In Berlin, UOC bishop celebrates Liturgy and meets with Ukrainian refugees

Liturgy at the UOC parish in Berlin. Photo: Poltava Eparchy

Archbishop Beniamin, Vice-Rector of the Poltava Missionary Theological Seminary, arrived in Berlin on December 7. According to the press service of the Poltava Eparchy, on that day, he celebrated the Divine Liturgy with explanations at the Church of All Saints in the city.

“During the clarifications of important parts of the service, the archbishop paused to explain the historical and theological context of the central Sacrament of the Orthodox Church – the Eucharist. The Divine Liturgy, in all its intricacies, is especially important both for the salvation of every individual and for preserving Christian culture and the Orthodox Ukrainian identity of those temporarily outside their homeland,” the statement reads.

After the service, Archbishop Beniamin helped the faithful understand challenging passages of the Gospel texts. In the evening, at the Church of Archangel Michael, the UOC hierarch met with Orthodox youth. The participants of the meeting discussed the peculiarities of life in Western Europe.

Archbishop Beniamin visited Germany to provide pastoral and missionary support to Orthodox believers and students – refugees and displaced persons from Ukraine. His visit was conducted with the blessing of the Chairman of the Department for External Church Relations, Metropolitan Meletiy of Chernivtsi and Bukovyna, and the Chairman of the Synodal Department of Religious Education, Catechesis, and Missionary Work, Metropolitan Philip of Poltava and Myrhorod.

Earlier, the DECR UOC reported that Bishop Beniamin presided over the feast day celebrations at the UOC parish in Chemnitz.

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