Exhibition of Applied Creative Art by Persons Sentenced to Imprisonment Opens in Lavra

On April 15 at the blessing of His Beatitude Metropolitan Volodymyr of Kyiv and All Ukraine  the All-Ukraine exhibition of works of the applied creative art by the sentenced to imprisonment named "Passover, the Lord's Passover" was opened at the Kyiv Caves Monastery.    

The exhibition organizers were the Synodal Department of the UOC for Pastoral Care of the Penitentiary System together with the State Department of Ukraine for Execution of Sentences, and the National Kyiv-Pechersk Historical Cultural Reserve.  

The collection of exhibits was conducted in all the establishments of the criminal executive service of Ukraine, and its participants became some 300 persons sentenced to imprisonment.  Altogether presented at the exhibition were 126 works of graphic and applied arts by the convicts on paschal themes, 14 out of which were manufactured by women and 12 - by the underage.  

At the blessing of His Beatitude Metropolitan Volodymyr of Kyiv and All Ukraine the exhibition was opened by Vicar of the Kyiv Metropolis, Chair of the Synodal Department of the UOC for Family Matters, Bishop Panteleimon of Vasylkiv. The solemn meeting started with a paschal prayer service at the Church of All Saints of the Kyiv Caves Monastery. Thereafter the visitors looked over the exhibited objects at the gallery "Nef" of the Kyiv Caves Monastery.  Among those invited to the exhibition also were representatives of the bodies of state authority, public and artistic intelligentsia representatives etc.   

At the exhibition's opening deputy head of the department for social psychological work  of the State Department of Ukraine for Execution of Sentences, colonel of internal service Oleh Bezorchuk informed the visitors: "in our view, the chief purpose of holding such actions is helping to form the morality of the convicts, their useful occupancy at leisure, propagating among the convicts of the spiritual traditions of the Ukrainian people.  The objects are presented at today's exhibition to enable wide public access freely the exposition".   

Addressing the visitors also was chair of the Synodal Department of the UOC for Pastoral Care of the Penitentiary System Rev. Victor Yatsenko: "Each work from this exhibition is a result of touching its performer's soul by the ray of Bright Resurrection of Christ, since a man, who presented his work, was getting ready beforehand and thought over all the details of preparation of his work. All that took place on the eve of Pascha, and was preparation for Pascha - a kind of fast for the convicts. And now, today we are looking over these works, and may feel the paschal joy on the victory of Our Saviour over death, sin and devil, the joy  that inspired the authors in the places of detention.   

The exhibition organizers hope that it will be interesting for the wide public and will induce willingness to help the people sentenced to imprisonment feel themselves required by the society.   
The exhibition will continue at Gallery "Nef" of the Kyiv Caves Monastery till April 25, following which the objects from the exhibition of the convicts' works will be presented at "Soborna" Gallery of the UOC (Zaliznychne shosse , 3, metro station Lybidska).