Irpin, the Hero city: heroism in service to the victims

April 22, 2023

One lady said the following words: “I am very pleased that after leaving my home because of the war, I felt care, warmth and custody here, and as if I had come home… What a happiness it is when you are not alone with your pains and problems. I thank God and the people of Irpin for everything!”

Irpin, the Hero city: heroism in service to the victims

This testimony to the charitable and social activities of the parish of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary of the UGCC in Irpin is not the only one. Since the first days of the war, thanks to the efforts of local priests Myroslav Latynnyk and Vitaliy Voyetsa and the parish community, the church has become a place of support and care for all those who suffer and are in need. Today, it is also a center for healing the wounds caused by the cruelty and ruthlessness of the war waged by Russia against Ukraine. This social activity of the parish community has many aspects, one of which, thanks to the Patriarchal Foundation Mudra Sprava, is the distribution of hot meals to the neediest. Today we will talk about it with priests Myroslav Latynnyk and Vitaliy Voyetsa.

First, it is to be noted that the charitable initiative to prepare hot meals since the beginning of winter 2022 has been supported by the Metropolis of Philadelphia, which includes the Archeparchy of Philadelphia, the Eparchy of Stamford, the Eparchy of St. Josaphat in Parma (Ohio, USA) and the Eparchy of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker in Chicago (Illinois, USA). The kitchen in the Patriarchal Curia, where the meals are prepared, was established with the assistance of the Italian Bishops’ Conference. Subsequently, the charitable initiative united several parish communities in the Kyiv region, one of which was Irpin.


Fr. Ivan Vykhor: Christ is risen! Dear fathers, we are glad to greet you on this bright holiday of Christ’s Resurrection.

For a long time in Irpin, thanks to the efforts of your parish community and the support of the Patriarchal Foundation Mudra Sprava, hot meals were distributed for those most in need. As this charitable initiative has now come to an end, we would like to talk to you about its results and significance both for you personally and for those who were involved.

First, who exactly started the hot meals initiative?

Fr. Myroslav Latynnyk:Indeed, He is risen!

To mark the beginning of any initiative, we must first understand and recall the events that preceded it.

The hero city of Irpin suffered considerable destruction during the full-scale offensive of Russian troops in the Kyiv region. Many people were killed, and most of the city was destroyed or heavily damaged, including people’s homes and property. Many people found themselves on the streets, seeking shelter in modular towns, with friends, or outside the city. Also, many citizens have lost their jobs and thus have been left without the most basic means of subsistence. We cannot ignore those who arrived in Irpin seeking refuge, having fled their homes and sides because of the impending hostilities. These facts are well known both in Ukraine and abroad. Therefore, our city and its residents are not ignored by various charitable organizations both in Ukraine and abroad.

From the first days of the de-occupation of Irpin by the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the efforts of the local self-defense led by our mayor, Oleksandr Markushyn, dozens of different organizations, foundations, and individuals from all over Ukraine and abroad began to offer their assistance. It is worth emphasizing here that the assistance started from the first days of the war but became more extensive after the city was liberated from Russian occupiers, torturers and inhuman.

The UGCC also joined these various charitable initiatives. First, it did so through the Charitable Foundation Caritas Ukraine and Caritas Kyiv, which still help in the form of household items, drinking water, food packages, as well as means to replace roofs and windows. Also, the Knights of Columbus in Ukraine have been bringing food packages for the needy not only in the city, but also in the entire region. We should also emphasize the outstanding assistance and solidarity of the parish communities of the Kyiv Archeparchy of the UGCC. Among them, we can mention and thank Father Roman Shkribenets, who brought from Berdychiv district, Zhytomyr region, the necessary food, clothing and medical aid collected by his parishioners and those who cared for the residents of the “Iron Town” in Irpin. We are also grateful to Fr. Vitaliy Martsyniuk, who also organized a significant amount of food and other necessities for the residents of Irpin in Fastiv.

Well, in fact, it was dozens of different volunteers and caring people who supported and are supporting the citizens with everything they need!


We managed to effectively coordinate this whole charitable process through our parish community of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary of the UGCC in Irpin to really support those who need such help the most.

So, returning to the question about the start of the charitable initiative to distribute hot meals from the Patriarchal Foundation Mudra Sprava. Even before it began, through Fr. Lyubomyr Yavorskyy and Fr Oleh Panchyniak, we received large batches of food packages, which we shared not only with the needy in Irpin, but also delivered throughout the region, including to medical institutions in Kyiv and the region, as well as to those who needed it most.

