On December 6, 2024, on the Day of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU), the first military prayer breakfast was held in Kyiv, attended by President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, senior military leadership, military personnel, representatives of churches and religious organizations, volunteers, government officials, and foreign guests. 

The event began with the performance of the National Anthem of Ukraine and a minute of silence in honor of those who fell for Ukraine. Primate of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine Epifaniy, Bishop Vitaliy Kryvytskyi of the Diocese of Kyiv and Zhytomyr of the Roman Catholic Church, and Chairman of the All-Ukrainian Union of Baptists Valeriy Antoniuk addressed the participants of the event with a welcoming speech and prayed together the Lord's Prayer. 

The participants then prayed for the command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the Land Forces, the Air Force, the Navy, the Air Assault Forces, the Special Operations Forces, the Territorial Defense Forces, the Logistics Forces, the Support Forces, the Unmanned Systems Forces, and other defense and security forces of Ukraine. 

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed the participants of the prayer breakfast, expressing gratitude to military chaplains for their service on the front line and calling on denominations to increase Ukrainian chaplaincy.

Addressing the participants of the prayer breakfast, the President of Ukraine noted that there had been many dark times in history, but people still managed to go through them in prayer with hope in God. "This is exactly what we are doing now. We are defending our state with hope for justice and for God, and we see how this is combined," V. Zelenskyy said.

In conclusion, the participants of the first military prayer breakfast jointly performed the Spiritual Anthem of Ukraine "God, Great, One!". 

The event was organized by the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine and the Prayer Breakfast Movement of Ukraine.

Photo by pomisna.info