All churches of the UOC-KP pray for victims of deportation during Operation “Vistula”
On Sunday, April 30, all churches of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Kyiv Patriarchate will hold funeral prayers for the repose of the victims of the deportation of ethnic Ukrainian population from borderline areas, carried out by the communist authorities in Poland in agreement with the Soviet Union during Operation “Vistula”.
During the service, the following prayer will be read: “We also pray for the repose of the souls of the departed servants of God, those deceased in exile from their native lands and victims of persecution, and so they were forgiven any voluntary and involuntary transgressions.”
Reference: “Operation Vistula” is a forced eviction of 150,000 Ukrainians from their native lands in the north and west of Poland, which is often accompanied by killings and placing people in concentration camps. The operation was punishment for activities of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) on these lands, and an official pretext to start the operation was the murder by the UPA in March 1947 of the then Deputy Minister of Defense of Poland Karol Świerczewski.
This year marks 70 years since the "Operation Vistula".
The Polish government itself does not celebrate the 70th anniversary of forced relocation of Ukrainians under "Operation Vistula" and never allocated funds for minority celebrations. Chairman of the Association of Ukrainian in Poland (PMO) Peter Tyma said it in an interview with UKRINFORM.
According to him, previously this anniversary did not cause such rejection in Poland. For example, President Lech Kaczynski and Viktor Yushchenko adopted a joint statement on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of “Operation Vistula”. Then there was the occasion of worship in the chapel of the President of Poland. In addition, previously the Institute of National Remembrance in Poland carried out various activities in this connection. "The difference between the attitude to this event of several years ago and now is evident,” said Tyma.
