Ukraine, December 27, 2021
Photo: zhytomyr-eparchy.org
The Ukrainian Orthodox Church continues to grow and the Ukrainian Orthodox clergy and faithful continue to stand strong, despite the persecution perpetrated against them by the Patriarchate of Constantinople’s schismatic and violent “Orthodox Church of Ukraine.”
Faithful Orthodox Christians in Ukraine have lost hundreds of churches to violent seizures by the schismatics. But they remain faithful, and in many places have managed to build new churches to replace those they lost to the OCU, which was created by Patriarch Bartholomew, President Poroshenko, and the U.S. State Department in December 2018.
Photo: zhytomyr-eparchy.org
On December 25, His Eminence Metropolitan Nikodim of Zhytomyr consecrated the Church of the She Who is Quick to Hear Icon of the Mother of God in the village of Levkov, which was built after the capture of the local Holy Transfiguration Church by representatives of the OCU, reports the Zhytomyr Diocese.
Met. Nikodim then celebrated the first Divine Liturgy in the newly consecrated church.
Photo: zhytomyr-eparchy.org
On the same day, His Grace Bishop Pimen of Rivne consecrated the Church of St. Spyridon in the village of Maly Dorogostai and celebrated the Divine Liturgy, reports the Rivne Diocese.
The Union of Orthodox Journalists reports that after the community lost its church to the schismatics, they were forced to pray out and in parishioners’ homes. Construction on the new church began in mid-2019.
Earlier, Bp. Pimen also consecrated the new St. Michael’s Church in the village of Moshkov on December 13, in place of the church seized by schismatics, and celebrated the first Divine Liturgy there.
A number of other new churches have also been consecrated throughout Ukraine in recent weeks.
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