And then one day in the news we saw a report that the Patriarchal Econom, Fr. Lyubomyr Yavorskyy, announced the launch of a new charitable project of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, implemented through the Patriarchal Foundation Mudra Sprava. It is about serving those most in need during the cold season by preparing and distributing hot meals in places affected by the Russian occupation during this war. “At the Patriarchal Curia in Kyiv, we have launched a kitchen where we prepare 200 meals a day. Then they are distributed to the UGCC parishes in Kyiv and the suburbs: Bucha, Irpin, Gostomel, Brovary, Boryspil. The parish community led by its pastor in Pozniaky is also extremely active in this social ministry,” noted Fr. Lyubomyr.

Back in early 2023, Fr. Oleh Panchyniak approached us with this initiative and asked us to prepare everything so that we could support the people in our city in this way. We gladly agreed, because the idea was really very good. The moments of hard work, life’s worries, and the blessing of being able to stop for a moment and enjoy a good hot lunch to have the strength to move on immediately came to mind! Moreover, as we all remember, there were serious problems with electricity due to the damage to our power grid by the Russians. So, the issue of cooking turned into either an impossible stage of life or a whole “quest” that not everyone could cope with. Especially when there were small children in the family.


Fr. Ivan Vykhor: Who were the recipients of this charitable initiative: IDPs, local people in need, socially vulnerable people? And where were the meals distributed?

Fr. Vitaliy Voyetsa: Of course, without the support of local authorities, it would be extremely difficult for us to organize anything. We asked for advice and help from the head of the Department of Culture, Nationalities and Religions of the Irpin City Council, Yevhenia Antoniuk. She replied that “initiatives of this level have been practiced in our city for a long time. However, we are always happy when various charitable organizations offer assistance, including in this format.”

After the first distribution, which took place on January 9, 2023, we needed to encourage people to come. So, Yevheniia Antoniuk wrote on her Facebook page: “For several months now, the Irpin City Public Library named after Maksym Rylskyi has been registering for financial assistance for various public organizations and foundations. Very often, people who register must spend many hours in line, as both residents whose homes have been severely damaged or destroyed and internally displaced citizens need financial assistance in Irpin. Today, on the initiative of the parish of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary were organized the distribution of complex hot meals for these people. It was a pleasant surprise for everyone. But such attention to people is very important in our time! The same meals were also delivered to the invincibility center near the Irpin City Council.”

Besides, we chose Monday as the day of distribution of the lunches for a reason. It is the first hard working day after the weekend, and we wanted to make a pleasant surprise and support our people.

Ms. Yevheniia’s announcement had an effect, and more people came to the second and subsequent distributions. We, in turn, posted announcements on our resources. The “local radio” was also added. People informed each other in different ways. Ms. Yevheniia also posted so-called “reminders on her page”: “I remind you that every Monday at 13.30 near the premises of the Irpin City Public Library named after Maksym Rylskyi (3 a Shevchenko St.), anyone in need can get a free meal! Don’t hesitate if you need help! Perhaps you have neighbors or friends who are in need, so let them know about this initiative.”

It all worked, and after a few visits on Mondays, the 200 meals were already not enough, as many more people came.

To facilitate the work of the library, we moved closer to the central square for the third time.


Fr. Ivan Vykhor: How many meals were distributed and how many people were reached in total and each time? And were there any partners who joined the action?

Father Myroslav Latynnyk: If you try to count, every Monday we received 200 meals. That is the number of people who received them. We received this help for 15 Mondays in a row, which means that in total it was 3,000 people.

However, on the Monday immediately after Easter, April 17, the kitchen where these dinners are prepared was off. So, in order not to miss this day, because people are already waiting for us, we asked our friends to prepare 200 Easter cakes (Easter paskas). Thus, on Easter Monday, we distributed Easter cakes to the residents of Irpin. It was the 15th Monday in a row when we brought hot lunches, and on this day, on the Resurrection, we brought fresh delicious Easter cakes! We really wanted to share the joy of Easter with everyone. We wanted everyone to feel our care, attention, and this joy of the holidays, and then bring it to others!

In this context, we would like to express our gratitude for this support and initiative to our old friends Marian Shturmak and Olga Vityk, who took care of the preparation of Easter cakes.


Fr. Ivan Vykhor: Who was directly involved in the distribution of meals on location? What was the involvement of the UGCC and your parish community in this initiative?

Father Vitaliy Voyetsa: First, we thank our constant driver, Father Serhiy Synovitsky, for delivering these hot meals. Although all of them were put in plastic containers, it takes great driving virtuosity to bring the lunches hot from the kitchen, which is located on the left bank of the Dnipro River in Kyiv, so that nothing from the first course would spill, and on our roads (ed. — laughs) Father Serhiy did a great job with this task!

