My Church

2021: Launch Application

In mid-September 2021, the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (PCU) officially announced the launch of its own mobile application, which it called "another bridge of interaction and spiritual communication with believers."

The following sections are available in the appendix entitled "My Church":

• interactive map of temples (about 5000);
• calendar of church holidays and important events (for example, it is indicated on which days you need to fast);
• prayers;
• news from the life of the church;
• personal account, where users can not only personalize the application, but also communicate on topics of spiritual life through online chat with the priest.

On the map in the appendix you can find the addresses of the churches, the schedule of services, information about the date of the feast of the church and the rector of the church.

Launched My Church App

Through the application, you can provide financial support to temples (there will be several ways to transfer funds to charity) or leave suggestions about filling with content.

Based on this application, the Church plans to develop its presence in the digital space in the future. The first release is of a test nature, we strive to hear the believers what information about the Church and from the Church they would like to have in their smartphone. However, communication through the application, like any virtual communication, cannot and will not replace believers with personal communication with the priest prayer in the church and participation in worship and sacraments, "said Archbishop Eustratius.

"My Church" is not the first technological development of PCU. Google Play already has applications "Orthodox Prayer Word," "Trebnik," "Liturgy," "Psalter," "Akafistnik" and "New Testament" from PCU. In addition, PCU has pages on social networks and print publications - the Local Church magazine and the all-Ukrainian newspaper My Church^[1]

2020: Orthodox Church of Ukraine announced the launch of the application

On January 9, 2020, the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (PCU) announced the launch of its own mobile application. It will be called "My Church" and is available for iOS and Android platforms.

As the representative of the Kiev Metropolis of the PCU, Archbishop Eustratius, told Gromadsky Radio, in the annex it will be possible to find the most popular information related to church life.

Orthodox Church of Ukraine (PCU) announced the launch of its own mobile application

For example, about the calendar or about the nearest parish, the church of the PCU. Or about other issues that arise in connection with church life, and which can be solved through the means of modern communication, "he said.

Archbishop Eustratius did not name the timing of the launch of the application. It is also not reported how the information "about the nearest paraphies" will be submitted, which the PCU re-registered and declared its own, but failed to capture.

It is worth noting that the Orthodox Church of Ukraine by the beginning of 2020 is actively present on social networks.

In the world, such services are not new. In some areas of Protestantism, the practice of Internet liturgy and SMS confession is widespread. The Catholic Church uses a iPhone application that allows believers to keep statistics of their sins and measure the purity of conscience.

The document that finally divided the Ukrainian and Russian churches was signed on January 5, 2019 by the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew. Prior to this, a unification council was held in Kiev, during which the PCU was created from the non-canonical Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kiev Patriarchate (UOC-KP). The new church was headed by Metropolitan Epiphanius. The coexistence in Ukraine of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, the remaining part of the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC), has become a barometer of the state of relations between Russia and Ukraine.^[2]

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