On March 10, Lviv was told about the opening of the only interfaith center for the military in Ukraine – the Church of St. Anna. The Church was built 18 km from the front line, near the village of Karlivka, Donetsk region.
On March 10, Lviv was told about the opening of the only interfaith center for the military in Ukraine – the Church of St. Anna. The Church was built 18 km from the front line, near the village of Karlivka, Donetsk region. This is reported by Dyvys.info.
For the fifth year in a row, volunteer doctors have been coming to Karlivka to provide them with qualified dental care. The village has a "dental center on wheels for the military" - four medical offices located on the basis of military vehicles.
The dental center has a CT scanner, two microscopes, a prosthetic laboratory, a 3D scanner, and other necessary equipment. Over time, so many people who wanted to treat their teeth gathered there that an issue arose where to place them while waiting for a doctor's appointment. This is how the idea to build a small interfaith church arose, which at the same time became a waiting place before a doctor's appointment, says the head of the National Union of dentists of Ukraine and part-time author of the idea Miron ugrin.
Dental offices are mobile, so it is convenient to change the location if necessary. But it so happened that for a long time, dentistry has been working on the base and does not change its location. Therefore, Ugryn explains, they decided to place the Church closest to the doctors.
The Church will hold services, but it does not have a clear confessional direction: it does not belong to the UGCC or the OCU. However, each chaplain or priest will be able to ask for service and will be allowed to do so.
The Church was opened on December 15, 2019. Since then, several couples got married there, baptisms have been held, and a number of liturgies were performed. It took 2.2 million hryvnias for construction – the lion's share was invested by volunteers.
"We launched a campaign," says Miron Ugrin. "Put your own brick in the building of the church." The cost of one bar is UAH 3 thousand. Later, we placed signs with the name of each donor on a separate bar. 400 bars were funded by charity funds." However, the Church will be launched at full capacity on March 22 – it will act as a spiritual cell for the Ukrainian military, where they will be able to be alone with themselves, relax spiritually, pray, and even consider art exhibitions and even listen to a scientific lecture.
The Church in Karlivka will also act as a lecture hall. According to Myron Ugrin, there is a very high level of dental disease among the Ukrainian military. We are not even talking about caries or periodontal disease.
"We will hold lectures and tell the children about the rules of oral hygiene. I always say: you should wear a toothbrush behind the top of your boot, wherever you are," Ugrin smiles.
The Church of St. Anne will also act as a library. Famous people will come here and hold meetings with the military and local people. "We have already communicated with Oksana Zabuzhko, with the publishing house" A-BA-BA-GA-LA-MA-GA", with Ada Rogovtseva, Viktor Morozov. All of them supported this idea, " says Miron Ugrin.
Although the Church was built for the needs of the military, it is open around the clock for everyone. "Everyone can come here at any time, pull the bell cord hanging over the door, and in this way inform about their presence," says the artist and part-time Deputy Director of the Institute of Collectibles, Taras Lozynsky.