Bucha, Ukraine, April 8, 2022
Photo: Facebook
The great feast of the Annunciation of the Mother of God also marked the joyous resumption of the liturgical life in a Ukrainian Orthodox church that was damaged during the fighting in Bucha that lasted more than a month.
“Today there was a special service,” writes the rector of the Church of Sts. Peter and Paul Archimandrite Arkady (Demchenko). “The first after the liberation of Bucha. The parishioners, including many children, are people who stayed in the city and survived the occupation.”
Though the church was damaged, there were no casualties from among the parish community, he notes.
“With tears in their eyes, everyone prayed to God and His Most Pure Mother for peace in Ukraine, for our soldiers, and for their families, friends, and loved ones,” the priest continues, noting that they offered prayers for the repose of the fallen soldiers, and all those who suffered and died in Bucha and throughout Ukraine.
Photo: Facebook
As OrthoChristian previously reported, His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry of Kiev and All Ukraine issued a heartfelt pastoral statement about Bucha on Monday:
It’s terrible. Sorrow filled my heart. I turn those who committed this over to the judgment of God, from Whom nothing can be concealed. I express my deep compassion to the relatives of the victims, and I pray for those who died violently and I entreat the Lord to receive their souls in the mansions of the righteous.
On Tuesday, a panikhida was served in the Kiev Caves Lavra for the repose of the souls of all those who perished in Bucha, Irpen, and other places.
The Church of Sts. Peter and Paul also distributed packs of groceries, clothing, and other necessities to the residents of Bucha. Humanitarian aid from the Romanian Church was received on the eve of the service via the Cathedral of St. Olga in Kiev, Fr. Arkady reports.
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