On October 2, in the Headquarters of the Stauropegium of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Ukraine, St. Andrew’s Church in Kyiv, the Exarch of the Ecumenical Patriarch, Bishop Michael of Koman, celebrated the Divine Liturgy in co-service with OCU priest Vasyl Vyrozub, who had been captured by the Russian invaders on February 25.
That’s according to the Mission’s press service.
The Exarch of the Ecumenical Patriarch thanked Fr. Vasyl for the visit to the Stauropegium of the Ecumenical Patriarch in Ukraine.
“With your presence, as a chaplain, you support our Defenders, the Armed Forces of Ukraine, who protect us all, bringing our victory closer. May the Lord bless you and strengthen you,” said Bishop Michael of Koman.
Fr. Vasyl Vyrozub, in turn, invited Bishop Michael to visit the land of Odesa.
It should be recalled that Father Vasyl Vyrozub is one of those who, on February 25, was on board the search and rescue ship Sapfir, bound for Snake Island, to retrieve the bodies of the fallen Ukrainian defenders.
The ship’s crew was captured by the Russian forces. Father Vasyl, together with other members of the humanitarian mission, spent 70 days in enemy captivity. Throughout this period, he was interrogated several times a day.
The Ruscists inquired from the chaplain, why the team decided to take the bodies from the island, which branch of the SBU security service they work for, and whether they are part of the Azov Regiment or the Right Sector unit. They pressured the men psychologically, but the real torture began in the filtration camp of Russia’s Belgorod region, and then in the detention center. Chased with dogs, beat with truncheons and electrocuted with shockers, the men were subjected to all kinds of violent torture on the part of the Russians, the clergyman recalls.
President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, awarded OCU Chaplain Vasyl Vyrozub with the Order of Merit III degree.
Father Vasyl has now returned to his work in the Holy Trinity Church in Odesa where he is an abbot. The priest also provides assistance to those whose loved ones remain in captivity.
