Alexander Usik: After each visit, I leave Lavra as a different person
Alexander Usik in the caves of the Lavra. Photo: a screenshot of Oksana Marchenko's YouTube channel
The Ukrainian heavyweight boxer and a believer of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, Alexander Usik said in the first episode of the Oksana Marchenko project "The Pilgrim" that after each visit to the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, he leaves the shrine as a different person.
According to the Ukrainian boxer, he can visit the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra every day during a week: “I come here, walk, pray near Ilya Muromets, St. Anthony ... I sit, walk around and leave it as a completely different person,” the athlete said.
Alexander Usyk added that he does not ask God for material benefits but prays the Lord "to give strength and humility and help to go through all this".
As reported earlier, in the first episode of the series "The Pilgrim" by Oksana Marchenko, the "secret" caves of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, which are usually inaccessible to pilgrims, were shown.
Read also
MP: Rada to introduce Day of Old Rus fleet’s campaign against Constantinople
Maksym Buzhanskyi announced the preparation of a new list of state and "religious" holidays.
In Israel, synagogues and mosques closed due to military conflict
Israeli authorities have banned mass gatherings, including services during Ramadan and before Purim.
Romanian Patriarchate calls for peace in the Middle East and Ukraine
The Romanian Orthodox Church has stated the need for urgent solutions to restore peace and called for prayer for those in the world's military conflict zones.
Kyiv City Council deputy: We aim to ensure no UOC communities in Kyiv region
Tytykalo stated that the deputies set the task of "cleansing the Kyiv region of the UOC".
395 UOC churches damaged by shelling since start of war – report
An updated report on damaged religious sites over four years of war in Ukraine includes data on 395 affected UOC churches, as well as hundreds of destroyed or damaged facilities belonging to other denominations.
GOC opens fundraising drive for Sinai Monastery and Holy Sepulchre Church
The Holy Synod of the Church of Greece has called on Greece’s metropolises and parishes to collect donations to support the ancient shrines on Sinai and in Jerusalem.