Ukrainian chapel undergoing £80k renovation to serve refugees

The small prefab iron hut forms part of the Hallmuir POW Camp and was put to use as a chapel from 1947 by Ukrainian prisoners who had fought against the Soviet Union alongside Nazi Germany as part of the 14th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS (1st Galician).

The Friends of the Ukrainian Chapel, which was launched in 2009, struggled to raise funds for the renovation of the building until it became a centre of organising humanitarian aid for Ukraine following Russia’s invasion earlier this year, The Herald reports.

The chapel has received funding from the Architectural Heritage Fund, South Scotland Enterprise and Historic Environment Scotland to replace its roof, windows, walls and carpets.

It is now hoped that the chapel will be reconsecrated and open for religious services and other events by September 2022. A barrack alongside the barrack will be redeveloped into a museum. The final phase of the project will involve the erection of a large Cossack cross.

Peter Kormylo, a 71-year-old Ukrainian whose father was a POW in the Hallmuir camp, said: “We are very excited – the funding we have received has been a godsend.

“There is a lot of history attached to this small chapel and it’s been quite emotional to look through the photographs of those who have since passed to eternal life and who I remember as young men.

“We now have the potential to create a proper little museum, to use the chapel and promote Ukrainian culture.”