The first group of more than 5,000 pilgrims arrived in Kyiv from various countries on Saturday to attend the consecration of the Patriarchal Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ, the main cathedral of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church.
More than 250 priests came, on their own or at the head of parties, to take part in the event, Ukraine’s Greek Catholic Church said in a statement, citing the head of its pilgrimage center, priest Liubomyr Yavorsky.
The first group of guests arrived at 6 a.m., one more was expected at 3 p.m., and a third one on Sunday. Pilgrims arrived from Poland, Slovakia, Lithuania, Canada, the United States, Germany, Argentina, Australia, Belarus, and Kazakhstan.
An all-night vigil starts on Saturday that will include the consecration of the exterior of the cathedral, while a procession, communion service and the consecration of the interior are scheduled for Sunday.
The Greek Catholic Church also planned events commemorating Russia’s Christianization in the late 980s on Saturday and Sunday.
