Head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church in the 181 st Week of the War: We Pray that Europe Recognizes Ukraine as Part of Its Culture and Its Space
In his title of Supreme Archbishop of Kyiv and Halych, the Head of our Church preserves the bond between Kyiv and Halych—the axis along which our national cultural life and the consciousness of Kyivan Christianity as a European phenomenon were formed. This was stated by His Beatitude Sviatoslav in his wartime video address marking the 181 st week of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
“It was another week of tremendous pain and tragedy in our homeland. My heart aches especially for our capital,” emphasized His Beatitude Sviatoslav.
He recalled that on the night of July 31, Russia launched a massive combined strike on Kyiv, resulting in the highest number of children killed since the start of the full-scale invasion.
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Video Message of the Head of the UGCC on the 181st Week of the Full-Scale War, August 3, 2025
“We pray for the innocent victims of this criminal terrorist act. We embrace all those affected,” added the Primate.
Summing up July, His Beatitude Sviatoslav called this month “heroic” and thanked the Ukrainian military for defending our homeland: “More than 33,000 Russian soldiers have been killed or irrevocably wounded. Ukraine is fighting and defending itself heroically!”
The Head of the Church welcomed the crucial decision of the Verkhovna Rada, which on July 31 restored the independence of anti-corruption institutions—exactly what Ukrainian youth had demanded. “No to corruption means no to the destruction of our state and its institutions from within,” he emphasized.
The Primate also recalled the 160th anniversary of the birth of the righteous Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky, calling for a deeper understanding of his life and prayers for the completion of the beatification process. He thanked the Jewish community of Kyiv, which also honored the memory of Metropolitan Andrey as a savior of Jews during World War II.
His Beatitude Sviatoslav also spoke about the participation of Ukrainian youth in the Jubilee Pilgrimage to Rome, during which Pope Leo XIV called young Christians “a light for the world.” He then invited young men and women to a youth pilgrimage to the Patriarchal Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ in Kyiv, which will take place on August 16.
The UGCC Department for Information
