On Victory Day UOC eparchies pray for dead soldiers

Vicar of the Severodonetsk Eparchy, Bishop Irinarkh (Tymchuk) of Novopskov, laid flowers to the common grave "Memorial of Glory" in Severodonetsk. Photo: Facebook page of the Severodonetsk Eparchy of the UOC.

On May 9, Victory Day, the clergy and parishioners of the eparchies of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church prayed for the repose of the warriors of the Great Patriotic War who died in battles with the Nazi invaders.

Thus, Metropolitan Nikodim (Baranovsky) of Severodonetsk and Starobelsk led the Divine Liturgy at the Nativity of Christ Cathedral of Severodonetsk, during which a fervent prayer was offered “for the repose of the souls of the ever-memorable leaders and soldiers who gave their lives for the faith and the Fatherland on the battlefield, who died from wounds and hunger, who were innocently tortured and killed in captivity and bitter labor, and for those who laboured for the sake of Victory." After the liturgy, a memorial service was performed, reports the eparchy's Facebook page.

The vicar of the Severodonetsk Eparchy, Bishop Irinarkh (Tymchuk) of Novopskov, performed the Paschal funeral service at the common grave "Memorial of Glory" in Severodonetsk and laid flowers.

In Lviv, with the blessing of Metropolitan Filaret of Lviv and Galicia, before the Liturgy, the secretary of the diocesan administration, Archpriest Alexander Ivanchenko, served funeral litias at the burial sites of soldiers on the Field of Mars and at the Memorial of Glory, reports the Facebook page of the Lviv Eparchy.

In Chernivtsi, the faithful of the UOC, led by Metropolitan Meletiy (Yegorenko) of Chernivtsi and Bukovyna, held a cross procession to the memorial to the fallen soldiers and served a requiem, reports the Chernivtsi Eparchy of the UOC on its Facebook page.

Also, a cross procession was held by the persecuted community of the Holy Dormition Church of the UOC in the village of Mykhalcha in the Chernivtsi region. A memorial service was performed near the monument to the fallen soldiers of the Great Patriotic War, according to a message on the parish's Facebook page.

In the Cherkasy Eparchy, with the blessing of Archbishop Feodosiy (Snigirev) of Cherkasy and Kaniv, employees of the Department for Charity and Social Service visited children of the Great Patriotic War and congratulated them on Victory Day by aiding them with food packages. The bishop himself offered up the memorial prayers for the deceased soldiers of the Great Patriotic War during the Divine service in the Vvedensky Church of Kyiv, where he serves as the rector, reports the official website of the eparchy.

The vicar of the Volyn Eparchy of the UOC, Bishop Athanasius (German) of Kamin-Kashyrsky during the Divine Liturgy prayed for the dead soldiers and performed a requiem for them on May 9, reports the official website of the eparchy.

Metropolitan Philip (Osadchenko) of Poltava and Mirgorod offered prayers for those who died during the Second World War near the Soldier's Glory Memorial in Poltava. After the prayer, the Archpastor together with the clergy laid flowers to the mass grave, reports the Poltava Eparchy of the UOC on its Facebook page.

On Victory Day, with the blessing of Metropolitan Feodor (Mamasuev) of Mukachevo and Uzhgorod, the clergy performed a memorial service at the Mukachevo military cemetery, as reported on the eparchy’s Facebook page. The funeral service was performed by the rector of St. George's Church at the military unit of brigade 128, the deputy head of the Department for Cooperation with the Armed Forces and other military formations of Ukraine, Archpriest Ivan Gergel.

In the Odessa Eparchy, with the blessing of the Metropolitan Agafangel (Savvin) of Odessa and Izmail, the leaders of the missionary, catechism, youth and social departments visited the veterans of the Great Patriotic War, handed to them food packages, provided material assistance, while the artistic groups performed songs of the war years, reports the eparchy on its Facebook page.

As reported, on Victory Day in Kyiv, the UOC Primate, His Beatitude Onuphry, led a memorial service for the fallen soldiers.

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