With holy water upon prison walls

Each of more than five hundred convicted prisoners at Mykolaiv Correctional Colony No. 50, located in the village of Zaklad, Lviv Region, on Sunday, 18 January, on the second day of the Orthodox Christmas fast, had a bowl of kutya, four pampushky with poppy and cherry, plum and apple preserves, and a cup of uzvar on their dinner table.
That is, the same dishes consumed that evening by those celebrating in freedom – although in limited assortment. The institution's administration says that it acted in a Christian manner.

According to the colony's commander, Major of Internal Service Igor Sosnilo, the poppy seeds for the pampushky were partly assisted by charitable organisations, the rest was purchased by colony staff at the market. A similarly festive menu was available to prisoners on 6 January. The dishes were prepared by their fellow prisoners, who work in the food service.

Yesterday, on the Feast of the Epiphany, the institution was visited by clergy of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Kyiv Patriarchate) and the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, who blessed water, sprinkled it throughout all the premises and their residents, and distributed icons and crosses to the convicted prisoners. Incidentally, prior to this ceremony, Father Mykola Bilyak visited one of the local lakes and bathed in a hole in the ice…


Ivan Farion, Vysokyy Zamok