Metropolitan Volodymyr Performed Litia Service for Deceased in the Great Patriotic War
KYIV – On April 26, 2010, in the wooden Church of All Saints on the construction site of the Holy Resurrection Cathedral of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP), the UOC-MP primate in concelebration with church clergy and with the presence of war veterans served a Litia for the deceased in the Great Patriotic War [Soviet name for WWII] and the victims of the Chornobyl tragedy, reports the website of UOC-MP.
According to the report, the service was followed by a meeting of Great Patriotic War veterans with the orphanages pupils of the Kyiv region called "Victory: For the Sake of Future Generations."
The action organizers are the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-MP and the charitable foundation Road of the Future.
Opening the assembly, the hierarch marked the feat of the veterans and wished them strength.
"Thanking you and God, my dear veterans, today we celebrate the 65th anniversary of the victory in the Great Patriotic War, and I want to bow to each of you, for you helped achieve this victory. May God send eternal repose to those who passed to the eternity and may he send many blessed years to all of us," said the hierarch.
The festivities included the opening of the photo exhibition "War Through the Eyes of a Soldier" as well as the opening of a one-person exhibition "Source of Spirituality" of the 95 year-old veteran of war, artist Volodymyr Yatsenko, whom the archpastor recently awarded with the Order of the 1020 years of the Baptism of Kyivan Rus. In addition, church certificates were received by veteran of the Great Patriotic War archpriest Roman Kosovskyi as well as the All-Ukraine Association of Participants in the Great Patriotic War and the Kyiv City Veterans' Association.
Also a book "Prayer for Victory" was presented (by the author - hegumeness Seraphima Shevchyk), published by the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in cooperation with the foundation Road of the Future. The chair of the foundation Lyubov Polezhai presented the metropolitan a sample of this work.
Those attending also viewed performances by the orphanage pupils of the Kyiv region and of the Kyiv Military Ivan Bohun Lyceum.
All the veterans received festive presents form the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and charitable foundation "Road of Future."
Generally speaking, this event is one of a many to be conducted for the 65th anniversary of Victory Day.
