Over 40 foreign parishes of UOC in 15 European countries celebrate Easter

Easter service in one of the foreign parishes of the UOC. Photo: vzcz.church.ua

On April 16, 2023, Easter services were held in more than 40 parishes of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in 15 European countries – Austria, Belgium, Great Britain, Hungary, Germany, Denmark, Ireland, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, France, Switzerland and Sweden. This is reported by the Department for External Church Relations of the UOC.

The report notes that most of the foreign parishes of the UOC celebrated the feast of the Holy Resurrection of Christ for the first time, since these communities, as a rule, are not yet a year old.

In addition, the priests of the UOC held Easter services in a number of European cities, where communities of the Ukrainian Church are just beginning to form. In particular, the first service for the believers of the UOC in Rome (Italy) was performed by Archpriest Mykolai Danylevych, in Bari (Italy) – by Priest Mykolai Popadiuk, in Budapest (Hungary) – by Priest Dimitry Sydorenko, in Freiburg (Germany) – by Archpriest Pavel Rafalsky, in Chemnitz (Germany) – by Priest Ioan Kris, in Sannes (Norway) – by Archpriest Viktor Milin.

The DECR noted that “all the temple and prayer rooms of Ukrainian Orthodox parishes abroad were filled with believers on Easter.”

“From all European countries and cities where there are communities of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, we receive positive and grateful feedback from Ukrainians, for whom Orthodox parishes have become not only centers of prayer and spiritual life, but also a meeting place with their homeland,” emphasized the DECR UOC.

As reported by the UOJ, in January 2023, UOC communities were set up in the cities of Cologne (Germany) and Rotterdam (Netherlands), in February – in the cities of Gera and Plauen (Germany) and in the Swedish capital Stockholm, in April – in the Italian cities of Milan, Verona and Trento.

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