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Ecumenical Farewell to the Carol

2021-02-24 16:30

As part of the IES’ mini-grant competition “Joint Initiatives to Promote Ecumenical Cooperation” on February 7, 2021 the joint celebrations called “Farewell to the Carol 2021” were held in the church of St. John the Theologian in the village of Sukhovolya. This year's event was dedicated to the Christian unity and began with a common prayer of all denominations of Sukhovolya. The meeting united the parishioners of the village in prayer and celebration.

The following performers took part in the festive concert: the duo of Sofia Romanko and Karina Kruk (Sukhovolya), the school vocal ensemble of the Sukhovolya Lyceum under the direction of Tatiana Davyd, Tatiana Davyd in a duet with Christina Yurchyshyn, the women's choir of the parish of Sts. app. Peter and Paul OCU of Sukhovolya (leader - Joseph Plaskon), men's ensemble of the church of St. John the Theologian (leader - Tatiana Davyd), women's choir of the Church of St. John the Theologian (leader - Yulia Zhahalyak), women's and men's ensemble of Sukhovolya with soloist Natalia Verbyanska, trio “Dyvotsvit” of the Zhymna voda People's House (leader - Marta Boyko), Martusya Ivashchyshyn and the trio “Dzvinochky” (pupils of Zymna Voda People's House, leader - Maryana Ivashchyshyn) and other performers.

A pleasant innovation of this year's celebrations was the participation of soloists and vocal-instrumental ensembles from Zymna Voda within the newly formed OTG. The culmination of the event was a theatrical performance with a fire show on the churchyard “Nativity scene on stilts” (Drohobych), which once again showed everyone the importance of God's presence in the life and in the hearts of everyone, said Zenoviy Duda. The hosts of the concert were Orest Zalizniak and Solomiya Kovalyk. The organizer of the festive event - Fr. Ihor Holovchak, pastor of the UGCC parish of St. John the Theologian, who thanked IES for the financial support of this ecumenical action.

The day before the event, on February 6, a master class on making pampukhy (donuts) was held for the young people of two parishes: St. John the Theologian of UGCC and the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul of OCU. The hostess shared their homemade recipes, told various secrets with which the pampkhy would stay fresh for a long time and would not absorb oil. The youth, participants of the master class, talked about their home traditions, shared their skills, talked, took photos and had a good time together. And as a result - they learned to cook pampukhy, and in the end ate this delicacy. The atmosphere of the event was very friendly and with the smell of pampukhy, said Maria Schweiher.

Also, during the carol celebration, a charity lottery was held, the money from which went to the parish fund “Brother for Brother”. Despite the frosts, the blizzard organizers felt great support and love from people who donated their money, knowing that each hryvnia would help persons and families in need! The organizers invested part of the raised funds in the trip for eleven orphans and children from low-income families to the tubing park “Hedgehog” nearby their village.

Materials and photos used from the website of the parish of St. John the Theologian of Sukhovolya village.

Information:

The Competition of mini-grants “Joint Initiatives to Promote Ecumenical Cooperation” is organized by the Institute of Ecumenical Studies of the Ukrainian Catholic University with the support of the Fellowship and Aid to the Christians of the East “Oeuvre d'Orient” (France).