Czech priest on Ukrainian refugees: “In Church, they feel at home”
Church services in Church Slavonic help Ukrainian refugees preserve their spiritual connection with home and cope with the hardships of forced displacement.
In an interview with the UOJ’s Czech and Slovak branch, Fr. Vasyl, a priest at the Cathedral of Saints Cyril and Methodius in Prague, spoke about the spiritual support provided to Ukrainian refugees and their adaptation to life in the Czech Republic.
“What weighs most heavily on Ukrainians is being far from home. They’re constantly thinking about what their home looks like, how their loved ones are living, because they’re following everything happening back in Ukraine,” Fr. Vasyl shared with the correspondent.
According to the priest, even though refugees are physically safe, their thoughts remain with their homeland. That’s why many turn to the Church for spiritual support.
“They often come to priests seeking advice, comfort, or someone to talk to about their problems. Of course, we can’t always offer complete answers, not having experienced what they have – but we remind them that faith saves believers, and that their hardships will one day pass,” he said.
To help refugees feel at home, Church Slavonic – familiar to them from Ukraine – was incorporated into the services.
“When they hear the Church Slavonic texts, they rejoice and say it feels like home. That’s very important to them, especially in the beginning when they still don’t understand Czech well,” Fr. Vasyl explained.
He also noted that more and more refugees are requesting prayer services in their native language. For personal sacraments such as weddings or baptisms, services are always conducted in Church Slavonic.
“The hardest thing for refugees is that they constantly think about going back – but they see there’s nowhere to return to yet. Some have lost their homes and truly have no place to go back to. So now, they are seeking to find a new place here,” he said.
Fr. Vasyl added that priests support refugees not only spiritually, but also by offering practical advice for adapting to Czech society and helping them navigate everyday challenges.
The Cathedral of Saints Cyril and Methodius in Prague, like many other Orthodox churches in the Czech Republic, has become not only a place of worship for Ukrainian refugees but also a hub of support and community.
Earlier, the UOJ reported on how Ukrainian believers are adapting in the United States.
