The mood among worshipers Sunday morning at Sts. Peter and Paul Ukrainian Orthodox Church was sadness and anger at Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion into a country where many have relatives or a connection through lineage, but there was hope and faith that God will bring peace.

After the Divine Liturgy at 10 a.m., the Rev. Yurii Bobko’s sermon focused solely on the invasion.

“As Christians, we have gathered here the last two days to pray for Ukraine and the Ukrainian people,” said Bobko, who was born and raised in Ukraine. “Prayer, for Christians, is the most powerful weapon.”

He asked his congregation of about 30 to remember Ukrainians in their daily lives and prayers, and to pray the invasion does not escalate into a larger scale war in which Putin could use nuclear weapons.

‘No God in this man’

“Pray for those fighting and those who have already passed from us, and pray that this war and this evil invasion and evil desires of the president of the Russian Federation, Putin, is not going to go to the whole world,” Bobko said. “Unfortunately, there is no God in this man and everyone is afraid he could let the nuclear weapons into the world.”

He discussed the burning oil and gas yards in Kiev, the Ukrainian people fleeing into Poland, and those who have hunkered down in subways in Kiev and other cities.

Bobko said he has heard that three babies have been born in the subways since the invasion began.

“So pray that our merciful Lord will stop all of this invasion, will stop the deaths, and the enemy in his evil thoughts,” Bobko said.

Some in the congregation dabbed their eyes as Bobko spoke.

Maria Corbin, of Butler Township and a member at Sts. Peter and Paul, said the service was very powerful given the situation in Ukraine.

“Ukrainians are innocent in all this,” Corbin said. “(Putin) is evil. This is totally unprovoked.”

Chaos and suffering

Lydia Diakiw Rudolf’s father served as priest at the church for 25 years, beginning in the late 1960s.

Both her maternal and paternal grandparents emigrated to the U.S. from Ukraine.

She said friends who attended church camp with her as a child have sent videos of the chaos and suffering their relatives are enduring in Ukraine as a result of the invasion.

“It’s heartbreaking,” Rudolf said. “They are innocent people. All they wanted was their independence and to live free.”

After the service ended with Holy Communion, Bobko reflected on the invasion in his homeland.

He said his family members live in a city near the Polish border away from the most-intense fighting, but air raid sirens have sounded in the last few days.

“It is possible the missile could come at any time,“ Bobko said.

He said while many have fled to Poland, his family has remained in their home so far.

“I am trying not to cry,” Bobko said. “At the same time, we have to be strong.”

Plea for donations

He implored Americans to donate to humanitarian funds to support the people of Ukraine as an unwanted and unjust war rages around them.

“This war is not just about Ukraine, but it’s about all of us,” Bobko said. “It’s about our freedom and independence, and who we are as human beings.”

The Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA is accepting donations to help with medical care for those injured in the invasion.

Online donations can be made at uocofusa.org via PayPal, or checks can be mailed to Consistory at P. O. Box 495, South Bound Brook, NJ 08880.

Checks for the effort should be marked “Let’s help Ukraine” on the note line.