Special thanks go to all our tireless volunteers from the CaritasIrpin branch. These are the guys and girls who, despite their main job, always found time to run and help us organize this project. As priests, we cannot imagine our social activities without their support and help. As more people learned about this event, our parishioners joined us. Often, they even brought their children so that they could also help those in need.

Everyone worked in a good mood, wearing special vests and medical gloves. There were times when the weather conditions could have been better: it was snowing or freezing, or it was raining like a bucket. But we coped with this task. We knew why we were doing it, and it was a motivating moment for everyone!

Fr. Ivan Vykhor: Who else participated in the meetings with the needy people, who came? Did you come across any interesting stories or testimonies during the distribution that are worth telling?

Fr. Myroslav Latynnyk:Two priests were always present during the distribution of hot meals. We were always open to communication. Every time people came up to us either to thank us or to ask who initiated this help and to ask that it be extended for some more time. Every request to extend the distribution of meals for another month was gladly accepted by the executives of Mudra Sprava.

We met a lot of different people: both those in difficult circumstances and those who came to our town from different towns and villages where the fighting is going on — Bakhmut, Mariupol and other cities. They were forced to leave to save their lives. Most of them are elderly people, but there were also young people with children.

We are very pleased that many people learned about our initiative. We are also glad that despite the cold weather we were able to warm everyone not only with hot meals, but also to surround them with attention, warmth, and care.

We, as priests, also often listened to difficult stories of rescue, saw the pain in the eyes of these people and became those who could once again listen to them and support them.


Fr. Ivan Vykhor: What was the significance of this charitable initiative for you personally, for your parish community, and for the community of Irpin?

Father Vitaliy Voyetsa: Let’s start with the fact that since many people were eating their lunches right on the square, we wrote the following announcement: “We have a big request: if you eat your lunches immediately after receiving them, please throw the used disposable tableware into the garbage containers located in the city! This makes the work of our utilities much easier, and we keep our wonderful Irpin clean.” When we talk about ecology and cleanliness of the environment, the frequent repetition of seemingly familiar rules becomes a rule for many people in the future!

Also, this initiative gave many participants of this event — sponsors, organizers, cooks, participants — the opportunity to show and demonstrate the gospel work of mercy — “to feed the hungry and give drink to the thirsty”. It is also a good manifestation of our solidarity and openness to the needs of others.

We recall the words of Father Lyubomyr Yavorskyy that “perhaps 200 hot meals are not much in this period of great trouble for our people, but at least 200 specific people have the opportunity to eat well every day thanks to our delivery.”

For our religious community of the UGCC parish of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Irpin, this was another opportunity to testify that our parish community, along with others, wants to help the local authorities, who are trying very hard to meet the needs of citizens, to join all good initiatives, not to stay away from urgent problems and challenges, and to restore the beauty of the city itself, the well-being of people and to help improve the quality of life of every resident and guest of our wonderful and best Hero City of Irpin as soon as possible.

Fr. Ivan Vykhor: In what way do you think compassion and attention to the needs of others allows people to withstand the challenges of war and heal their own wounds caused by it?

Father Myroslav Latynnyk: The vocation of a pastor is to know his flock. We believe that it is our Christian duty as priests in Irpin to know not only our parishioners, but also to be interested in those who live in the city and have needs in which we can serve them. Before the start of the “Hot Meals” initiative, Father Lyubomyr Yavorskyy made a very apt point. According to him, it is the parish communities that have become the centers of various social ministries. “Our priests know the needs of those people who suffered from the war and today lack warm food. They pay special attention to the elderly, who are often left alone with their problems and challenges.”

Fr. Vitaliy Voyetsa: “Our city, along with many others, suffered great wounds from the war. Our people, who have experienced hardships themselves, help others with great joy. This is a sign of true Ukrainians, patriots and Christians!

Although the project for Irpin ended on April 24, 2023, as it was redirected to cities where there is currently a greater need for such assistance, we are always pleased to meet our new friends who came to Irpin a few months ago from places where there are heavy fighting, and now they meet us just to talk and thank God for everything.

One lady said the following words: “I am very pleased that after leaving my home because of the war, I felt cared for, warm and cared for here, and as if I had come home… What a happiness it is when you are not alone with your pains and problems. I thank God and the people of Irpin for everything!”

We wish them and all of us victory, prosperity, well-being and good health.

And we can only thank them for this initiative, their help and support in the form of hot meals. Over the course of 16 Mondays of the initiative, 3,000 hot meals were distributed in Irpin, and another 200 Easter cakes. That is, 3,200 people were enveloped in attention, support and Christian love.

On behalf of all the participants of the charity initiative and the residents of Irpin, we sincerely thank:

Interview conducted by Fr. Ivan Vykhor
Press service of the Patriarchal Foundation Mudra Sprava