29 March 2024

‘Please pray for us as we are standing here for our land and for our roots’ 

Russia’s war on Ukraine is moving towards Kyiv. Picture: iStock

By Stephen Cauchi 

1 March 2022

Anglicans in Kyiv have requested prayer as Russian soldiers continue their advance into Ukraine. 

Diocese in Europe chief pastor Bishop Robert Innes passed on a message from the Anglican congregation in Christ Church, Kyiv, on the Diocese of Europe website. 

“The people in our little church in Kyiv are at the centre of this crisis,” he said. 

“Some have fled the city by car whilst others are still there. These are people, our brothers and sisters. We are very concerned for their well-being and safety.” 

Bishop Innes said he had received a message from the churchwarden at the Kyiv church named Christina.   

Read more: Melbourne Ukrainians pray, rally for peace

She had said: “Please pray for us as we are standing here for our land and for our roots.  The battle for Kyiv has begun; it is fierce and intensive. Pray for us.” 

Bishop Innes said there would be an online prayer gathering, hosted on the Diocese of Europe’s webpage, on Tuesday 1 March at 6pm Greenwich Mean Time, which is 5am Wednesday in Melbourne.  

The prayer gathering will be led by Bishop Innes with assistance from the Reverend Canon Malcolm Rogers, the area dean for Russia and Ukraine and the chaplain in Moscow. 

Speaking in a video on Twitter, Bishop Innes urged them to join in prayer for the people of Ukraine. He said the Ukrainian Anglican community was deeply appreciative of the prayers of their fellow believers. 

 “War is horrible. It injures, destroys, and kills in an often indiscriminate and uncontrollable way. In the face of military action and aggression, we feel powerless,” he said.  

“We can pray in solidarity with those most affected. We can pray that God will, even now, overrule in the hearts and minds of those with power and authority.  

“We can pray that the victims will be few and that the innocent will be protected. We can pray that peace will come through justice and not through the infliction of the will of a stronger party on a weaker.” 

To watch the online gathering on YouTube at 5am Wednesday visit: europe.anglican.org/main/latest-news/post/1781-prayers-across-europe-for-peace-in-ukraine.

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