On October 2, the Ukrainian orthodox church launched a cringe service for its parishioners abroad — E-Candle. From now on, on the brand-new website created by the church, everybody, for $3, can put a candle for various requests: peace, health, a happy marriage, the birth of a child, spiritual support, divine inspiration, etc. In addition, for a separate fee, a parishioner can receive a video report where the priest places a candle instead of him. The parishioners also can write an email with names to pray for health and repose.
The Bible insists that the church is not a place for business deals. All the world's churches probably have successfully forgotten about this command of Jesus Christ. Moreover, parishioners actively and, it seems, reverently pay for what must be free. And specifically, an E-Candle from the UOC will be helpful for Ukrainians who left our country because of the war. Today, 53.7% of churches in Ukraine are orthodox, 29% are protestant, and 14.3% are catholic.
Until 980 AD, Kyivan Rus was pagan. In 980, Prince Volodymyr of Rus introduced a christian reform, and in 988, the famous Kyiv baptism took place: thousands of Kyivans were forcibly baptised in the Dnipro river. This is how Ukraine became orthodox. Historical note: from the 1860s, Kyivan Rus became known as Rus-Ukraine and later — just Ukraine.
The monument ща Volodymyr, baptising Ukrainians in the waters of Dnipro, locates in Kyiv, on the right bank of the river. You see it on the cover.
