"You will never be able to destroy our profound faith in Ukraine and God,” says Ukrainian President Zelenskyy as the Standing Episcopal Council of Orthodox Bishops seek Benefactors to build a Memorial Church to remember those living and the dead.
New Albany, Ohio Mar 20, 2022 (Issuewire.com) - The Standing Episcopal Conference of Orthodox Bishops, established in 1951 to serve ethnic Orthodox Christian Jurisdictions -AND- the Orthodox Church of America, part of the worldwide Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church which was granted Canonical Autocephaly by His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch +GREGORIOS VII of Constantinople in 1924, is seeking Benefactors to build a Memorial Church in Ohio to perpetually remember the sacrifices of Ukrainians who gave their lives for freedom and to defend their families and their beloved Ukraine.
"Even if you destroy all our Ukrainian churches and cathedrals, you will never be able to destroy our profound faith in Ukraine and God," said Ukrainian President Zelenskyy in his speech of 3 March 2022.
This war reminds us of atrocities done by the Nazis when they invaded Poland not long ago. Can we expect anything less from Putin who is suppose to be a good Orthodox Christian? And, where is the current Russian Patriarch Kirill and other Hierarchs to condemn what is going on today?
In the past, Priests were literally nailed to the floors of their churches to die agonizing deaths. On Sundays the Faithful would gather in the closed churches and lay the priestly vestments on the altar...reverenced in dead silence, only prayers and weeping could be heard throughout the churches.
Russian artillery fire and bombs have devastated not only Ukrainian homes and public buildings, but also many places of religious worship. The photograph is from the village of Vyazivka in the Zhytomyr region, where the occupiers destroyed the Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin, built in 1862...similar to a church in the village of Bobryk, #Kyiv region, after a "special military operation." Please...we are asking all who deplore what is going on in the Ukraine to help us with this most worthy project. Your generosity will be remembered throughout all upcoming generations for your love, prayers and support for the Ukrainian people! Help us to erect this Memorial Church in Ohio.
According to Metropolitan Michael, Moderator of the Standing Episcopal Conference of Orthodox Bishops, "We are proud to live in a free country where we have freedom of Religion! The Memorial Church will be built to resemble many of the Ukrainian Orthodox Churches that have been destroyed in the war, complete with its onion shaped golden domes! It will be a place of solace and comfort for all God believing people, where the memories of all those who gave their lives in this Act of War...and the living family members who made such sacrifices for freedom...will be commemorated in Divine Services."
(The Standing Episcopal Conference of Orthodox Bishops is an exempt organization under IRS Section 501(c)(3) and Donors can deduct contributions they make. We are also qualified by the IRS to receive tax deductible bequests, devises, transfers or gifts as a Public Charity.)
We invite all inquiries from those who desire to help in our cause and will respond within 24 hours. All Benefactors will have their names, and those of their family members, inscribed on the walls of the Memorial Church for a perpetual remembrance in daily prayers for their generosity. Please contact us via email at orthodoxchurchofamerica@gmail.com
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