UOC believers praying to Mother of God near Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra

The prayer standing at the Church of St Sergius of Radonezh

On 8 December 2023, believers of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church continued the prayer standing at the walls of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra.

The video published by the Telegram channel “KozakTV1” shows participants of the service singing the akathist to the Mother of God.

"There are not as many of us gathering for prayer at the Lavra now as there were in April when there were hundreds and thousands of people," said Archpriest Sergiy Chertilin, a clergyman of the Church of All Holy Warriors in Kyiv, who led the service. “But remember what Christ said about us: ‘You are the salt of the world’. Salt is not to only give flavour to this world, but so that this world does not rot. The purpose of our prayer is to keep this world from rotting all the way. Yes, right now we are rejected, they don’t want to hear our voice. But we walk with God, and we feel it. We gather here in the snow, in the rain, in the heat of the day to say one thing: we exist, we are part of our people, but most importantly, we are part of the people of God who long for salvation. And let them not hear us now, but the most important thing is that the Lord hears us!"

As reported, on 7 December 2023, about 30 parishioners and clergymen of the UOC gathered for prayer near the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra.

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