“Ukraine, like the biblical Rachel, weeps for her children” — from the Message of the Synod of Bishops of the UGCC in 2023
The standpoint of those Ukrainians who have not abandoned their loved ones, wounded and traumatized by the war, relatives, friends, and acquaintances deserves particular respect and support, states the Message of the Synod of Bishops of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church of 2023 “I will not abandon you!” to the clergy, monastics, and laity of the UGCC and all people of goodwill.
Svitlana Sushko, 62, cries as she visits the grave of her youngest son, a Ukrainian soldier who died last year in the war against Russia, in Kyiv, Aug. 3, 2023, photo: AP Photo/Jae C. Hong
As stated in the Address, the fact that our state and our people withstood the much larger enemy forces, especially in the first weeks of the full-scale invasion of our land by the Russian occupiers, can only be described as a miracle.
“And by analogy with the ‘miracle on the Vistula,’ as the Polish people described their salvation from the Russian invaders in 1920, our people witnessed and co-created what can be called the ‘miracle on the Dnipro,’ which took place when the enemy was driven away from the Ukrainian capital and an unstoppable path to the complete and final liberation of our entire land from the occupiers began from the banks of the Dnipro,” the bishops believe.
The members of the Synod of Bishops of the UGCC thank those who did not leave their country in the hour of need and stood up to defend their land, the life and dignity of their people, and the future of their children and grandchildren.
“It is in these courageous and sacrificial people of our countrymen and women, adults, elderly and very young — that the Lord has revealed His presence among us, having strengthened them for the feat and sacrifice before which not only every conscious Ukrainian but also people of goodwill across the world bow in respect. Before the courage and power of the love of the nation’s defenders, ‘strangers wither and tremble in their strongholds’ because God has revealed His greatness and power in them,” the Message says.
The bishops also expressed gratitude to the pastors who did not abandon their flocks but shared their suffering with their people. After all, the very presence of a priest amid his people was the most compelling preaching of the Gospel and the promise of the inevitable victory of light and truth over the darkness of hatred and cruelty.
“The standpoint of those Ukrainians who have not abandoned their loved ones, relatives, friends, and acquaintances wounded and traumatized by the war deserves special respect and support,” the Synod members believe. “The loyalty of wives to their husbands, the commitment of brides to their loved ones, and the dedication of families to their sons and daughters, brothers and sisters who returned from the front, often bearing visible and invisible wounds on their bodies and souls, as if they were marked by the Lord Himself, wounded by human sins and iniquity — this loyalty evokes tears.”
“Today, Ukraine, like the biblical Rachel, is weeping for its children who are gone: for the dead, for the captured, for the missing, as well as for those millions who were forced to leave their homeland to seek asylum abroad,” the bishops note.
“But no matter where Ukrainians are dispersed, the Mother Church will always strive to be close,” the Synodal fathers assure.
The UGCC Department for Information
