Today, when patriarchs breach communion with each other, we establish it in Ukraine: Head of the UGCC in Kharkiv
Today, when the Christian world is once again divided when the patriarchs breach communion with each other, we are building it. When on our Ukrainian land today, some people want to spread the heresy of Russkiy mir to divide Ukrainians once again, we live the fullness of church communion by the power and grace of the Holy Spirit. The Father and Head of the UGCC, His Beatitude Sviatoslav, stated on the feast of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul during the Liturgy at St. Demetrius Church of the UGCC in Kharkiv, where Bishop Ihor Isichenko, the Bishop Emeritus of the UGCC, serves. On this day, Bishop Isichenko celebrated the 30th anniversary of his episcopal ordination.
Emeritus Bishop Igor Isichenko and His Beatitude Sviatoslav, Kharkiv, July 12, 2023
In the beginning, His Beatitude Sviatoslav said that the holiday celebrated today by the Christ Church is a holiday of church unity and communion, a holiday of overcoming human contradictions, a holiday of confession of the one God in three persons — the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The Primate noted that the First Apostles, Peter and Paul were complete opposites: “To see the unity between these two apostles, who were opposite in their character, vocation, and traits, the Church of Christ gives us this feast of the first apostles.”
The Primate also emphasized that this holiday is memorable for him because, for the first time, he has the opportunity to celebrate the Divine Liturgy in St. Demetrius parish in Kharkiv and for the first time in this place to partake of the Lord’s banquet together.
“Opposites are united, diversity is united, but the unity and catholicity of the Church of Christ are confessed and celebrated,” said His Beatitude Sviatoslav, “and therefore we can say that we not only believe and confess, but also live what we say in our Creed: ‘I believe in the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church.’”
The Head of the Church celebrated the Liturgy in St. Demetrius Church on the 30th anniversary of the ordination of Hierarch Ihor Isichenko. His Beatitude Sviatoslav thanked the Lord for the anniversary of the archpastoral ministry of Bishop Ihor.
Ultimately, His Beatitude Sviatoslav called for constant prayer for the Ukrainian people. According to him, today, the whole world is amazed at the resilience and invincibility of the Ukrainian spirit, which has its own secret. This is the secret of the unity of man with God and Ukrainians with each other: “There is no Western Ukraine or Eastern Ukraine. There is one Ukraine, which has West and East, North and South, and the heart of the unity of our people has always been, and always will be, the unity of the Church of Christ.”
The UGCC Department for Information
