“The Patriarchal Cathedral Is the Center Where Unity Is Built Locally and Universally,” Head of the UGCC on Bright Monday
“We want to unite with the Eastern Christian world. And, so, we are synchronizing our Easter joy with our brothers. To some, this may seem surprising, but we want to be that voice from Kyiv for all Christians — to seek a common way to celebrate Easter! May the East and West no longer be divided on this holy day of unity.” His Beatitude Sviatoslav emphasized this during his homily on Bright Monday, April 13.
To mark the feast day of the Patriarchal Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ, the Father and Head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church presided over the Hierarchical Divine Liturgy in Kyiv. Concelebrating with him were Auxiliary Bishops of the Kyiv Archeparchy Yosyf Milan and Andriy Khimyak, Curial Bishop Stepan Sus, and the clergy of the cathedral.
In his homily, the Primate explained that true unity in the Church does not stem from organizational structures or external agreements, but from a living encounter with the Risen Christ, who Himself gathers His scattered disciples.
“Christ’s Resurrection and all the extraordinary events that our Lord God Jesus Christ accomplished through His sufferings, crucifixion, and Resurrection could not fail to influence His disciples. Christ, who is the Head of the Church, could in no way separate Himself from His body, which is the community of His disciples, the apostles. Therefore, His crucifixion was a terrible shock, a disappointment for His disciples. Then the words of the prophet were fulfilled: ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered’ (Zech. 13:7). That is exactly what happened. After His Resurrection, the risen Christ, like the Good Shepherd, began to gather His sheep together again.”
His Beatitude emphasized that it was the Resurrection that marked the restoration of the community of the Apostles, who had been scattered and frightened after Christ’s death.
“For forty days He appeared to His disciples, remained with them and taught them; this time together was, in fact, a time of gathering those who had scattered. And the unity of the early Church, the community of His disciples, was based on a personal encounter with the risen Christ.”
According to him, the foundation of church unity is Christ Himself, not human structures or agreements.
“The unity of the early Church was not based on the unity of any organization or structure—as we would say today—or other rules and laws. No. None of that existed back then. This unity flowed from and was grounded in the one Head—Jesus Christ, who rose from the dead—and it comes from God, not from people, and constitutes the mystical nature of Christ’s Church. Christ prayed for this inner unity at the Last Supper, where even then the disciples heard His prayer as the high priestly prayer of their Teacher. Addressing the Father, Christ says: ‘Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one!’ (John 17:11). The author of the Epistle to the Hebrews explains this mysterious foundation of the unity of Christ’s Church even more deeply, saying: ‘One Lord, one faith, one baptism’ (Eph. 4:5).
The Patriarch then explained: “The one Lord whom we encounter as the Risen One on Easter Day is one and the same. Christ comes to each person in His own way. This initiative of the Easter encounter is always different for individual disciples, but Christ always comes to His Church where the disciples are gathered together in prayer. One faith, because the essence and source of that faith is the apostolic proclamation that Christ has risen from the dead. That is why Paul says: ‘And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith’ (1 Cor. 15:14). And one Baptism, because baptism is immersion into that mystical reality of the Church, which is immersion into the death and resurrection of Christ the Savior. Christ gathers all His disciples today and will continue to do so until the end of time. Therefore, the apostle says: ‘Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever’ (Heb. 13:8).
The Primate also emphasized that Christ continues to gather His Church even today—in every Eucharist and prayer, where the faithful unite with Him.
“It is He who comes to us now to gather us, His disciples, into His risen Body, which is our Church, the Church of Kyiv, born in the waters of the Dnipro, in baptism—that is, having entered into that personal, universal encounter with the risen Christ and having accepted the faith of the apostles. This Church is both local and universal. It is deeply rooted in the Kyiv tradition on its native lands, yet it has spread throughout the world, living in communion with the Universal Church and the successor of the Apostle Peter.”
He also added that the Patriarchal Cathedral, which arose as a sign of the resurrection of the persecuted Church, now serves as a sign, a remedy, and a call to unity for all the children of the Kyiv Church in Ukraine and those living far away in the diaspora.
“Today we celebrate our feast day, the feast of the Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ. This cathedral is the heart where that unity is manifested and established, both locally and universally. Therefore, let me congratulate all of you on our feast of encountering the Risen Christ here, in our cathedral. It is precisely this that builds our community and inspires people to form a single community of Christ’s disciples,” His Beatitude emphasized.
The Patriarch noted that, when building this cathedral, his predecessors—in particular His Beatitude Lubomyr—wished to lay the foundation stone for the restoration of the unity of the Kyiv Church.
“Therefore, today we also extend our greetings our Orthodox brothers on the feast of Christ’s Resurrection and say to them: ‘One Lord, one faith, one baptism’ (Eph. 4:5). The mystical nature of Christ’s Church, which we experience today in the feast of Christ’s Resurrection, tells us that there are certain foundations of our unity that human divisions cannot reach.”
The Head of the Church recalled that during the liturgical calendar reform, it was important for Greek Catholic bishops in Ukraine to celebrate Easter together with their Orthodox brothers.
“For many, this year came as a surprise. Some said, ‘Well, it’s just another controversy.’ But the truth is that a division exists among Christians. There are two Easter calendars—Eastern and Western—because there are two traditions and two interpretations of the decrees of the First Council of Nicaea. But we wish to be together with the Eastern Christian world. And so we share our Easter joy with our brothers.”
Recalling the rule of the 17th-century Protestant theologian Rupertus Meldenius, His Beatitude added: “’In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; and in all things, love.’” We want to be united in our faith, in our fellowship, in the joy of Christ Himself, united in the Sacraments of Christ’s Church, and let everything else give us freedom.”
At the conclusion, His Beatitude Sviatoslav thanked his auxiliary bishops, the cathedral clergy, the choir, and all the faithful, especially those joining in prayer from abroad. He also congratulated Bishop Andriy Khimyak on his 45th birthday, calling it “God’s providence” to celebrate together with the community on the church’s feast day.
Bishop Yosyf Milan then addressed the Primate with words of gratitude and support. He assured the Head of the Church that the clergy prays for him daily.
“The Patriarchal Cathedral is all of us, but as in the Church’s lithography: there is a ship with the apostles aboard, and Christ stands at the stern. Someone must be the helmsman. And you, Your Beatitude, do this successfully. You are skilled at combining pastoral care, the preaching of God’s Word, and ecclesiastical diplomacy with secular diplomacy. One must truly have the Spirit of God within oneself so that, in every circumstance, God’s work may be advanced and resolved at the highest level. Indeed, this is not easy. But His Beatitude knows that an entire army of priests prays for him every day. Everyone offers prayers for the Patriarch. Therefore, we believe that You will continue to be a wise leader of our Church. We believe in the power of the Spirit and God’s grace resting upon You, so that You may have not only the responsibility of a leader but also the inner joy of service,” said Bishop Yosyf.
