Faithful Greek Catholics Are the Voice of Ukraine to the Entire Canadian Community: Head of the UGCC in the 101 st week of war
Today, I appeal to our faithful in Canada: Unite around your Church, join our Church and social institutions, and unite around our Church to have strength! His Beatitude Sviatoslav, the Father and Head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, said this on the 101 st week of the great, arduous, bloody war that Russia brought to Ukrainian land.
A tattered flag of Ukraine in the Kharkiv region, December 2023, photo: Mykhailo Palinchak
“The 700th day of this confrontation, which is the largest war of modern humanity since the end of World War II, is now passing,” the Primate emphasized.
Not having any success on the front line, he is redirecting all his hatred and anger to civilians: women, children, the elderly, those who cannot defend themselves in their own homes. Especially this week, our hearts ache for Odesa and Kharkiv. These cities have become the centers of Russian air strikes.
“Yet despite these pains, sufferings, and all the challenges brought by the cold season and winter, we strive to ensure that the whole world hears Ukraine, does not forget about us, and extends its support. We want the world to know: Ukraine stands, Ukraine fights, Ukraine prays!” he emphasized.
The Head of the Church noted that this week, Canada, a global network of Ukrainians, has stood out as a center of attention for the worldwide Ukrainian community of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church.
According to official statistics, before the Russian invasion and full-scale war, more than 1 million 300 thousand Ukrainians lived in Canada.
“This is one of the largest,” said the Primate, “the oldest and strongest Ukrainian communities in the world. It is one of the most organized in our Church: The UGCC is represented in Canada by five dioceses united in one metropolitanate.”
He said that this week, on January 20, a new bishop, His Eminence Bishop Michael Smolinski, was consecrated in Saskatoon.
“The ancient Ukrainian settlements in Canada on these prairies, under a beautiful sky where the aurora borealis shines at night, pray for Ukraine every day,” said the Head of the Church. “Here, our people especially become Ukraine’s voice to the Canadian community. On behalf of Ukraine, they speak to their country of residence and the entire world.” The spiritual leader thanked our brothers and sisters in Canada for fighting and supporting Ukraine.
Canada, as one of the world’s most powerful countries, the spiritual leader notes, is now a strategic partner of Ukraine. In recent years, notably since the beginning of the war, it has welcomed more than 200,000 Ukrainians. Therefore, more than one and a half million brothers and sisters from Ukraine now live in Canada.
“Today, more than ever, our community needs this unity. The Church has always been the core of the unity of Ukrainians worldwide. We, the multimillion-strong global Ukrainian community, must tell the world that together we are many and cannot be defeated,” His Beatitude Sviatoslav urged.
The UGCC Department for Information
