On August 24, 2026, to mark the 35th anniversary of Ukraine’s Independence, the ceremonial event “Prayer for Ukraine” was held at Saint Sophia of Kyiv with the participation of the Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations (UCCRO) and attended by the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and the First Lady, Olena Zelenska.
Religious leaders representing various churches and religious organizations offered prayers for Ukraine and the Ukrainian people; for the Ukrainian authorities and the Defense Forces of Ukraine; for medical workers, rescuers, chaplains, volunteers, and all those involved in defending the country; for an end to the war and the establishment of a lasting peace for Ukraine; for the release of prisoners and the return of those missing; and for the recovery and further development of Ukraine. Members of the UCCRO also prayed for the return of Ukrainian children from Russian captivity and asked God’s blessing upon schoolchildren and university students as they prepare for the new academic year. The ceremony at Saint Sophia concluded with a choir’s performance of the prayer hymn, “O Great and Almighty God, Protect Our Ukraine.”
Prayers for Ukraine were offered by the heads of churches and religious organizations, including: Metropolitan Epiphaniy, Chair of the UCCRO and Primate of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine; Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk, Head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church; Bishop Vitalii Kryvytskyi, Ordinary of the Kyiv-Zhytomyr Diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in Ukraine; Valerii Antoniuk, President of the All-Ukrainian Union of Churches of Evangelical Christian Baptists; Rabbi Yaakov Dov Bleich, Chief Rabbi of Kyiv and Ukraine of the Association of Jewish Religious Organizations of Ukraine; Sheikh Akhmed Tamim, Supreme Mufti of Ukraine and Head of the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of Ukraine; Bishop Oleksandr Zan-Fabian of the Transcarpathian Reformed Church; and Anatoliy Kozachok, Senior Bishop of the Ukrainian Pentecostal Church.
Joining them in prayer were Roman Prodaniuk, President of the Ukrainian Union Conference of the Seventh-day Adventist Church; Oleksandr Zaitsev, Senior Bishop of the Ukrainian Evangelical Church; Bishop Marcos Hovhannisyan, Head of the Ukrainian Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church; Bishop Pavlo Shvarts of the German Evangelical Lutheran Church of Ukraine; Ayder Rustemov, Supreme Mufti of Crimea and Head of the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea; Bishop Oleksandr Babiychuk, General Secretary of the Ukrainian Bible Society; as well as other representatives of churches and religious organizations and international religious leaders.
On this day, as well as on the eve of Ukraine’s Independence Day, prayers for Ukraine were offered in religious communities throughout Ukraine and in many countries around the world in response to the UCCRO’s Appeal to Religious Leaders, Clergy, Religious Communities, and Believers Worldwide regarding the Global Prayer for Ukraine.
Following the prayer service at Saint Sophia of Kyiv, members of the UCCRO participated in the state ceremony marking the 35th anniversary of Ukraine’s Independence, held at Sofiiska Square in Kyiv.
Photo: Protodeacon Andriy Sydor / OCU