Belarusian Orthodox Christians raise funds for Ukrainian refugees

Prepared for OCP News Service – 23/7/14

On the 20th of July after the Divine Liturgy with the blessing of the Metropolitan Paul of Minsk and Slutsk parishes of all the Belarusian churches raised money in order to help the people who had to leave their home due to the conflict in Ukraine.

The parish of Joy of All Who Sorrow Church in Minsk also took part in the fundraising for the Ukrainian refugees whose native country is now the region of military activities with victims among civilians. As the archpriest Oleg Shulgin, the parish’s cleric, explained, during every divine service the priests pray for the ending of the armed conflict in Ukraine and for the people affected by this internal fight.

Oleg Shulgin told: “Starting from the 22th of June with the blessing of His Holliness Patriarch Kirill the special prayer for the reconcilement of the feuding parts and for the ending of the internal fight is being said during the divine services. This prayer will be offered till the end of this internal fight. We are not just eagerly praying but also trying to help with money the people who had to run away from this commotion”.

The money collected on the 20th of July will be counted and transferred to the eparchies. After that the funds will be transferred to the charity accounts.

For many Ukrainians leaving their country is a step of necessity taken in order to save their lives and the lives of their children.

The head of the Crisis Psychology Centre at the Patriarchal Metochion in Moscow Mihail Hasminski explains: “Imagine a person who has no home, money or savings, who is facing the worst side of life. Such a psychological state is very grave and that is why one needs to help these people to find themselves and help them with money”.

As Mr Hasminski believes, helping to the people in a hard situation is our Christian duty: “One can tell what kind of Christian you are from how you fulfill this duty. Let’s recall the example of the Apostles who evinced by their life and behavior the sublime image of a Christian and who showed that God is love. In this particular case to help your neighbor means to demonstrate love”.

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