On behalf of 25 thousand captured civilian Ukrainians, we declare: Ukraine is fighting! — the Head of the UGCC on the 92 nd week of the war
We want to remind about 25 thousand civilian Ukrainians who were illegally captured by the Russian occupation authorities. On behalf of those who have been deprived of the right to speak for themselves, we say to the whole world: Ukraine stands! Ukraine fights! Ukraine prays!
This was stated by the Father and Head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, His Beatitude Sviatoslav, in a traditional video message on the 92 nd week of the great, all-out war of the Russian Federation on peaceful Ukrainian land.
The Head of the Church noted that a few days ago, we commemorated the tragic date — November 16 marks a year since the Russian aggressors imprisoned two of our priests, Redemptorist monks Ivan Levytsky and Bohdan Geleta, in Berdiansk.
“These fathers provided spiritual guidance to Roman and Greek Catholics on the occupied coast of the Sea of Azov. We have been attempting to do everything possible to secure their release for a year, but we still do not even know where they are.”
According to the spiritual leader, this week we also experienced happy events: “Cardinal Kazimierz Nych hospitably opened the doors of his archbishop’s palace in Warsaw to us so that we could, with the help of journalists, appeal to the general Polish society with a call: do not forget about Ukraine!”
Another momentous event took place in the border city of Lublin.
The local Archbishop and Metropolitan, Stanislav Budzik, said the Head of the Church handed over the Church of St. Josaphat, located in the city center, for the needs of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic community. This historic church was built at the turn of the century by Greek merchants who traded in Lublin at that time.
“We feel,” said the Head of the Church, “that the Catholic Church and society in Poland support Ukraine. We therefore express our heartfelt gratitude to the Polish people and the entire Catholic world, which helps Ukraine to hold off the Russian aggressor.”
At the end of this week, a regular session of the Synod of Bishops of our Church was held in Zarvanytsia, in the Marian Center, in the house of the Mother of God. “The bishops were discussing how to support their priests and help them. We surveyed our clergy and listened to the results at the Synod. We thank our priests and our monastics for their heroic work in the name of Christ for the welfare of the Ukrainian people,” the Primate emphasized.
The UGCC Department for Information
