Khmelnytskyi bishop expresses support for UOC Primate and Lavra brethren

Metropolitan Victor (Kotsaba). Photo: Khmelnytskyi Eparchy on Facebook

Metropolitan Victor of Khmelnytskyi and Starokostiantyniv sent a message to His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry and the Lavra’s abbot, Metropolitan Pavel. The hierarch expressed condolences over the damage to the Dormition Cathedral caused by the overnight shelling. He stressed that the Kyiv-Pechersk monastery is a world-renowned shrine and the spiritual cradle of the Ukrainian people.

“The news of the damage to the Dormition Cathedral became a personal spiritual pain for me,” the hierarch stated. “It was in the Lavra that my spiritual and church formation took place; here my monastic path began and my priestly consciousness grew.”

Metropolitan Victor added that the monastery had always been for him a living school of prayer, humility, and faithfulness to holy Orthodoxy.

He recalled that for centuries the Dormition Cathedral had remained a true pearl of Ukraine’s spirituality, beneath whose vaults prayers were offered for the Church, the people, and peace. He stated that today the country is suffering from “a war caused by Russian military aggression,” which brings destruction and human losses. According to the hierarch, the war has left deep wounds on the body of the Ukrainian people.

“In the face of this pain, we lift up our prayer to the Lord, that He may stop the bloodshed, heal human hearts, strengthen the suffering, and grant our Ukraine a blessed victorious peace,” the head of the Khmelnytskyi Eparchy said.

He expressed confidence that the All-Merciful Lord would not abandon the Lavra, which throughout its centuries-long history has passed through severe trials more than once.

On behalf of the clergy and faithful of Khmelnytskyi region, Metropolitan Victor assured the brethren of the monastery of sincere prayerful support and heartfelt sympathy. He stressed that the eparchy shares the pain of the Holy Lavra and prays for the swift restoration of the damaged shrine.

As the UOJ reported, the UOC commented on the strike on the Dormition Cathedral.

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