Bishop Mykolay (Simkaylo) blessed the festival "Sources of Pokuttya"

This past weekend, the second regional festival of Pokuttya of amateur art entitled "Sources of Pokuttya" was held in Horodenko. Celebrations began with the Divine Liturgy, which was led by Reverend Bishop Mykolay (Simkaylo), Eparch of Kolomyja-Chernivtsi.  The festival brought together artistic collectives from five districts of Pokuttya of the Ivano-Frankivs’k region (Horodenka, Tlumach, Tysmenytsya, Kolomyja, Snyatyn) as well as guest from Poland. Thousands of people came to Horodenka for the Pokuttya holiday. After the joint prayer in the church of the Dormition of the Holiest Mother of God, the participants walked ceremonially to the monument of Independence and to the central square of the city. During the opening speech, the representatives of clergy and state authority were presented. Also during the speech, Bishop Mykolay explained the role of spirituality and patriotism for the Ukrainian nation, the importance of unity in this unique time for our state and Church. The bishop of the UOC (KP) Ivan (Boychuk) took part in the celebration. The head of regional administration, Mykola Paliychuk, thanked the regional clergy and the entire community of Pokuttya for their patriotic spirit and for honoring the memory of their heroes. The highlight of the festival, other than the exhibition of folk art and crafts as well as the festival concert featuring Ukrainian stars, was the opening of the ethnographic museum “Pokuttya.” The official festival torch of Horodenkers was accepted by delegation of the Tlumach district.

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