Two Sunday school pupils of the UOC were killed in an airstrike on Sumy
A candle and an Orthodox church. Illustrative photo: UOJ
On the night of August 4, 2026, as a result of a strike by Russian guided aerial bombs on Sumy, pupils of the Sunday school at the UOC Transfiguration Cathedral were killed under the rubble of their own home. This was reported on his Facebook page by Metropolitan Evlogiy of Sumy and Okhtyrka.
Just a few days before the tragedy, 10-year-old Sofia and 5-year-old Emilia had attended the Sunday service at the cathedral together with their parents, prayed, and received Holy Communion.
Metropolitan Evlogiy noted that the girls were well known to the clergy and teachers of the Sunday school. According to him, they were kind, sincere, and radiant children, and their death became a heavy loss for the entire Sumy Diocese.
«We believe that the Lord, Who blessed children, has received Sofia and Emilia into His Heavenly dwellings. Their pure souls no longer know fear, pain, or war», – the hierarch wrote.
The Metropolitan expressed his deepest condolences to the parents, relatives, and loved ones of the deceased sisters. He also called on the faithful to pray for the repose of Sofia and Emilia and for the Lord to grant their family the strength to endure this irreplaceable loss.
Earlier, the UOJ reported that the son of a priest of the UOC Chernihiv Diocese was killed at the front.
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