UOC Sunday school girls killed in Sumy airstrike

A candle and an Orthodox church. Illustrative photo: UOJ

During the night of August 4, 2026, two pupils of the Sunday school at the UOC Holy Transfiguration Cathedral in Sumy were killed when Russian guided aerial bombs struck the city, leaving them trapped beneath the rubble of their home. Metropolitan Yevlohiy of Sumy and Okhtyrka announced the tragedy on his Facebook page.

Just days before the attack, 10-year-old Sofia and 5-year-old Emilia had attended the Sunday Divine Liturgy with their parents at the cathedral, where they prayed and received Holy Communion.

Metropolitan Yevlohiy said the girls were well known to the clergy and Sunday school teachers. He described them as kind, sincere, and radiant children, adding that their deaths were a profound loss for the entire Sumy Eparchy.

“We believe that the Lord, Who blessed the little children, has received Sofia and Emilia into His heavenly dwellings. Their pure souls know neither fear, nor pain, nor war,” the hierarch wrote.

The metropolitan expressed his heartfelt condolences to the girls’ parents, relatives, and loved ones. He also called on the faithful to pray for the repose of Sofia and Emilia and for God to grant their family strength to endure this irreparable loss.

As previously reported, the son of a priest of the Chernihiv Eparchy of the UOC was killed on the front line.

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