations gathered together to pray and commemorate the victims of the way, in particular representatives of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyivan Patriarchate (UOC-KP), the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP), the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC), the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church (UAOC), the Roman Catholic Church, the All-Ukrainian Congress of Jewish Communities, the Spiritual Authority of Muslims of Ukraine, the Armenian Apostolic Church, the All-Ukrainian Union of Evangelical Christian Baptists and the Ukrainian Christian Evangelical Church.
According to Patriarch Filaret of the UOC-KP, the war was a result of the godless invasion that destroyed faith, churches, everything which was holy. “God allowed the war in order to convert people to Himself, the result of the war was not only the victory but conversion of many people to the Lord. Let’s pray for the perished!” he said.
Patriarch Sviatoslav of the UGCC said that June 22 was the day of collision of two misanthropic regimes. He reminded all that on that day of great sorrow, two regimes – Hitlerist and Stalinist – unveiled their true faces. “Tears were shed, the crying of those loosing their relatives was heard. That was the day of great bloodshed. We remember all those shot, tortured to death in Stalinist prisons, the boys who were hurriedly mobilized and nearly unarmed thrown as a prey to the enemy; we remember all innocent victims. The voice of blood is calling us so that the phantoms of misanthropic regimes would never be incarnated in dark powers and dark deeds. It is calling us so that we would not allow to separate ourselves and to put us against each other again. We are begging God for strength and wisdom, asking Him to forgive offenders,” said the hierarch.
Metropolitan Mefodiy of the UAOC warned against political fanaticism, which, according to him, always ends in bloodshed.
And a member of the Supreme Church Council of the UOC-MP, protopriest Heorhiy Kovalenko, called to pray both for those who perished and those who survived. In his opinion, May 9 should be a day of victory, and June 22 should be a memorial day.
Several thousand people were present during the prayer. No political party’s symbols were used besides state flags decorated with mournful streamers.
