Every priest is to effectively fulfil the role of spiritual fatherhood for the long-suffering Ukrainian people: Head of the UGCC
Since the outbreak of war, the pastoral care that believers need has acquired certain special characteristics. Therefore, healing war wounds for the clergy is a problematic, multifaceted task requiring special attention to human pain. Today, the Church works tirelessly and cares about the necessary education of the clergy so that every priest can genuinely be a good pastor in times of war.
The Head of the UGCC spoke about the peculiarities of medical chaplaincy and the compulsory program “Pastoral Care for Healing the Wounds of War” for priests in the May release of Live with His Beatitude Sviatoslav on Live TV.
First of all, His Beatitude Sviatoslav noted that the essence of a person, especially in times of war, is complex and vulnerable. And it is evident that to care for a person spiritually during the war is to be especially sensitive to that pain.
Unfortunately, the war continues and constantly inflicts deep wounds on people, being detected as psychological trauma or mental problems. According to His Beatitude Sviatoslav, the Church sees that today there is a range of tasks and many challenges for the clergy that they must learn to overcome. Therefore, for each priest to be a good pastor in the current conditions, the Church is trying to help them better understand their people.
“Священник повинен зрозуміти, якої невідкладної психологічної допомоги потребує людина, і посприяти їй, щоб вона ту допомогу отримала. Але війна спричиняє і дуже серйозні духовні травми. І ось тут духовний батько мусить бути компетентний, щоби зрозуміти, які духовні травми, вади чи гріхи дошкуляють людині”, — розповів він.
“The priest must understand what kind of urgent psychological help a person needs and help him to get it. But war also causes severe spiritual trauma. And here, the spiritual father must be competent to understand what spiritual traumas, vices, or sins are troubling a person,” he said.
The Head of the UGCC also spoke about the peculiarities of medical chaplaincy.
“A medical chaplain is someone who is not so much intended to serve in a parish as someone whose primary intention is to serve in the health care field,” said His Beatitude Sviatoslav. “Those for whom he is preparing to serve are not only patients but also medical personnel who need special support, attention, respect, and assistance.”
Today, a new medical chaplaincy concept is being developed at the legislative level and as a philosophical concept. The Church is preparing individual priests for this specific mission, training, and diploma, who will be called exclusively to this service.
However, not only a medical chaplain but every priest should understand what is happening in the soul of an ordinary Ukrainian in times of war. For this purpose, the Church, particularly the UGCC Commission on Health Care Pastoral Care, is already completing a unified program for the ongoing formation of the clergy.
“When it comes to all our priests — parish, military, medical or academic chaplains, youth priests — we see that each of them today must undergo a separate certified program of pastoral care for healing the wounds of war,” said His Beatitude Sviatoslav.
“All our priests will have an obligation to undergo the required training to effectively, accurately, and successfully fulfil spiritual parenthood, healing the wounds of war, which our long-suffering Ukrainian people need to receive from their Church today,” said the head of the UGCC in the May release of Live with His Beatitude Sviatoslav.
The UGCC Department for Information
