Exhibition Marking the 40th Anniversary of the Chernobyl Disaster Opened at the Patriarchal Cathedral in Kyiv
On April 26, an exhibition of paintings by schoolchildren and university students titled “The Chernobyl Disaster: 40 Years Later, What Next?” opened at the Patriarchal Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ. The exhibition will be open until May 4.
This was reported by the Information Service of the UGCC Bureau for Ecology.
The exhibition features the 40 best works from participants in the All-Ukrainian competition organized by the UGCC Bureau for Ecology with the support of the National Ecological and Naturalistic Center for Schoolchildren under the auspices Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine.
The works on display are remarkable for their depth and high artistic value. Through them, the authors convey a sense pain and compassion, express gratitude to the liquidators for their sacrifice, and reflect on the challenges of the present day and the threat of new disasters.
The aim of the exhibition is to draw attention to the repercussions of the Chernobyl disaster and to urge society to take a responsible approach toward the environment in the face of contemporary challenges, particularly war.
The cathedral’s administrator, Fr. Andriy Bodnaruk, noted in a comment to the Information Department of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church that this event holds special significance, as the exhibition is launched right in the heart of the capital—at the Patriarchal Cathedral. According to him, the exhibition will remain in Kyiv for a week and will subsequently become a traveling exhibition, to be presented in other parts of Ukraine and in parishes.
The priest emphasized that the participation of children—particularly those from Kyiv—is especially valuable, as their works already “resound as a voice of truth for the whole world” and serve as a reminder of Chernobyl as an unhealed wound of the Ukrainian people and all the victims of the tragedy.
“The main message of the exhibition is that something like this must never happen again. Nuclear power is not a game, and the world cannot live in fear or under the threat of destruction,” noted Fr. Andriy.
At the same time, he said, the exhibition calls for personal responsibility for the environment: to protect the world created by God, to develop ecological awareness, to support green energy, and even in the difficult circumstances of war, to contribute to the preservation of God’s creation.
Background
The All-Ukrainian Environmental Drawing Contest “The Chernobyl Disaster: 40 Years Later, What Next?” was held on the eve of the 40th anniversary of the accident at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, which caused a man-made socio-ecological disaster of global proportions.
The contest aimed to preserve a living memory of the Chernobyl disaster among the younger generation, foster awareness of the risks posed by modern technologies, and cultivate a sense of responsibility for the creation and sustainable use of natural resources.
More than 500 students from general secondary, extracurricular, and vocational-technical educational institutions, students from catechetical schools, as well as students from higher education institutions across Ukraine and the diaspora participated in the competition.
The UGCC Department for Information
