UOC honors patron saint of Kherson land

St. Barsanuphius of Kherson. Photo: the eparchial press service

The Kherson Eparchy of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church commemorated St. Barsanuphius of Kherson, a confessor, on 17 October 2026. As the eparchial press service reported on Telegram, the festive service was held at the Holy Spirit Cathedral in Kherson.

This year marks 72 years since the blessed repose of St. Barsanuphius, who is revered as the heavenly patron of the Kherson land.

The Liturgy was led by Metropolitan Ioann of Kherson and Tavria, concelebrated by the clergy of the eparchy. Prayers for peace in Ukraine were offered during the augmented litany.

The service concluded with a prayer service before the reliquary containing the relics of St. Barsanuphius. Afterwards, Metropolitan Ioann congratulated the faithful on the feast. He expressed the hope that, following the example of the confessor of the Kherson region, everyone would remain faithful to Orthodoxy and the Holy Church of Christ.

Archimandrite Barsanuphius (born Vasily Grigoryevich Yurchenko) was born on 15 August 1880 in the village of Lozovatka, Kherson Governorate. In 1907, he entered the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, and in 1916 he took monastic vows, receiving the name Barsanuphius in honour of the Bishop of Tver. After the Revolution, he served in parishes in southern Ukraine and opposed Renovationism, a schism within the Church that emerged in the 1920s.

During the years of persecution, the priest was arrested approximately 25 times. In total, he spent ten years in imprisonment, including in the Temnikov and Alatyr labour camps and in Kolyma. From 25 June 1954, Archimandrite Barsanuphius served at St. Catherine’s Cathedral in Kherson. He peacefully reposed in the Lord on 17 October 1954, after confession and Holy Communion, on the feast day of his heavenly patron saint.

As the UOJ reported, the UOC Holy Spirit Cathedral in Kherson was damaged by a drone strike. The cathedral remains the main church of the eparchy, where the relics of St. Barsanuphius rest.

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