In Philadelphia, His Beatitude Sviatoslav Thanks Clergy for Their Ministry and Encourages Not to Fear New Duties
On February 17, as part of his pastoral visit to Philadelphia, His Beatitude Sviatoslav met with the clergy and monastics serving in the United States. The gathering included priests from the Philadelphia Archeparchy and the Stamford Eparchy, Basilian and Redemptorist Fathers, as well as representatives of women’s convents—the Order of St. Basil the Great, the Servants of the Immaculate Virgin Mary, the Congregation of the Incarnate Word, and the Missionary Sisters of the Intercession of the Virgin Mary.
The Office of Communications of the UGCC Archeparchy of Philadelphiareported this event.
All four bishops overseeing the UGCC in the United States—Metropolitan Borys Gudziak of Philadelphia, Bishop Paul Chomnycky of the Stamford Eparchy, Bishop Bohdan Danylo of the Eparchy of St. Josaphat in Parma, and Bishop Venedykt Aleksiychuk of the Eparchy of St. Nicholas in Chicago—joined the conversation of the Father and Head of the UGCC with the clergy and monastics.
The meeting commenced with a joint Liturgy in the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception. Delivering his sermon in both Ukrainian and English, His Beatitude Sviatoslav thanked the clergy and monastics for their ministry, highlighting its missionary character: “I wish to thank each and every one of you for saying yes to the Lord’s call to the priesthood or monastic life. Thank you for being intermediaries of God’s coming to all of us.”
He also encouraged them to respond positively to the Church’s call: “If today the Church calls each of you to a new task, mission, parish, monastery, do not reject it.”
His Beatitude Sviatoslav shared his testimony on how the war in Ukraine and the daily danger of death compel us to look even deeper at our lives and ministry from the perspective of eternity:
“I want to invite you to view yourself, your work, your life, everything you do from the perspective of eternity. All of our affairs, whether episcopal or priestly, even our civic duties, look different.”
Following the Liturgy, a friendly gathering and discussion took place in the cathedral hall. Patriarch Sviatoslav shared his thoughts and insights on the situation in Ukraine with those present, emphasizing that the Church remains committed to its ministry despite the constant danger, air raids, power outages, and deep trauma permeating all aspects of social life.
He spoke about the ministry of chaplains: “Chaplaincy is a demanding ministry that requires great sacrifice. When a priest becomes a chaplain, he is obliged to leave his parish or even his own home and devote himself completely.”
Metropolitan Borys Gudziak thanked His Beatitude Sviatoslav for meeting with the clergy and monastics, as well as for the previous two days of prayer and staying among the faithful of the archeparchy.
His Beatitude’s visit to the United States continues. Today, on February 18, he is scheduled to give a lecture at the Catholic University of America and pray for peace in Ukraine at the Holy Family Cathedral in Washington, DC.
The UGCC Department for InformationPhoto credit: The Office of Communications of the UGCC Archeparchy of Philadelphia
