Military chaplain Ivan Turchynskyi has transformed a donated cargo van into a mobile church, in which he will serve in eastern Ukraine’s frontline areas.
This is reported by Suspilne.
To remodel the car for Divine Services, he opened a fundraiser. The effort cost $3,000 and took nearly six months. Inside, a throne was installed, icons were placed, and the vehicle was painted camo green. In a few days, Father Turchynskyi will drive the van to the east for the first time.
Ivan Turchynskyi serves as a military chaplain with the 8th Separate Jaeger Assault Battalion of the 10th Edelweiss Brigade. However, he has been with the army for almost a decade. He says he first saw a mobile church in 2017, and since then, he had dreamed of making his own, because the chaplain should always be alongside his unit.
“War requires us, as soldiers, to move rather often. Since our servicemen, like all Christians, confess, receive communion, and desire liturgy, it is not always possible to create stationary prayer spots. Therefore, a decision was made to create a mobile temple,” says the chaplain.
According to the priest, in the mobile temple soldiers can celebrate the Liturgy, confess, and receive communion. Also, everyone can write a note for health or repose and light a candle. Now the chaplain will be able to conduct Divine Services anywhere the battalion deploys.
“The car will work in the east of our country – in all eastern regions, wherever there’s such need,” says the chaplain.
It should be recalled that the first graduation of medical chaplains took place at the specialized educational facility in Ukraine.
