Bishop Kenneth Nowakowksi, the Ukrainian Greek Catholic eparch for Great Britain, expressed his sadness to be leading events in London to mark the second anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The Ukrainian Cathedral of the Holy Family in Exile hosted an interfaith prayer service for the anniversary on 24 February, with 528 paper angels strung across the nave representing each child known to have been killed since the invasion.
Bishop Nowakowski led prayers alongside religious leaders including Rabbi Helen Freeman of the West London Synagogue and Bishop Bohdan Matwijiwczuk of the autocephalous Orthodox Church of Ukraine in Great Britain.
Latin-rite Catholics were represented by the apostolic nuncio to Great Britain, Archbishop Miguel Maury Buendía, and Archbishop John Wilson of Southwark, who recalled his visit to the cathedral shortly after the invasion in 2022 and said he was “so sorry to be here again in these circumstances”.
Addressing the civic and religious leaders in the congregation, Bishop Nowakowski said that “your support, your kindness and your generosity will never be forgotten by the Ukrainian people”. He said that “gratitude” and “hope” were the two messages of the service.
Accompanied by the choir of St Mary’s Ukrainian School in Holland Park, two children of Ukrainian servicemen lit two candles marking the two years of war, while ten others laid flowers marking the decade of Russian attacks on Ukraine since the Maidan Revolution in 2014.
Bishop Mike Royal of Churches Together in England, Bishop Hovakim Manukyan of Armenian Orthodox Diocese of Great Britain, Rabbi Helen Freeman of the West London Synagogue, Archbishop John Wilson, Archbishop Miguel Maury Buendía and Bishop Kenneth Nowakowski at the prayer service. Credit: CBCEW/Mazur
The congregation joined in a prayer for Ukraine remembering “the mothers and fathers, the innocent children, widows and orphans, the disabled and helpless, those seeking shelter and refuge, who reach out to you and to their fellow human beings looking for mercy and compassion”.
They also prayed for “those who have been overtaken by a spirit of deception and violence, that they be horrified by their works”. The prayer continued: “Grant victory over the powers of evil that have arisen and bless Ukraine with your gifts of liberty, peace, tranquillity, and good fortune.”
After the service, several hundred people gathered at Speaker’s Corner in Hyde Park and processed to Trafalgar Square for a vigil to “honour the resilience of Ukraine”.
Several hundred people joined the procession from Speaker’s Corner to Trafalgar Square. Credit: CBCEW/Mazur
The housing minister Felicity Buchan, who represented the government at the service, said: “This is the moment to affirm tyranny will never win and we will stand by Ukraine today and tomorrow.”
Edward Fesko, the charge d’affairs at the Ukrainian Embassy to the UK, also spoke at the service. “The best way we can honour those who have lost their lives it to carry – there is no time for complaining or despair,” he said.
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