On December 30, 2023, on the Saturday after the Nativity of Christ, Metropolitan Symeon of Vinnytsia and Bar celebrated the Divine Liturgy in the Church of the Protection of the Most Holy Theotokos in the village of Stryzhavka, Vinnytsia district. His Eminence was concelebrated by the Rector of the church, Dean of the Vinnytsia District Deanery and military chaplain Archimandrite Dorofei (Markevich), as well as representatives of the clergy of the Vinnytsia District and the Vinnytsia Cathedral.
During the service, a prayer was offered for the Ukrainian army and Ukraine's victory, as well as a prayer for the repose of the souls of civilians who died as a result of massive missile attacks on Ukrainian cities: Kyiv, Kharkiv, Dnipro, Odesa, Zaporizhzhia, Konotop, Lviv, and others, which was carried out by the russian military the day before, on December 29.
After the Liturgy, a prayer service was held for Ukraine, the Ukrainian Church, its faithful and clergy. Special prayer requests were made for Archimandrite Dorofei (Markevich), who celebrated his birthday that day. On this occasion and for significant personal services in the development of the local Orthodox Church of Ukraine in Vinnytsia region, Archimandrite Dorofei (Markevich), with the blessing of Metropolitan Epiphanius of Kyiv and All Ukraine, was awarded the Order of St. Michael the Archangel, I degree.
Metropolitan Symeon congratulated Archimandrite Dorofei and noted his fruitful pastoral work in the parish of Stryzhavka, as well as his faithful performance of his duties as a confessor and later as Dean of the Vinnytsia district. Metropolitan Symeon thanked Father Archimandrite for his support for the development of the local Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which began with the participation of Fr Dorofei in the Unification Council on December 15, 2018. The Archpastor also noted the activities of Archimandrite Dorofei as a chaplain of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, where the priest provides spiritual and moral support to the defenders of the Motherland.
Representatives of the clergy and parishioners, as well as representatives of local authorities, including the former head of the Vinnytsia Regional State Administration (2015-2019) Valeriy Koroviy and the head of the Stryzhavka territorial community Mykhailo Demchenko, joined Metropolitan Symeon in congratulating the Archimandrite.
On this day, Metropolitan Symeon also honored the benefactor of the Stryzhavka parish of the Protection of the Most Holy Theotokos, Viktor Legun, who was awarded the Order of St. Nicholas of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine for his charitable activities and promotion of the spiritual mission of the Church.
Metropolitan Symeon addressed the clergy and faithful with an archpastoral sermon, in which he paid attention to the spiritual significance of the feast of the Nativity of Christ for all mankind and emphasized that the coming of Christ the Savior into the world gives believers confidence that even during the war, they are not left alone with their pain and suffering. "After all, God is with us, who came to dispel the darkness of sin and lawlessness with His light. And God always helps those who defend the truth and fight the forces of evil. This means that victory will certainly be for Ukraine and the Ukrainian people," the Archpastor emphasized.
Archimandrite Dorofei expressed his gratitude to Metropolitan Symeon, priests and parishioners for the greetings and joint prayer. At the end of the celebrations, Metropolitan Symeon, together with the clergy and parishioners, sang carols before the Christmas Nativity scene.
Press service of the Diocese of Vinnytsia and Bar of the UOC (OCU)
