Representatives of Mudra Sprava met with residents of Beryslav to touch the wounds of war and support

The purpose of the trip

“It is very important for us to come, see and touch the wounds of war. But when we go, we look at the people we visit and serve. You really need to look into the eyes of these people and touch them. They are so wounded. We saw so many tears in their eyes when we addressed them. The war has made them so tired and continues to exhaust and kill them. Seeing all this, we realize how much we need to never get tired of helping,” said Fr. Lyubomyr Yavorskyy, Patriarchal Econom and head of the Patriarchal Foundation Mudra Sprava. During the trip to Beryslav, he was accompanied by Fr. Oleh Panchyniak, head of the Logistics Center of the UGCC, Fr. Ihor Yatsiv, head of the Information Department of the UGCC, and Fr. Yaroslav Valyukh, an employee of the Patriarchal Economy of the UGCC.

Celebration of the Divine Liturgy together

In Beryslav, representatives of Mudra Sprava met with the parishioners of the Holy Martyrs of Maccabees parish community, their pastor, Fr Oleksandr Bilskyy, and local activists and volunteers. It is worth noting that from the first days of the war, this parish community has become a center of social service and acceptance of the needy, feeding them in the local charity kitchen “Five Loaves and Two Fishes” and distributing food and hygiene kits from the Patriarchal Foundation Mudra Sprava, providing shelter for those evacuating from the temporarily occupied territories and sincere communication.

The visit to Beryslav began with a joint Divine Liturgy in the local church. “People came to the Liturgy on a weekday and prayed sincerely. And this is very touching. Through the Liturgy, through communication, through Confession and the Eucharist, we can touch the human soul and save it,” says Fr. Lyubomyr Yavorskyy.

“We came to touch your wounds of war”

The Divine Liturgy was followed by a meeting with the residents of Beryslav and the distribution of food packages. “On this day of the Nativity of John the Baptist, it is very important for us to come and look you in the eye, to touch you. Because today you, like no one else, are experiencing these wounds of war, of that cruel war, the most. And today we, as the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, are uniting all over the world. For example, this aid, the food packages, is from CNEWA, Canada. This is the diaspora that once went to Canada, their fourth or fifth generation. They come and pitch in for that dollar to help, and for this help to be flown here from Canada, just imagine. Or our other diaspora: the exarchate in Germany or the United States. In fact, all Ukrainians are united today so that we can survive, so that we can be united. May God grant us victory. We believe in victory, but God grant that we win as soon as possible and begin to rebuild,” said Fr. Lyubomyr.

The priest emphasized that true help to a person affects not only material things, but also affects the spiritual life. “On this feast of St. John, the Baptist, we provide you with this help, but the most important thing for us as a church is the salvation of the human soul. The enemy wants to kill us physically and spiritually. So, we need this spirit so much. We are already united, we are united. Therefore, remember that behind this bodily food there is also spiritual food,” he said and invited to a joint prayer “for a soon victory, so that God would protect us, give us strength so that we would not get tired of standing.”

15,120 food packages distributed

In his turn, Fr. Oleksandr Bilskyy spoke about the efforts of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church in Beryslav to respond to the challenges of war and help the victims in every way possible. “Our assistance is in providing food packages through Mudra Sprava, as well as in providing hygiene kits. After the Kakhovka dam and Kakhovka hydroelectric power station were blown up, Fr. Lyubomyr called on the first day and offered to help in the form of these hygiene kits. And we promptly received a truckload of aid in three days. And by the end of the week, in two or three days, as I recall, we distributed this aid along the Dnipro. In total, it was 1600 hygiene kits. For them, this help is not as important as material aid, but as spiritual aid, which is manifested in the presence of the Church, the presence of a priest in a particular village,” said the pastor of the Parish of the Martyrs of Maccabees.

Father Oleksandr said that this time the Patriarchal Foundation Mudra Sprava distributed 2,520 food packages. They managed to deliver the packages to all children living in Beryslav and Novoraysk territorial communities, as well as to all residents of the villages of Dutchany, Nova Kamyana, Novohryhorivka, Burgunka, Charivne, Tomaryno. “Thanks to this, we as a church can support those people who suffered because of the war and the explosion of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant. We are glad that the Church extends its helping hand to people of different confessions who need help,” said the priest.

In total, he said, since the beginning of the war, their parish community, with the support of Mudra Sprava, has distributed more than 15,120 food packages and 1,600 hygiene kits.

“We are already exhausted, but we are holding on!”

“We are holding on! We are exhausted, but we are holding on. And we thank you for remembering us, for caring about our lives, our pains and worries. Because it is very difficult to be under constant shelling. Especially when the last time we were all at work, and at one point there were seven arrivals at one point just behind the club. Seven arrivals. It was very difficult to survive. Even the men who don’t know the Our Father prayed out loud,” said Lina Korotko, a local teacher of Ukrainian language and literature, about the recent attack.

She added: “And every time we ask you: put a shield over our village. Save our village. Pray for it and for our people. Because it is hard for us. We are begging you.”

Press service of the Patriarchal Foundation Mudra Sprava