Priest’s prayers for peace from Ukrainian bomb shelter to lead BBC radio service

The Revd Sylvia Cortez-Masyuk will remember all those caught up in war and facing separation, fear and bereavement, in prayer as part of a service to be broadcast across 39 local radio stations in England.

She will also be joined by her husband Volodymyr Masyuk, reading the Lord’s Prayer in Ukrainian.

The service is being led by the Church of England’s Diocese in Diocese in Europe, which has churches both in Kyiv and Moscow.

Alison Rogers, a member of the congregation of St Andrew's Anglican Church Moscow, will give a reading from John 14: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you”.

Other contributors will include Fr Bohdan Matwijczuk, a priest in the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Great Britain.

Kyiv, and other cities in Ukraine have been facing bombardment by Russian forces who invaded last week.

In her prayer recorded from a bomb shelter in the city, the Revd Cortez-Masyuk will say: “God of peace and justice, we pray for all caught up in conflicts not of their making.

“We pray for those separated from those they love, anxious for the safety of others more than themselves.

“We pray for those in the simple human needs that are overwhelmed in our crisis – for those in sickness, hunger, or without shelter.

“And we pray for those who have died and for those who mourn.”

In his sermon, the Church of England’s Bishop in Europe, Robert Innes, will reflect on the words of the Revd Canon Malcolm Rogers, Chaplain of St Andrew's Moscow.

“He feels a sense of darkness is falling in Russia,” Bishop Robert will say.

“This is partly a matter of things being more difficult to get in the shops, no access to foreign currency, the closing down of airspace meaning you can get start to feel trapped.

In England, churches have been combining prayer for Ukraine with practical help for refugees and others suffering because of the Russian invasion.

The Archbishops of Canterbury and York last week issued a pastoral letter to the clergy and people of the Church of England, calling on them to pray for peace in Ukraine.