The delegation of UN Refugee Agency visited Svyatohorsk Lavra in Donbas
On March 20, 2018, representatives of the UNHCR Office in Ukraine visited the Holy Assumption Svyatohorsk Lavra during the planned visit to Svyatohorsk of Donetsk region, Religion in Ukraine has reported.
The United Nations Refugee Agency has been working in Ukraine since 1994. Since 2014, in order to provide assistance to internally displaced people in the eastern part of the country, some of its representative offices were opened. UNHCR addresses humanitarian, financial aid issues, legal issues (rights and opportunities for internally displaced persons).
The delegation, consisting of representatives from different countries (Bulgaria, Ethiopia, Germany, France, Uganda, Portugal, Brazil and El Salvador), local UNHCR staff, met with Metropolitan Arseny (Yakovenko), the Svyatohorsk monastery governor.
The hierarch briefed on the situation with forced migrants, which developed during the years of military confrontation in eastern Ukraine, and the Labra’s participation in sheltering thousands of refugees. The hierarch noted that some of them were still under the monastery care.
At the end of the conversation with the guests, Metropolitan Arseniy said: “We have gathered here as people from different states and speak different languages. But nevertheless, there is something that unites us – the desire to do good. Orthodox saints have the following saying. When they were asked: “What is holiness?” - they answered very simply: “Holiness is consistency in the good.” Therefore, may Lord help you always be good and try to make good the standard of life of our society. And for this it is necessary to let everything flow through our hearts, because there is no heartless good.”
According to the statement, on behalf of the organization and its colleagues, Ms. Pascal Moro the director of the UNHCR European office, thanked the governor of the Svyatohorsk Lavra for hospitality and kind words.
