His Beatitude Sviatoslav on the seizure of a UGCC church in the occupied Kherson region: Sacrilege
The Father and Head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, His Beatitude Sviatoslav, reacted to the seizure by the Russian Orthodox Church of the Church of St. Michael the Archangel of the UGCC in the village of Oleksandrivka, Skadovsk district, in the occupied part of the Kherson region, calling the event of the re-dedication of the church a sacrilege.
“In the village of Oleksandrivka, Skadovsk district, Kherson region, during Holy Week, our church was not only seized, but they also committed a sacrilege by rededicating it and affiliating it with the Russian Orthodox Church,” said the Head of the UGCC during a sermon at Vespers with the Liturgy of St. Basil the Great at the Patriarchal Cathedral in Kyiv on May 2, 2024.
“As I looked at those images,” the Patriarch continued, “I was reminded of the words of the prophet Elijah, who cried out to the Lord, saying, ‘Lord, they have killed your prophets, they have demolished your altars, and I alone am left, and they seek my life.’” (1 Kings 19:14).
His Beatitude Sviatoslav assured that on this Holy Thursday, he prays “for our people in the occupied territories.” He added, “Christ wants to come to them today in a way known only to Him, to make them partakers of His sacramental Passover dinner.”
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The Head of the Church also remembered the two imprisoned Redemptorist fathers Ivan Levytsky and Bohdan Geleta from Berdiansk, who have been in Russian captivity since November 16, 2022. “They are suffering today in Christ and with Christ. They are now truly following Christ to the cross. Today we ask, pray and work—doing everything possible to free them. But on this day, the Day of the Priesthood, we cannot but remember those priests who endure, who drink the cup of Christ’s torment and suffering to the end and finally give themselves to their people, to their Church. They give themselves as a sacrifice for the sins of many.”
The UGCC Department for Information
