In Netherlands Ukrainian diaspora believers offer joint prayer for peace in Ukraine

On February 26, the Divine Liturgy was held at the Holy Transfiguration Church of Groningen, attended by representatives of the Ukrainian diaspora living in the Netherlands, reports the Information and Education Department of the UOC.

That day, under the arches of the church there have gathered Ukrainians living in Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Groningen, Levardene, Heerenveen and other cities and villages of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. As they point out, this common divine service became a landmark event for the entire diaspora.

The festive Liturgy was led by the rector of the Holy Transfiguration Church in Groningen hegumen Onuphry (Vaylant), concelebrated by a cleric of the Zaporozhie diocese Archpriest Konstantin Maximov.

The service was conducted in Dutch and Church Slavonic languages. During the Liturgy, a prayer for peace in Ukraine was made. Many of those present in the church got to the sacrament of the Holy Eucharist.

After the Divine Liturgy, Archpriest Konstantin Maximov addressed the diaspora members with the greeting word. With the blessing of Metropolitan Luka of Zaporozhie and Melitopol, the priest donated to the local Orthodox community the icon of the Cathedral of Zaporozhie Saints.

Fr. Constantine also wished his countrymen the same strength of spirit and faith, which martyrs of the Zaporozhie land showed with their confession. "Wherever we stayed, whatever conditions and circumstances we lived in, it should be remembered that in Christ we are all one," said the priest.

The Divine Liturgy was followed by the pre-Lenten Shrovetide meal served for all the participants of the worship.