UOC celebrates Synaxis of Chernihiv Saints

On July 18, 2026, the Chernihiv Eparchy celebrated the patronal feast of the Church of All Saints of Chernihiv. The Divine Liturgy was celebrated by Archbishop Nikodym of Liubech and Archbishop Athanasius of Kamin-Kashyrskyi, vicar of the Volyn Eparchy, the eparchial press service reported.

The hierarchs were joined by the church’s clergy and other clerics of the Chernihiv Eparchy. During the service, prayers were offered for peace in Ukraine and for the Church, which is suffering persecution.

After the Liturgy, a rite of glorification was held before the feast-day icon, with a prayer to all the saints who shone forth in the land of Chernihiv.

The Synaxis of the Saints of Chernihiv is a local feast of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church established by a decision of the UOC Holy Synod in 2006. It is celebrated on the first Saturday after the feast of the Holy Chief Apostles Peter and Paul and commemorates the saints who shone forth in the Chernihiv lands.

Among them are Venerable Anthony of the Caves, St. Theodosiy of Chernihiv and Venerable Lawrence of Chernihiv – whose holy relics are kept in the Trinity Cathedral seized from the UOC – as well as the Right-Believing Prince Igor of Chernihiv and other saints of God.

As the UOJ previously reported, the UOC earlier described the now-empty Trinity Cathedral in Chernihiv as a symbol of de-Christianization.

Drawing attention to the extremely small number of people who attended the commemoration of St. Theodosiy of Chernihiv according to the new calendar, the Church noted: “Not long ago, thousands of Chernihiv residents would gather at the Holy Trinity Cathedral for the feast of St. Theodosiy. The church remained packed throughout the night, prayer services with an akathist and Divine Liturgies were celebrated, and the festivities concluded with a large cross procession.”