Khemlnytsky ruling bishop prays with expelled UOC community in Shpychyntsi
Archbishop Viсtor serves the liturgy in the village of Shpychyntsi. Photo: Facebook page of the Khmelnytskyi diocese of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church
On January 27, 2024, on the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, Archbishop Victor of Khmelnytskyi and Starokostiantyniv conducted the Divine Liturgy with the St. Demetrius Parish of the UOC in the village of Shpychyntsi in the Derazhnia UTC. This was reported by the press service of the Khmelnytskyi Eparchy of the UOC.
The service took place in a rural house repurposed for a temporary church. The premises were provided by one of the parishioners after the forceful seizure of the Dmytriv Church by supporters of the OCU.
Archbishop Victor was assisted by the secretary of the eparchy, Archpriest Oleksandr Rybchynskyi, the dean of the Derazhnia district, Archpriest Heorhii Cherniatynskyi, the spiritual mentor of the deanery, Archpriest Borys Ozymchuk, the rector of the parish, Archpriest Volodymyr Dolian, and the clergy of the deanery.
During the litany, participants of the service lifted special prayers to the Lord for peace in Ukraine, Ukrainian soldiers, and all those in need.
At the end of the service, the archbishop addressed those present with a sermon.
"Today, it is cramped for us in this little house because the church where you, dear brothers and sisters, used to pray, is inaccessible to us for known reasons," Archbishop Victor noted. "Nevertheless, we have a place to gather and stay in prayer. We must remember that 'where two or three are gathered in My Name, I am there in the midst of them,' says Christ the Savior, our God and Almighty. Today, this small house has become a house of God for all of us because we have gathered here to glorify God, unite with Him, and continue living with Him. And it doesn't matter how decorated or not decorated the walls are; what matters is whether we want to be with God, remain faithful to Him, and stay in the Church of Christ."
The bishop also congratulated those celebrating their namesday, named after the holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Nina, and called for God's blessings on everyone.
As reported by the UOJ, the community of the captured Sts Peter and Paul Church of the UOC in Bucha near Kyiv, led by Bishop Arkadiy of Hostomel, conducts services in an adapted space – an assembly hall.
Read also
Amsterdam criticizes anti-UOC law in British media
On the air of a British TV channel, lawyer Amsterdam stated about the torture of clergy, church seizures, and the adoption of the anti-UOC law that violates the Constitution of Ukraine.
Kyiv street and square to be renamed after Caucasian imams
The capital authorities abandoned Soviet toponyms and immortalized figures associated with the North Caucasian resistance.
Relics of Sts. Job and Amphilochius of Pochaiv permanently given to Khmelnytskyi church
On the Feast Day of St. Nicholas, the relics from the Pochaiv Lavra were brought to the St. Nicholas Cathedral, which will henceforth become a permanent place of prayerful veneration for the faithful.
In Kyiv, His Beatitude consecrates St. Nicholas Sviatosha Church
In the Sviatoshynskyi district of the capital, the Primate of the UOC performed the rite of consecration and led the Liturgy with prayers for peace, warriors, and the suffering.
In Kvasyliv, UOC believers celebrate 130th anniversary of Sts Peter and Paul Church
The hierarchs of the UOC led the solemn Liturgy in the Rivne region; during the service, prayers were offered for peace, the defenders of Ukraine, and all those in need.
His Beatitude: One deprives oneself of God’s gifts by failing to thank Him
During a sermon at the Church of St Nicholas Svyatosha in Kyiv, His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry reminded the faithful that ingratitude spiritually impoverishes a person.