UOC-Moscow Patriarchate Organizes Pilgrimage for Military to Holy Land

With the blessing of the head of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP), Metropolitan Volodymyr, the Synodal Department of the UOC-MP on Cooperation with the Armed Forces and Other Military Formations of Ukraine is organizing a pilgrimage for officers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine to the Holy Land to be held from September 25 to October 2 on the  occasion of the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross.

The Synodal Military Department of the UOC-MP has organized many pilgrimages to the holy places of Ukraine but this is the first opportunity to visit the Holy Land. According to the report, this became possible thanks to the assistance of a number of state and public institutions and organizations in Ukraine and Israel. Thanks to this assistance, the total cost of the trip, including the flight and accommodations, is much lower than that offered by the agencies organizing trips to the land.

The program of the pilgrimage includes visiting Christian shrines of Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Galilee, Tabor a Sinai mounts.

On September 27, the pilgrims will participate in the celebratory service of Patriarch Theophil of Jerusalem at the Holy Sepulchre on the occasion of the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross.

Pastoral care for the pilgrims is to be provided by the head of the Synodal Department of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church on Cooperation with the Armed Forces, Archbishop Avhustyn of Lviv and Halych, and two priests of the Department who are also officers.

The program also includes visiting of the Mossad Fortress and the Museum of Holocaust.