Head of the UGCC on Easter Monday: Patriarchal Cathedral in Kyiv is an Experience of Our Church’s Resurrection
Today, from the Patriarchal Cathedral in Kyiv, through our parish community, we see how the power of the Resurrection pulsates across Ukraine and the entire world. This was stated by His Beatitude Sviatoslav, Father and Head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, during his sermon on Easter Monday and the feast day of the Patriarchal Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ in Kyiv.
His Beatitude was concelebrated by Bishop Stepan Sus, Bishop Andriy Khimyak, and the clergy of the Patriarchal Cathedral.
During the sermon, the Primate emphasized that Easter is not a past event, nor merely a rite or tradition, but a personal encounter with the living Christ. “Pascha is not something. Pascha is Someone. Christ is our Pascha,” he said, underscoring that the experience of the Resurrection embraces the whole person—their pain, fear, dreams, hopes, and life after death.
“Christ, in His Paschal mystery, touched the very vulnerability of every person, confronting the gravest calamity humanity faces—our mortality. And He was the first to conquer it,” the preacher said.
Therefore, according to His Beatitude Sviatoslav, Easter is revealed to every person today and gathers all humanity into one great family.
The Patriarch described the biblical image of Pascha as a gathering of disciples in community, where Christ becomes present. He emphasized that to meet the Risen Christ, people must come together: “There is not a single sacrament in the Church that can be celebrated without a gathering,” said the Head of the Church. He added, “And so today, on this Easter feast, on the second day of the celebration, we hear that the Risen Christ is hastening to meet us.”
On the patronal feast of the Patriarchal Cathedral, His Beatitude emphasized the special role of this shrine—not only as a church building, but as a place of encounter with the Risen Christ, the heart of the Church in Kyiv.
“This church was built as a memorial to the resurrected Church—the Church that the Russian Empire systematically destroyed on Ukrainian lands. The Church born here, in the waters of the Dnipro, as the body of the Risen Christ, continuously resurrected after every attempt to annihilate it. This cathedral was built as a testament to the Resurrection we experienced, especially after the collapse of the Soviet Union and the reemergence of our Church from the underground. We then saw the resurrected body of our Savior in the body of our Church—our church community,” he emphasized.
The preacher also recalled significant historical milestones associated with the Cathedral: thirty years since the revival of the Kyiv Metropolis and twenty years since the return of the Father and Head of the UGCC to Kyiv. He noted that this year’s celebration of the Resurrection of Christ took place with thelargest participation of the faithful in decades: “Neither this cathedral nor our Church in Kyiv has seen so many people come to this church over the past thirty years.”
At the same time, the Patriarch noted that the greatest challenge is not simply completing the physical structure of the church, but building a vibrant community: “Today we need not just parishioners, but active parishioners… those who want to serve God and neighbor as living members of the body of Christ in the Cathedral of His Resurrection.”
The Head of the Church expressed gratitude to all who serve the parish—volunteers, benefactors in Ukraine and abroad—who contribute to the Cathedral’s mission of serving God and His people.
“I wish all of you a personal encounter with your Pascha, who is the Risen Lord Christ, the Savior, dwelling among you and among us,” His Beatitude concluded, calling everyone to live in the light of Easter and remain in communion with the Risen Christ through the vibrant life of the Church.
The UGCC Department for Information
