(Bratislava) – “A Window to heaven” is the title of the first plein-air gathering of icon-painters held at the Marian spiritual center in Zarvanytsia until the end of this week. Ten artists from various corners of Ukraine (Kharkiv, Luhansk, Ternopil, Volyn, Chortkov) participate in the project, all of them professionals. Four of them bear the title of “honored artist of Ukraine”. “In addition to the icons of the Mother of God, we are painting the icons of St. Michael the Archangel and St. Andrew”, explains Mykola Shevchuk, initiator of the project. After the plein-air session, most of the icons will be exhibited in the churches of the Ternopil-Zboriv Archdiocese of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC), upon the decision of the archdiocese. Some of the icons are small-sized to fit into the pockets of Ukrainian ATO forces. “We also paint icons depicting guardian angels for our soldiers fighting in anti-terrorist operations in the East. They will be brought to them by the UGCC chaplains”, says Mykola Shevchuk.