Praying for Ukraine
An exhibition of icons dedicated to Maidan and events in Donbas opens in Warsaw
Starting from February 17, it is possible to pray for peace in Ukraine and look at the icons, dedicated to the anniversary of the tragic events, at the Dominican Church in Warsaw, Poland.
The exhibition “Prayer for Ukraine” started a series of memorial events in Warsaw, organized to honor those killed on Maidan and in Donbas. Another mass will be celebrated at the Greek Catholic Church of Basilian Fathers, the center of the Ukrainian community in Poland’s capital. Representatives of various denominations will pray together for the fallen in the war and for the establishment of peace.
The exhibit is organized by the independent civic association Elios-Mylist (department of social service and charity at the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, Kyiv Patriarchate) and St. Lazarus Icon Shop (Poland). They were helped by the Institute of Eastern Christian Studies, the Club of Catholic Intellectuals, and the Dominican Monastery in Warsaw.
The masterminds of the event wanted not only to display the works of the icon painters, but also provide spiritual support to charitable initiatives of Polish organizations and societies which are helping Ukraine. “We want to preserve the atmosphere of praying for peace and quiet in Ukraine. And we have opened this exhibit here not only to let people just have a look at icons, but also so that they can pray for our brothers in the east,” explains icon painter and owner of St. Lazarus Icon Shop Hubert Kampa.
This is exactly why the exhibit opened with a joint prayer of Ukrainian and Polish priests for peace in Ukraine, followed by a requiem for the fallen on Maidan and in Donbas. One of the participants was Archbishop Ilarion, who thanked the Poles on behalf of all Ukrainians for the prayer and the enormous support, and not only spiritual. “We are experiencing great pain and great joy. The events in Ukraine cause us pain, but we feel joy from a joint prayer of our two nations sharing a tragic history,” said Archbishop Ilarion. Among the visitors was also Andrii Deshchytsia, the Ambassador of Ukraine to Poland.
The site of the event was also symbolic. During the Warsaw Uprising the Dominican Church housed an infirmary. Today it houses the blessed icon of Our Lady of Chortkiv, brought here from contemporary Ukrainian territory.
Photo by Tomasz GOLAB
A renowned Polish composer, performer, and conductor Pawel Bebenek accompanied the prayer.
“This is the first time that we have organized an event like that. The joint prayer of Ukrainians and Poles here, in Warsaw, united many people, especially on the Polish side. Due to this exhibit we have made lots of new friends who will pray for Ukraine and help it. It is very important that we were able to involve the Polish clergy and Ukraine’s representatives in Poland. It was absolutely touching when people came up to thank us: this means that we are one big family,” said Rev. Serhii (Dmytriiev), deputy chairman of the social aid department of the UOC KP, president of the NGO Elios-Mylist.
Most of the displayed icons were created during the International Painting Plein Air “Mercy in Icon,” which took place at the St. Michael’s Monastery at the end of the past year. The authors of 44 works are some dozen artists from Ukraine, Poland, France, Slovakia, and Lithuania.
The display in Warsaw will be open till March. Afterwards the organizers of Prayer for Ukraine are planning to hold a similar event in Krakow. “We would very much like to hold the exhibit during the Charity Week which is marked in Poland in March,” says Rev. Serhii. Later the icons will be handed over to the Polish and Ukrainian hospitals where the wounded participants of Maidan and soldiers from Donbas are undergoing treatment.
COMMENTARY
Danuta KOWALSKA, icon painter:
“I paint icons myself, and it was interesting to see the work of other artists. I cannot say which of them I liked the most. Each icon has its own style, and each is interesting and beautiful in its own individual way.
“Someone say that an image can only be called an icon if it inspires a desire to pray before it. These icons do. Even if you just glance at them, they hold you back, you feel like standing still for a while to feel this peace and calm.
“The original concept which inspired these icons is interesting: the developments in Ukraine. I loved the icon by Andrii Vynnychko (Lviv) Mother of God, the Unshattered Wall and Guardian of Ukraine. It depicts the Mother of God Orantha, and behind her a crowd for which we pray and which she guards, with a Holy Spirit above them all, who rests and shows that Ukraine has a hope. And it means that we, too, have a hope. Our histories are intertwined. And if Ukraine has no peace, neither will Poland.”
