“Icons on Ammo Boxes” a Unique Icon Exhibit from Ukraine Opens Sunday, June 2

 “Icons on Ammo Boxes” a Unique Icon Exhibit from Ukraine Opens Sunday, June 2 at the Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception;

Exhibit Begins a Week of Events Inaugurating the Episcopal Ministry of Archbishop Borys Gudziak as the 7th Metropolitan-Archbishop of the Ukrainian Catholic Archeparchy of Philadelphia

Philadelphia, Pa.—A most unique exhibit of religious iconography, entitled “Icons on Ammo Boxes” will be on display at the Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, 830 North Franklin Street during the week of June 2-9.  The week-long exhibit, which opens Sunday, June 2 at 3:45 pm, is one of the many events inaugurating the episcopal ministry of the new metropolitan-archbishop of Philadelphia Borys Gudziak, who will be enthroned Tuesday, June 4.

Sunday evening , June 2 at 7:45 pm and  Saturday, June 8 at 12:15 pm Gennadiy Druzenko and iconographer Oleksandr Klymenko will present an informative lecture “Art of Volunteering; Volunteering Art” about the Icons on Ammo Boxes and the “Buy an Icon—Save a Life” initiative.

These icons are written on ammo boxes brought from the combat zone in eastern Ukraine where a war between Ukraine and Russian backed separatists has been going for several years.

The main idea of the Icons on Ammo Boxes project is the transformation of death (symbolized by ammo boxes) into life (traditionally symbolized by icons in Ukrainian culture). The goal, this victory of life over death happens not only on the figurative and symbolic level but also in reality through these icons on ammo-boxes.

This art project of Kyivan artists Sofia Atlantova and Oleksandr Klymenko, “Buy an Icon – Save a Life” supports the Pirogov First Volunteer Mobile Hospital (PFVMH), a non-government project that employs civilian medics to provide medical aid to both militants and civilians in the Anti-Terrorist Operation (ATO) zone in eastern Ukraine.

The icons will be available for purchase.

The icons have been exhibited worldwide in The Hague, Antwerp, Berlin, Frankfurt, Munich, Hanover, Leipzig, Bonn, Cologne, Warsaw, Vienna, Lublin, Prague, Rome, Milan, and Catania on Sicily, Los Angeles, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Toronto as well as the Ukrainian cities of Kyiv, Lviv, Lutsk, Mariupol, Dnipro, Kamyanske, and Pokrovsk.

During the week of June 2-June 9, visitors can view the Icons on Ammo Boxes exhibit from 9 a.m. – 4 p.m.

Additional information is available at the following links:

http://www.medbat.org.ua/en/buy-icon-save-a-life/

http://www.medbat.org.ua/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Icons_on_Ammo_Boxes_Booklet-compressed.pdf