UGCC Head to Medical Workers at the Patriarchal Cathedral: Your Hand Is God’s Hand, Reaching Out to the Wounded People
We call you, Ukrainian doctors, “wounded healers”: you carry in your hearts and souls, and sometimes in your bodies, the wounds of war, as you tend to the suffering of your patients whom you are saving. Today, the Lord wants to say to you: Take heart, I am with you, in you and through you—with my people. These were the words addressed to medical workers by the Father and Head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church during his sermon on August 10 on the occasion of the All-Ukrainian Pilgrimage of Medical Workers to the Patriarchal Cathedral in Kyiv.
Concelebrating with His Beatitude Sviatoslav were Bishop Yosyf Milan, protosyncellus of the Kyiv Archeparchy, Bishop Andriy Khimyak, auxiliary bishop of the Kyiv Archeparchy, as well as priests and medical chaplains of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church from various parts of Ukraine.
Reflecting on the Gospel account of Jesus walking on water toward his disciples in a stormy sea (Mt 14:22–34), the Primate emphasized that this story is especially relatable to Ukrainians during wartime: “This war, this darkness, is like a stormy sea at night, waiting to swallow up anyone who falls into its hands.”
The Primate highlighted the uniqueness of the Epiphany described in the Gospel, emphasizing that “Christ reveals himself, his divinity, his power in circumstances where the disciples thought that God was absent. It was when they considered themselves abandoned by God and the hand of God was revealed to them.”
In his sermon, His Beatitude Sviatoslav drew special attention to the medical workers who came on pilgrimage together with medical chaplains. “Dear medical workers, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your service and work. For often it is your hand that is God’s hand, which the Lord extends to His frightened, exhausted, and wounded people,” the Head of the UGCC addressed them.
Quoting the physician Avicenna, the Primate explained the philosophy of medical service: when a doctor extends his hand to a patient, and the patient trusts and responds in kind, then “even in the midst of a raging and dangerous disease, it is possible to save and bring back to life.”
His Beatitude Sviatoslav especially appreciated the loyalty of the medical workers: “Thank you for not abandoning Ukraine in this time of war, for not leaving for more comfortable conditions abroad, for better-paid jobs in Europe, but for staying with us.”
The Primate recalled the particularly harsh conditions in which medical workers serve during the war: “We know that the enemy hunts down medical workers, violating all rules and laws, humanitarian rules of warfare; medical facilities are the number one target,” he said. A special prayer was offered for medical workers who are being held captive.
After the Divine Liturgy, the Father and Head of the UGCC extended special greetings to all medical chaplains who had completed training in accordance with European standards for chaplaincy in medical institutions.
He also expressed his gratitude to Sister Sevastiana Karvatskaya, head of the Commission for Pastoral Care in Health Care of the UGCC, and all medical workers who came on pilgrimage to Kyiv.
“Your Church is always and everywhere with you through the presence, work, service, and attention of our priests and medical chaplains,” assured the Primate.
“May God’s power work through your medical skills so that you can help people not only with human wisdom, but also with the power and action of the Holy Spirit,” the Father and Head of the UGCC wished the participants of the All-Ukrainian pilgrimage of medical workers to the Patriarchal Cathedral in Kyiv.
The UGCC Department for Information
