The Celestial Hundred

In Common Prayer

In Common Prayer

Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds, who in the Holy Qur’an said, “Indeed, God enjoins justice and benevolence and giving to kinsfolk, and He forbids you indecency, abomination and aggression. He admonishes you so that you may take heed” (Qur’an, 16:90).

The Celestial Hundred is a new legendary page in the history of Ukraine. It is a story of struggle and courage, dignity and brotherhood, love and sacrifice for the people, for the country, for their freedom. It is on examples like these that the national identity is built, since heroes go down in the history of their Motherland, creating a new mythology of Ukraine. Our young state has given up on old myths, most of which were imposed on us by the Soviet power. Within a very short time new, real heroes have sprung up among us, who are building a new Ukraine—such as the Celestial Hundred, the kiborgs, the volunteers and military chaplains, all of whom are ordinary, rank and file members of our society who, nevertheless, were able to demonstrate a captivating willpower, courage, bravery, sacrifice and love for their country.

Going back to the Celestial Hundred, as a witness of those events I was struck greatly on February 20 by a little detail. On the day of the shooting of the Maidan by snipers the bodies of the dead heroes of the Celestial Hundred were brought to Mykhailivskyi cathedral. There, together with the Christian priests, we received the bodies of the dead and prayed for them. And I saw that the bodies were “signed”—they had inscriptions on them made in ball point pen or in brilliant green[1]. On a shoulder, on a leg, on the chest—they had written their name, surname, blood group. Do you understand? Those boys knew they can die and they were prepared to die! They consciously prepared for their dead bodies to be identified or for an urgent blood transfusion to be done. We stood and cried over those boys of the Celestial Hundred. They went to die for our future. So that no tyrant could ever oppress Ukrainians. They are worthy of our memory, our love, respect and our prayers.

Lest we forget the heroes of the Celestial Hundred!

Sheikh Said Ismagilov,

Mufti of Muslims of Ukraine