UOC priest seriously injured during Sumy shelling
Archpriest Pavlo Sereda. Photo: Sumy Eparchy
A cleric of the UOC, Archpriest Pavlo Sereda, was seriously injured during the shelling of Sumy on September 16, 2026, reports the press service of the Sumy Eparchy.
According to the eparchy, the priest and his son Vasyl were in a car near the epicenter of a guided aerial bomb explosion. They were going to get bread to prepare hot meals for those in need, the homeless, and internally displaced persons.
The car was damaged by shrapnel. Archpriest Pavlo had his eye amputated and also sustained shrapnel wounds to his face and body. His son received minor injuries from glass fragments and experienced an acute stress reaction to the explosion. The priest is undergoing treatment and will require further medical care, prosthetics, and lengthy rehabilitation.
The eparchy has appealed for prayer and material support for the injured priest and his family.
As the UOJ reported, the Prophet Elijah Church in Sumy prepares and distributes hot meals daily to people who find themselves in difficult life circumstances.
Read also
All-Ukrainian conference on Orthodox family to be held in Odesa
The forum "In the Footsteps of the Apostles" will take place on October 5–6 at the Odesa Theological Seminary.
Metropolitan Longin (Zhar) undergoes heart surgery
Metropolitan Longin of Bancheny was successfully operated on.
UOC priest seriously injured during Sumy shelling
Archpriest Pavlo Sereda was seriously injured while going to get bread for those in need.
Ukrainian RCC bishop: Enmity between Poland and Ukraine incited by RF agents
Bishop Eduard Kava called on believers and non-believers in Ukraine and Poland not to fall for provocations and not to incite inter-ethnic hostility.
President's ex-press secretary: I ask God's forgiveness for helping Zelensky
The ex-official repented of working for the Office of the President, calling Zelensky an "instrument of the nation's suicide".
Bishop Veniamin of Boyarka visits UOC communities in Austria and Hungary
The head of the Western European Vicariate of the UOC celebrated the Divine Liturgy at the Vienna Church of the Venerable Fathers of the Kyiv Caves.