UOC community in Sarata establishes new church after OCU seizure

Clergy and parishioners from the Sarata and Tatarbunary deaneries gather in prayer outside the new church. Photo: UOC press service

On April 20, 2019, Bishop Diodor of Yuzhne celebrated the Divine Liturgy in a temporary church in Sarata, which the community had set up after supporters of the OCU seized its Holy Protection Church in January 2019. This was reported by the UOC Information and Education Department.

Clergy and parishioners from the Sarata and Tatarbunary deaneries gathered to pray in the courtyard of the new church.

According to the eparchy, the faithful came to support their brothers and sisters who had suffered a great loss but had found God's mercy and help.

Bishop Diodor conveyed the blessing of Metropolitan Agafangel of Odesa and Izmail to those present, along with his wishes for peace, well-being, and spiritual growth as they stood firm in the canonical Orthodox faith.

On behalf of Metropolitan Agafangel, Bishop Diodor presented the parish community with icons, church furnishings, an altar Gospel, a crystal chandelier, and financial assistance. With the Metropolitan's blessing, the brethren of St. Iveron Monastery also built a new iconostasis for the temporary church.

The clergy of the Sarata and Tatarbunary deaneries also provided financial assistance to the parish.

In his sermon, Bishop Diodor noted that although the Orthodox community had been deprived of the church they had attended all their lives, the faithful had not given in to despair. Instead, they had grown even closer, demonstrated their unity, and, with God's help and the support of kindhearted people, found a new place to pray.

The hierarch emphasized that the hundreds of faithful attending the service were living proof that a church building could be taken away, destroyed, or closed, but people's faith in God could never be destroyed or broken.

The festive service concluded with a communal meal that brought together clergy and parishioners.

As the UOJ previously reported, the UOC community in the village of Baikivtsi, Volyn region, converted a residential house into a chapel and appealed for help purchasing church furnishings and building materials. The faithful carried out the conversion themselves and were already preparing to move into their new place of worship.

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