Yesterday's people's assembly on Independence Square began with a prayer

December 9, 2013 · Vestibule, Orthodoxy

Yesterday, December 8, in Kyiv on the Maidan before the start of the People’s Assembly, a common prayer “Our Father” and a prayer song performed by Taras Petrynenko’s group were heard, and participants of the People’s Assembly joined in.

First, Bishop Agapit (Humenyuk) of Vyshhorod, the abbot of St. Michael’s Golden-Domed Monastery, gave a speech in which he called not to forget about spirituality and to join the Maidans in all regions of the Fatherland. Then he recited the “Our Father” prayer together with the protesters.

After the prayer, the song “Prayer for Ukraine” was performed on the Maidan.

The centerpiece of the spiritual part of the speeches at the Assembly was the address by former head of the UGCC Archbishop Emeritus Lubomyr (Husar), who called to “work as if everything depends on us, and pray as if everything depends on God.”

As noted by the RISU correspondent, on the whole Christian connotations were heard in virtually every speech. These include mentions of a Christian Maidan in a letter from Yulia Tymoshenko and statements from many other politicians that God is with us. To the greeting “Glory to Ukraine!”, “Glory to Jesus Christ!” is increasingly added.

Let us recall that the capital’s protest on the Maidan shows no signs of abating, as the ranks of the rally participants are being replenished daily by new people. Sunday’s People’s Assembly gathered, according to its organizers, a million participants (according to the Ministry of Internal Affairs – up to 100,000). In addition, representatives of the clergy are working there, a sculpture of St. Nicholas has been set up, and a chapel and an interfaith prayer tent are in operation. The doors of churches and temples of different denominations remain open to all protesters seeking shelter between demonstrations.

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