An Icon Containing the Relics of Saint Volodymyr the Great Arrives in Uzhhorod
A Moleben in honor of Saint Volodymyr the Great, Equal to the Apostles, was celebrated at the Greek Catholic Cathedral of the Exaltation of the Holy and Life-Giving Cross in Uzhhorod. The service was led by Bishop Teodor Matsapula of the Mukachevo Eparchy, with clergy concelebrating. Prayers were offered before an icon containing the relics of the holy prince, which is currently on a Church-wide pilgrimage through the eparchies and exarchates of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church.
This was reported by the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church’s Commission on Interfaith and Interreligious Relations.
The cathedral was filled with faithful who had come to venerate the relics as part of the icon’s pilgrimage through the parishes of Transcarpathia. Clergy and laypeople joined in prayer, asking for the intercession of St. Volodymyr for the Ukrainian people, the defenders of Ukraine, and a just peace. After the service, those present had the opportunity to approach the icon and personally venerate the saint’s relics.
The pilgrimage of the icon containing the relics of Saint Volodymyr the Great, Equal to the Apostles, began on September 14, 2025, the Feast of the Exaltation of the Precious and Life-Giving Cross of the Lord, at the Patriarchal Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ in Kyiv. With the blessing of His Beatitude Sviatoslav, Father and Head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, the relics are being taken to the eparchies and exarchates of the Church. The spiritual pilgrimage is scheduled to continue until the end of 2026, allowing the faithful in different parts of Ukraine to pray before the relics of the Baptizer of Rus and deepen their understanding of the shared heritage of Volodymyr’s baptism.
The background to this pilgrimage goes back to the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, which took place on January 23, 2025. On that occasion, His Beatitude Sviatoslav received the relics of St. Volodymyr the Great from Metropolitan Oleksandr Drabynko of Pereiaslav and Vyshneve of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine. When presenting the relics to His Beatitude Sviatoslav, the Head of the UGCC emphasized: “The relics of St. Volodymyr are a great shrine and relic for us, because we are all children of the Church of Volodymyr’s baptism.”
After its stay in Uzhhorod, the icon containing the relics of St. Volodymyr will continue its pilgrimage to churches throughout the Mukachevo Eparchy, where the faithful will have the opportunity to pray before the relics.
UGCC Department for Information
