International Pilgrimage in Chernivtsi

The Ninth International Pilgrimage of the Rosary for the Unity of the Church, dedicated to the 110th anniversary since the birth of Patriarch Yosyp Slipy, took place in Chernivtsi, which brought together delegations from across Ukraine, as well as Belarus, Russia, Romania, Serbia, Poland, and Lithuania. The annual pilgrimage is courtesy of the Greek Catholic Church striving to unite churches after centuries of schism and consolidate the faithful around an undivided church of Jesus Christ. This time worshipers gathered at the Cathedral of the Assumption of the Holy Virgin to kneel before the wonder-working icon of the Chernivtsi Immaculate Mother of God, Hope of the Despaired. A mass with the participation of high-ranking clergymen was celebrated in Teatralna ploshcha [Theatrical square] in downtown Chernivtsi followed by a religious procession. The program of the pilgrimage also includes special event for the young people, Fraternization of the Youth, which gathered young worshipers from Chernivtsi, Ivano-Frankivsk, Lviv, Ternopil oblasts and elsewhere. As part of the pilgrimage, a scholarly readers’ conference was also held, in the course of which scholars and clergymen discussed problems of the Christianity and its influence on the conscience, morals, and interpersonal relations, as well as the social role of priests. On the whole, the pilgrimage drew almost 3,000 worshipers, reports Nataliya ZHYTARIUK, Chernivtsi.