Rada establishes National Day of Prayer: how it will be celebrated
12 February 14:35
Ukraine will officially establish a National Day of Prayer. The Verkhovna Rada has supported bill No. 12412, which establishes an annual celebration of this day on February 24, the anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion. The decision was made today, February 12, during a plenary session. This was announced by MP from the Voice party Yaroslav Zheleznyak, Komersant ukrainskyi reports.
According to him, the resolution was supported by 255 MPs at the plenary session on Wednesday.
The bill was initiated by a group of MPs representing various factions and groups. Among them are David Arakhamia, head of the Servant of the People faction, Mykyta Poturaiev, head of the Parliamentary Committee on Humanitarian and Information Policy, MP from the Servant of the People, Yulia Tymoshenko, leader of the Batkivshchyna party, and others.
What does the law provide for?
According to the explanatory note to the draft law, the National Day of Prayer will be an official memorial day to be celebrated annually.
As stated in the explanatory note to the draft resolution, its purpose is to establish a National Day of Prayer in Ukraine, which will be celebrated annually on February 24, the anniversary of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation.
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The draft law provides for the following measures:
- The session of the Verkhovna Rada on this day will begin with the performance of the spiritual anthem of Ukraine “God is great, united”.
- The Cabinet of Ministers is to develop and approve a comprehensive action plan for the celebration of the National Day of Prayer with the participation of the All-Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations within three months.
- The regional and Kyiv city state administrations should ensure that relevant events are held at the local level.
Historical context
The initiators of the resolution noted that there were examples in history when national prayers played an important role in the fate of states.
In particular, in May 1940, four days after taking office as Prime Minister of Great Britain, Winston Churchill declared a National Day of Prayer.
A similar example occurred in the United States on June 6, 1944, when President Franklin Roosevelt called on Americans to pray together on the day of the Allied landings in Normandy. The text of the prayer was published in advance so that Americans could recite it with him.
When the law will come into force
The provisions of the document state that the law will come into force on the day following the day of its publication (after the president of Ukraine signs it).
Then February 24 will officially become a memorial day – the National Day of Prayer.
