Churches across Britain hold services for Ukraine after Putin ordered Russian invasion
Prayers for Ukraine: Churches across Britain hold services for nation after Putin ordered Russian invasion
Prayer services for peace in Ukraine have been held all over Britain todayThe Archbishops of Canterbury and York set aside this Sunday as a day of prayerThey said: ‘This attack is an act of evil’ and risks peace and security in Europe
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Special prayer services for peace in Ukraine have been held all over Britain today.
They came after a call from the Archbishops of Canterbury and York to set aside this Sunday as a day of prayer.
Both Archbishops issued a pastoral letter to the clergy and people of the Church of England, calling on them to pray for peace in Ukraine.
They wrote: ‘This attack is an act of evil, imperilling as it does the relative peace and security that Europe has enjoyed for so long.
Prayer services for peace in Ukraine have been held all over Britain today. Pictured: A service is held at Our Lady of Perpetual Succour and St Alban, Ukrainian Catholic Church, Nottingham
A woman wearing a garland of flowers weeps while at the service. The congregation prayed for peace and sung hymns in Ukrainian
Churches all over the country used today as a special time to pray for peace as war rages in Ukraine
Members of the congregation lit candles in remembrance of those who have lost their lives in the conflict
The Archbishops of Canterbury and York said: ‘We lament with the people of Ukraine, and we pray for the innocent, the frightened and those who have lost loved ones, homes, and family’
The Very Reverend Father David Senyk (pictured) said: ‘It’s so difficult for us to be able to provide what we would consider ultimate support and reach out to them, and the best we can do at the moment is through prayer’
‘The attack by one nation on a free, democratic country has rightly provoked outrage, sanctions, and condemnation.
‘We lament with the people of Ukraine, and we pray for the innocent, the frightened and those who have lost loved ones, homes, and family.
‘We continue to call for a ceasefire and the withdrawal of Russian forces as well as wide-ranging efforts to ensure peace, stability and security.’
At a service at Our Lady of Perpetual Succour and St Alban in Sneinton, Nottingham, the Very Reverend Father David Senyk said the people of Ukraine had God’s support, before the congregation sang hymns in Ukrainian.
Vadym Prystaiko, (right), the ambassador of Ukraine to the UK, takes part in a special service at the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Holy Family of London
People were visibly emotional at the special service at the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Holy Family of London, which is in Mayfair
Conservative MPs Nickie Aiken and Mark Pritchard take part in the special service that was held on Sunday
Candles were lit as members of the community prayed for those were involved in the conflict
At the Our Lady of the Holy Patronage & St Alban’s Ukrainian Catholic Church, in Nottingham, Father Senyk, whose father was Ukrainian, said the invasion was ‘difficult not just to explain but to comprehend’
He added: ‘I thank God that my father isn’t with us today, because this would have broken his heart’
The Church of England’s bishop in Europe Robert Innes, who was in Brussels, said: ‘Our little church in Kyiv are right at the centre of this crisis’
He said: ‘Some of them have fled the city by car, others are still there. These are our people, our brothers and sisters, and of course we are very concerned for their wellbeing and safety’
Father Senyk, whose father was Ukrainian, said the invasion was ‘difficult not just to explain but to comprehend’.
‘It’s so difficult for us to be able to provide what we would consider ultimate support and reach out to them, and the best we can do at the moment is through prayer,’ he told the BBC.
‘I thank God that my father isn’t with us today, because this would have broken his heart.’
A woman puts her hands together in prayer as people came together to hope for peace in Ukraine
A man wearing a blue and yellow scarf comforts a woman during the service in Nottingham
Meanwhile, other church services took place around Britain.
Members of the congregation were visibly emotional during a service at the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Holy Family of London, in Mayfair, which had Ukraine’s ambassador to the UK in attendance.
The Church of England’s bishop in Europe Robert Innes, who was in Brussels, said: ‘Our little church in Kyiv are right at the centre of this crisis.
‘Some of them have fled the city by car, others are still there.
‘These are our people, our brothers and sisters, and of course we are very concerned for their wellbeing and safety.
‘In the face of military action and aggression, we feel powerless.
‘What can we do? One thing that we can all do is pray.’
The congregation sang from hymn sheets that had the phrase ‘I stand with Ukraine’ written on them
An alter boy holds a candle during the prayer service today that called for peace in Ukraine
The Archbishops of Canterbury and York also encouraged the Church of England to join with Pope Francis in making Ash Wednesday on March 2 a day of fasting and prayer for peace.
Pope Francis today denounced the ‘diabolical and perverse logic’ of launching a war in Ukraine in his strongest public comments yet.
He also called for humanitarian corridors to welcome Ukrainian refugees fleeing the ‘tragic’ invasion of their homeland.
Francis has refrained from calling out Russia by name as he seeks to mend ties with the Russian Orthodox Church, and he again omitted any reference to Moscow on Sunday.
However, he said: ‘Those who make war forget humanity.
He added that warfare ‘relies on the diabolical and perverse logic of weapons, which is the farthest thing from God’s will.’
The Pope repeated his call for the faithful to mark Ash Wednesday this week as a day of fasting and prayer to show solidarity with the ‘suffering people of Ukraine.’
Earlier on Sunday the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople described Russia’s invasion as ‘beyond every sense of law and morality’ and pleaded for an end to the war.
