UGCC Churches Evacuated in Myrnohrad, Donetsk Oblast, Under Fire
All parishioners of the UGCC have been evacuated from Myrnohrad in Donetsk region. Only a priest and volunteers working on the evacuation remained at the Church of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul. Before this, the Church of the Holy Trinity was evacuated and consecrated last year.
Fr. Ivan Vasylenko shared this on his Facebook page.
On August 11, the iconostasis was dismantled in the Church of Saints Peter and Paul and all valuable items were packed for transport to Dnipro.
Among the items to be evacuated, the priest showed a marble angel from 1894, which survived two world wars and now faces another.
“We are beginning the evacuation of the Church of Saints Peter and Paul. It hurts; I feel desolate. We have to transport the iconostasis, icons, banners, library, and all the consecrated items from Myrnohrad and the Donetsk region. This church was built for the glory of God and the salvation of human souls. The enemy is already near, so this is all we can do,” said the priest.
“Just today we prayed here, hugged each other, people cried and left. I am the only one left. Now we are going to dismantle the icons with the young man who helped with the construction,” the priest added.
Despite all the events, the parish continues to support local residents with humanitarian aid. At 3:00 PM every day, the church opens a social wardrobe where locals can receive clothes and food.
The UGCC Department for Information
