15:50 (JST)
Cultures and creeds come together at Tokyo church
NHK World's Yamaguchi Hiroaki was at an Anglican-Episcopal church in Tokyo today for a special prayer ceremony that brought together dozens of people from different countries and faiths. The church also rents its space to the St. Jude Ukrainian Orthodox Mission, and as such is an important gathering place for some of the more than 2,000 Ukrainian evacuees in Japan.
"There was a traditional Ukrainian prayer, calling for peace and an end to the war," Yamaguchi says. "But it's important to note this was an interfaith ceremony. There was an Anglican Christian sermon. There were also Jewish and Buddhist prayers offered. There were Japanese and Ukrainian people here, and also people from other European countries and the US. This was really a chance for people of many different backgrounds to come together in support of Ukrainians."
Father Paul Koroluk has been conducting Ukrainian Orthodox services in Japan for over a decade. He hailed the diverse gathering as an important symbolic gesture: "Praying together is necessary, and especially on a day like today, we made a point. We don't want to just pray only as Ukrainian Orthodox people, but to pray with different kinds of people so that we understand that all of us who are committed to good -- we are on the same page."