UOC eparchies commemorate Holodomor victims

A memorial sign to the victims of the Holodomor in the Zhytomyr Eparchy. Photo: zhytomyr-eparchy.org

On November 28, 2020, on the Day of Remembrance of Holodomor Victims, the eparchies of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church commemorated the victims of those terrible events, reports the UOC Information and Education Department.

With the blessing of His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry of Kyiv and All Ukraine, on this day, memorial services for the Holodomor victims were performed in churches and monasteries of the UOC throughout Ukraine.

Also, the clergy of the UOC took part in official ceremonies.

In Severodonetsk, Luhansk region, with the blessing of Metropolitan Nikodim of Severodonetsk and Starobelsk, Bishop Irinarkh of Novopskov performed a memorial service at the chapel in memory of the victims of the Holodomor of 1932-1933 on the territory of the “Lesnaya Dacha” temple complex, where the regional and city requiem meeting took place. The head of the Luhansk regional MCA S.V. Gaidai, the head of the MCA of Severodonetsk A.S.Striuk, representatives of the regional and city authorities came to honour the memory of the innocent victims of the famines in Ukraine,  reports the press service of the Severodonetsk Eparchy.

Metropolitan Clement of Nizhyn and Priluky celebrated the night Divine Liturgy on November 28 at the St. Nicholas Cathedral of Nizhyn, reports the press service of the Nizhyn Eparchy. During the litany, the hierarch of the UOC prayed for the repose of the souls of all victims of the Holodomors who perished in Ukraine in the first half of the 20th century. Also, with the blessing of Metropolitan Clement, special memorial prayers for those who died innocently during the famines on this day were offered up in churches and monasteries of the eparchy.

Metropolitan Clement of Nizhyn and Priluky celebrated the night Divine Liturgy on November 28 at the St. Nicholas Cathedral of Nizhyn, reports the press service of the Nizhyn Eparchy. During the litany, the hierarch of the UOC prayed for the repose of the souls of all victims of the Holodomors who perished in Ukraine in the first half of the 20th century. Also, with the blessing of Metropolitan Clement, special memorial prayers for those who died innocently during the famines on this day were offered up in churches and monasteries of the eparchy. In Kherson, the night Divine Liturgy was celebrated by Metropolitan John of Kherson and Taurida, reports the press service of the Kherson Eparchy. The clergy and all those present in the Holy Spirit Cathedral of Kherson offered up prayers for the repose of all those who died from starvation and suffered in the difficult years of repression. With the blessing of the Metropolitan, a symbolic Candle of Memory was lit in the Cathedral.

The service in memory of the victims of the Holodomor was performed by Archbishop Alexy of Voznesensk and Pervomaisk, concelebrated by Archpriest Anatoly Nirko, Dean of the Pervomaisk city district, Archpriest John Stoyanovsky and Archpriest Georgy Vilchinsky, the rector of the church, reports the press service of the Voznesensk Eparchy. With the blessing of the bishop, on this day, memorial litias and requiems were served in the parishes of the eparchy.

With the blessing of Metropolitan Irenaeus of Dnepropetrovsk and Pavlograd, requiems for those killed during the tragic events of the Holodomor were also held in all churches of the Dnepropetrovsk Eparchy of the UOC. The bishop celebrated the memorial litia that day at the Holy Trinity Cathedral of the Dnipro. After the celebration of the litia, the hierarchs and clergy of the eparchy took part in the ceremony of laying flowers at the memorial Cross in the Pisarzhevsky Park. The ceremony was attended by representatives of the city authorities and public organizations. During the laying of flowers, the clergy of the diocese sang "Eternal Memory" to the victims.

Metropolitan Nikodim of Zhytomyr and Novograd-Volynsk, after celebrating the Divine Liturgy at the St. Nicholas Church in the village of Vertokievka, visited a memorial cross placed next to the temple to commemorate the victims of the Holodomor of 1932-1933. At the cross, Vladyka led the service of the memorial litia, reports the press service of the Zhytomyr Eparchy.
 

In Cherkasy, the memorial service at the monument to the victims of the Holodomor in the Cathedral Park was led by Archbishop Feodosy of Cherkasy and Kaniv, concelebrated by the clergy of the Cherkasy Deanery. Also, with the blessing of the hierarch, Archpriest Sergiy Chumak, Dean of the Cherkasy district, took part in the All-Ukrainian action in memory of the victims of the Ukrainian Holodomor. Together with the representatives of the authorities, flowers were laid at the memorial sign in the Cathedral Park, after which the action “Light the lamp” took place in Cathedral Square. Father Sergiy made a speech in memory of the Holodomor victims.

Memorial services for the victims of the Holodomors were performed in all churches and at memorial signs in the Alexandria Eparchy of the UOC, with the blessing of Archbishop Bogolep of Alexandria and Svitlovodsk.

With the blessing of Archbishop Nathaniel of Volyn and Lutsk, clergymen of the Volyn Eparchy, led by Archpriest Vadim Lebed, Dean of the Lutsk district, served a memorial litia for the repose of the souls of the Holodomor victims at the monument to the victims of political repression in Lutsk.

In the Zaporizhzhia Eparchy of the UOC, on the occasion of the mournful date, flower-laying ceremonies were also held at memorial signs to the victims of the Holodomor in the Kamensko-Dneprovskaya OTG (Bolshaya Znamenka village, Kamenka-Dneprovskaya). Priest Oleg Chikvashvili, the rector of the Church of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos, served in the town park.

Also, a memorial service for the dead during the Holodomor of 1932-33 was performed in the village of Kamyshnya of the Myrgorod district, Poltava region, reports the press service of the Poltava Eparchy. With the blessing of Metropolitan Philip of Poltava and Myrgorod and at the invitation of the village head Vladimir Kharchenko, the rector of the Resurrection Church in the village of Khomutets, Priest Seraphim Trush, performed a memorial service on November 26.

As reported, on the occasion of the Day of Remembrance of Holodomor Victims, the leaders and "hierarchs" of the OCU and the UGCC held a joint funeral service in Kyiv.

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