Abbess Seraphima: We're going to Cross Procession as a sign that we are one

Abbess of St. Archangel Michael Convent of Odessa city, Hegumeness Seraphima (Shevchik). Photo: screenshot of the live broadcast DumskayaTV

Most Orthodox believers in Odessa are going to take part in the Great Procession of the UOC, which will be held in Kiev on July 27, 2019 on the occasion of the 1031th anniversary of Christianization of Rus. Abbess Seraphima (Shevchik) of the Holy Archangel Michael Convent of Odessa city, reported this on the air of DumskayaTV.

“We are all going to Kiev to take part in the All-Ukrainian religious procession, this is truly a great All-Ukrainian Orthodox holiday for us,” noted the abbess. “We already know what this procession is like, we have been taking part in it for many years.”

She stressed that the past year was a year of serious trials for the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which significantly united the believers.

“We are getting united both during the great holidays and during the great trials,” added the Abbess of Odessa nunnery. “The past year turned out a year of precisely such serious trials for the UOC, when our Orthodox faith itself, our Orthodox Church, was subjected to repression and persecution. And it also brought us together very much. So now we are going to this procession as a sign that we are united, that the Orthodox Church, headed by His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry, is as mighty and powerful as ever.”

According to her, the fact that during the celebration of the anniversary of the Baptism of Rus in Kiev, in addition to the procession of the UOC, the procession of the OCU and the UOC-KP will be held, only testifies to the fact that the December “Unification Council” did not unite anyone.

“We know that in addition to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and Poroshenko-created OCU, we also have Filaret-led Kiev Patriarchate, which declared that the UOC-KP had not self-dissolved and continues to exist. Each of these denominational forces announced its own procession. Therefore, we see that the so-called "Unification Council" in reality did not unite anyone, but was only a cover for some special operation, and we still wonder what it really was. However, our Holy Ukrainian Orthodox Church existed and exists, celebrating holidays, as we can see, on a large scale, nationwide, in the wake of great joyful inspiration, because our Church, I believe, has gone through the most difficult times and approached its Christian triumph," summarized Abbess Seraphima.

Recall, on July 27, 2019, the Cross Procession of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church on the occasion of the 1031st anniversary of the Christianization of Rus will be held in Kiev.

The UOJ will conduct live updates of the Cross Procession in Kiev.

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