The space of life is the space of the Christian family: His Beatitude Sviatoslav met with Marriage Encounter Movement
On April 21, the Father and Head of the UGCC, His Beatitude Sviatoslav, met with the community of Marriage Encounter. This year the community celebrates its 25th anniversary. The meeting was held in the premises of the Patriarchal Curia near the Patriarchal Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ in Kyiv.
At the outset of the meeting, His Beatitude Sviatoslav shared his opinion on what victory means. “I will consider it a victory when Ukrainians are not afraid to have children in Ukraine, when we, as a Church, and as a people, here, in our native lands, expand that space of life. And this space of life is the space of the Christian family,” said the Primate.
He reminded that today most Ukrainian families live in forced separation: either the husband is at the front while the wife and children are in the rear, or the wife is evacuated abroad. The Patriarch also noted that the last year saw the lowest number of marriages in the history of independent Ukraine. Moreover, 70.5 % of these families broke up.
His Beatitude Sviatoslav stated that after addressing basic humanitarian needs, such as food and hygiene products, the biggest problem is that a significant number of children in Ukraine cannot read or write. He noted that children will never learn if they do not have parents who care about their education and upbringing.
“We are grateful to every pro-family movement, every community that promotes Christian values,” said His Beatitude Sviatoslav. He thanked the representatives of Marriage Encounter movement for all their contributions over the past 25 years. He urged them to join the great therapeutic work of our Church in healing the wounds of the Christian Ukrainian family.
Reference:
The Marriage Encounter is an international Catholic community founded in 1978 to deepen mutual understanding between husband and wife and support the unity and longevity of marriage in accordance with the teachings of the Universal Church. In the UGCC, the first retreat of the Marriage Encounter community was held in 1999 in Vorzel, near Kyiv. Currently, there are five active Marriage Encounter centers, with two more in the formation process. Every four years, the community holds congresses to elect leaders and boards.
The primary activity of the Marriage Encounter movement is a weekend retreat for married couples, which takes place from Friday to Sunday, according to a special program. In 2018, the community’s leaders began organizing a series of evenings for people in love, as well as premarital meetings based on a special program created within the community to prepare young people for their future marital status.
The UGCC Department for Information
