Hundreds attend great blessing of water in persecuted UOC community of Panka
Water blessing in the UOC house church in the village of Panka. Photo: Union of Orthodox Journalists
On January 18, 2026, hundreds of parishioners from the persecuted community of St. Demetrius of Thessalonica in the village of Panka in Bukovyna gathered for worship on the eve of Theophany, a UOJ correspondent reports. After the Divine Liturgy and Vespers, the rector served the rite of the Great Blessing of Water.
As a reminder, on April 5, 2025, in the village of Panka, supporters of the OCU carried out a violent seizure of the UOC church dedicated to the holy Great Martyr Demetrius of Thessalonica.
At the same time, on February 23, 2025, a general meeting of the religious community took place in the village, attended by 595 believers. All of them unanimously reaffirmed their fidelity to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church under His Beatitude Metropolitan Onufriy. The minutes of that meeting were officially submitted to the Chernivtsi Regional Military Administration.
Today, the large UOC community is forced to pray in a house that cannot accommodate all the parishioners.
Read also
Zaporizhzhia Diocese Responds to SESS Statement on Discovered Ties with the ROC
Metropolitan Luka called on the clergy and faithful to pray daily for the Church and for those who oppose Her.
Metropolitan of the Constantinople Church Consecrated a Naval Base in Crete
Metropolitan of Kydonia and Apokoronas Titus performed the rite of consecration at the naval base of Crete.
NATO peacekeepers and US senator discussed security of Serbian shrines in Kosovo
The commander of the KFOR mission and a US senator discussed the security of Orthodox shrines and the Serbian people in Kosovo and Metohija during their meeting.
Metropolitan Luke expresses condolences to victims of attack on Zaporizhzhia
Metropolitan Luke of Zaporizhzhia published words of support for the families of the deceased, called for prayers for the injured, and blessed the clergy to perform memorial litanies.
Patriarch Bartholomew announces his visit to Bulgaria in October
The Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople will visit Bulgaria on October 19 for the celebrations in honor of St. John of Rila.
Procession held on Corfu in memory of St. Spyridon’s miracle
The faithful commemorated the miraculous deliverance of Corfu from an Ottoman siege in 1716.