In Kherson a chapel and construction site for a church of the UGCC was blessed

On May 3, 2009, Reverend Bishop Vasyl’ (Ivasyuk), Exarch of Odesa-Crimea, blessed in Kherson the premises for the chapel of the Transfer of the Relics of Saint Nicholas of Myra and a cross where a church will be built in honor of the Protection of the Most Holy Mother of God. This already will be the second church in which the UGCC will celebrate liturgies in Kherson. «In this important event we thank the German Lutheran community of the city of Kherson, Presbyter Dmytro and their bishop Georg Gyunch,» reported Bishop Vasyl’. Concelebrating at the blessing ceremony with the exarch were: Fr. Stepan Makar; Pastor Dmytro of the German Evangelical Lutheran Church (GELC); Fr. Makariy Leniv, abbot of the Basilian monastery in Kherson; Fr. Volodymyr Tsyapka (Skadovs’k); Fr. Volodymyr Halatyuk (village of Ptakhivka); Fr. Mykola Tyurdio (village of Tarasivka); Fr. Bohdan Matkovskiy (village of Fedorivka); Fr. Ihor Makar (village of Antonivka); Fr. Roman Borutskyj (village of Soniachne); faithful of the UGCC and GELC. Fr. Stepan Makar has been appointed protopresbyter and pastor. The chapel and the construction site of the church are located on Lenin Street, 27. Information: In 2003 the Kherson city authorities allotted for the German Lutheran community 15 “hundreds” of land, on which the Protestant community planned a church building and house for the presbyter. On this lot a two-floor house for the pastor was built. Thanks to the cooperation of the UGCC and German Evangelical Lutheran Church in 2009 a strategy was worked out for alternating celebration by the faithful of both churches in the city of Kherson. In addition, on May 3 the blessing of the chapel of the Annunciation of the Most Holy Mother of God took place in the village of Muzykivka, Kherson Region. Serhiy Kostyk granted the premises for the chapel. People of the village are very grateful to their fellow countryman for the possibility given to serve God. «We are very grateful to Bishop Vasyl’, because people wanted to see many priests and a bishop, and so for the village it was a real holiday,» reported the pastor of Muzykivka, Fr. Ihor Makar. The church is located at 40 Years of Victory Street, 23.

Press-service of the Odesa-Crimea Exarchate
of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church