Saint Nicholas Day celebrated in penitentiary institutions

The most favorable days to conduct holidays in the penitentiary institutions are Saturday and Sunday. Exactly on those days, on December 19 and 20, prison chaplains of the UGCC, with the assistance of numerous donators and with the participation of many lay volunteers, brought the joy of Saint Nicholas Day to the imprisoned and condemned. A majority of the volunteers who unequivocally support the ministering are people with modest livelihoods. Festive actions took place in the investigative institutions of Kyiv, Donets’k, Chernihiv, Ivano-Frankivs’k, and Chortkiv, in the educational colonies of Pryluky and Berezhany, and in numerous correctional centers. Sincere attention and gifts were given to reinforce the winning force of good. Considerable assistance to the Church is given from the officers of the Criminal-Executive Service of Ukraine, who realize the importance of such visits.

Deacon Costyantyn Panteley,
Referent of the UGCC for the penitentiary system of Ukraine