The ashes of Yevhen Konovalets, the first head of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN), have been brought to the Patriarchal Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC) in Kyiv for a farewell ceremony, photographer Yan Dobronosov said.
"Yevhen Konovalets’ remains have already been brought to Kyiv. They were delivered to the main cathedral of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church in the capital, where people can pay their respects," he said on Facebook and posted corresponding photos.
Officials at the Patriarchal Cathedral of the UGCC said that clergy from the Patriarchal Cathedral, led by Bishop Joseph Milian, protosyncellus of Kyiv Archdiocese of the UGCC, participated in the gathering and prayer service.
In particular, the clergy performed a memorial service for the repose of Colonel Konovalets’ soul, praying for "the eternal rest of his soul and thanking God for the gift of his life and service to the Ukrainian people."
It is noted that memorial services will continue at the Patriarchal Cathedral, during which the faithful will have the opportunity to honor the memory of the colonel in prayer and bid him farewell.
"The return of Yevhen Konovalets’ remains is not merely the return of the remains of an outstanding Ukrainian. It is the return of historical memory that unites generations," the UGCC said.
On August 13, Konovalets’ coffin was received in Ukraine with full military honors.
As previously reported, on August 11 in Rotterdam (the Netherlands), a ceremony was held to exhume the remains of the prominent Ukrainian military and political figure, Colonel Yevhen Konovalets. His remains will be reburied at the National Military Memorial Cemetery.
The monument from Konovalets’ grave in Rotterdam (the Netherlands) will be brought to Ukraine as a memorial object and preserved at his family estate in Lviv region, while the burial site itself will be turned into a memorial.
Yevhen Konovalets (1891-1938) was a Ukrainian military and political figure, a colonel in the Army of the Ukrainian People’s Republic, commander of the Sich Riflemen Corps, founder of the Ukrainian Military Organization, and first head of the Leadership of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN).
Konovalets was assassinated on May 23, 1938, by Pavel Sudoplatov, an agent of the Soviet Foreign Intelligence Service, and was buried at the Crossways Cemetery in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
