Novoselskoe, Odessa Province, Ukraine, May 30, 2018
Photo: trassae95.com The latest triumph of the Church over communism occurred on May 22 in the village of Novoselskoe in the Odessa Province in Southwestern Ukraine, when a statue of St. Nicholas was installed in the center of the village on a pedestal that once supported a monument to Vladimir Lenin, the Soviet leader responsible for the persecution and deaths of millions.
The Lenin monument was dismantled as part of decommunization, and the village council decided a year ago to install a monument to the great St. Nicholas, who is the patron of the village church, reports Trassa E-95.
The installation took place during the celebration of Village Day.
Then, following the festive Pentecost Divine Liturgy, the faithful of the St. Nicholas Church held a procession to the new sculpture and took part in the ceremony for the opening and consecrating of the monument. The rite was celebrated by Archimandrite Peter (Marku) from the village church.
The statute is made of carbon fiber, which is characterized by its strength, rigidity, and low weight—the 10 ft. monument weighs only 200 lbs.
Photo: trassae95.com According to Fr. Peter, the cost of installing St. Nicholas was taken over by the charity foundation Urbansky “Danube.”
“This is a very expensive project, and we are very grateful to our People’s Deputy Alexander Urbansky and his brother, the Chairman of the Odessa Province Council Anatoly Urbansky for the help they always give not only our village, but the entire Reni district and region,” Archimandrite Peter said.
In a similar story, the authorities of the city of Ulyanovsk, where Lenin was born, resolved to change the name of Lenin Square back to its original title of Cathedral Square. It was named such because the Holy Trinity Cathedral stood there before its destruction by the soviets in 1936.
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