On Sunday, 20 September, on Heavenly Hundred Hill in the village of Dovhe-Hirske in the Skhidnytsia community, there will be a consecration of the newly built VIII Station of the Way of the Cross and the chapel of Saint Ivan, dedicated to the fallen defender of Ukraine Ivan Butym from the village of Modrychi in the Truskavets community.
In the chapel, a copy of the altarpiece icon of Saint John the Baptist by the artist Kornylo Ustyianovych from the Church of the Entry of the Most Holy Mother of God into the Temple will be installed.
Of blessed memory, Ivan Butym (Ivan Ivanovych) was born on 23 April 1989 in Modrychi. The soldier’s family roots come from the village of Dovhe-Hirske. He studied at the Modrychi school and later graduated from Drohobych Vocational School No. 19 with a speciality in “computer technician-programmer”.
Ivan took up arms to defend Ukraine on 20 March 2023. He served in the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, in military unit A0284, in a separate airborne assault brigade. His call sign was “Van Van”. A private, grenadier of the 1st airborne assault squad of the 2nd airborne assault platoon of the 4th airborne assault company of the 1st airborne assault battalion of the 80th separate airborne assault brigade, he was killed in Donetsk region on 24 August 2023, on Ukraine’s Independence Day.
For his courage and self-sacrifice, Ivan Butym was posthumously awarded the Order “For Courage” III Class.
The Way of the Cross on Heavenly Hundred Hill in Dovhe-Hirske is dedicated to honouring the Heroes of Ukraine. Each year, ceremonies are held here after the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross of Our Lord, usually on the third Sunday of September. Throughout the year pilgrims come to this holy place, including participants of the “Carpathian Sea” Forum, which takes place in Truskavets in spring.
Ivan Butym has already become the second soldier from the Truskavets community in whose honour a chapel has been erected at one of the Stations of this Way of the Cross. Earlier, the Ivanochko family built a chapel here in memory of the Hero from Truskavets, Roman Ohirchak.
Blessed and eternal memory to Ivan Butym, Roman Ohirchak and all Ukrainian defenders who gave their lives for Ukraine.