Video-message of the Head of the UGCC on the 179th Week of Full-Scale War, July 20, 2025
Glory to Jesus Christ!
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ!
We are counting the days and nights, the weeks of this cruel war. It has now been 179 weeks since the full-scale invasion began—though we know that Russia has been attacking and devastating Ukraine with its armed forces for more than a decade. We commemorate all the heroes who have fallen—those who have given their lives for Ukraine since 2014. Yet again, this week in Ukraine has been marked by bloodshed, pain, and new casualties. Each night, the enemy selects a different Ukrainian city to target with its full arsenal.
This week, we prayed especially for Dnipro, Odesa, and other cities and villages across Ukraine, where people have been killed and many wounded—including civilians. In light of this outrageous escalation of hostilities both on the front lines and in Ukraine’s rear, the All-Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations issued a special appeal to the international religious community—a cry for justice and peace for Ukraine.
We urge all believers and people of goodwill to do everything in their power to stop this horrific aggression. Today, anyone who claims moral neutrality in the face of this tragedy is, sadly, complicit in the crime.
This is the core message that the religious leaders of Ukraine are sending today to representatives of churches, denominations, and faith traditions around the world. We ask the global religious community to speak a decisive “no” to Russian aggression. And we are grateful that the first to respond to this appeal were the member churches of the Conference of European Churches (CEC), united in their representation before the European Union.
This week also brought a special visit of solidarity and support in the face of this escalation from the Catholic episcopates of Europe. Archbishop Mariano Crociata, president of the Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Union (COMECE), visited Ukraine. COMECE represents the Catholic churches of Europe within the EU’s institutions and structures.
In this, we felt that Christian Europe—across denominational lines—stood with us and responded to Ukraine’s cry of pain. We thank all people of goodwill, all those who have said a firm and clear “no” to Russia’s crimes in Ukraine. And today, once again, we say: Ukraine stands. Ukraine fights. Ukraine prays.
This week, on July 15, Ukraine honored the memory of St. Volodymyr, Equal to the Apostles and Grand Prince. In accordance with state resolutions, we celebrated this day as a national holiday—commemorating the Baptism of Rus’-Ukraine and Ukrainian Statehood Day. The figure of St. Volodymyr holds particular significance for us today, as he calls us to renew our baptismal promises and rekindle our devotion to God.
Baptism marks our rebirth by water and the Spirit—it is the moment when our God became truly ours, and we became His children. This mutual covenant between God and Ukraine, between each heir to Volodymyr’s baptism, has been the foundation of the Ukrainian people’s strength and endurance through the centuries. By renewing our commitment to God through national prayer, we draw strength from our baptism to live, act, and think as Christians—even in times of war.
On this day, we solemnly brought the relics of the Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Volodymyr to our Patriarchal Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ in Kyiv. We did so because we want our heavenly patrons—Saints Volodymyr and Olha, Equal to the Apostles—and all the righteous of the Ukrainian land to intercede today in heaven for their people, who suffer and struggle here on earth.
This Sunday, the national pilgrimage to Zarvanytsia became a special spiritual event of the year. Tens of thousands of pilgrims from across Ukraine and beyond gathered at this sacred place before the miraculous icon through which the Blessed Virgin Mary has been glorified.
We came together to ask the Blessed Virgin Mary to grant peace to Ukraine.
As we walk this pilgrimage path, we strive to do all we can—but at the same time, we proclaim that we do not rely solely on human strength in the fight against evil. We rely on the power of God, on His grace, and on the maternal intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
During this pilgrimage, we marked three significant anniversaries.
We commemorated the 160th anniversary of the birth of Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky—a great saint, visionary of the Ukrainian Church, and prominent statesman.
We also marked the 30th anniversary of the renewal of nationwide pilgrimages to Zarvanytsia. That anniversary brings us back to 1995, when my predecessor, Myroslav Ivan Cardinal Liubachivsky, returned to Ukraine and, here in Zarvanytsia, renewed the consecration of Ukraine to the protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary, as Prince Yaroslav the Wise had once done.
This year, we also give thanks for the 25th anniversary of the dedication of this small papal basilica in Zarvanytsia—a temple that, in this Jubilee Year of Hope, has become a special place of indulgence through the grace of the open jubilee doors.
Here in Zarvanytsia, we pray:
“Save us, Mother of God. Save your sons and daughters. Save our young men and women on the front lines. Save all those forging Ukraine’s victory in the rear. Mother of God, comfort those who mourn and weep bitterly. Heal the wounds of the injured. Help find the missing. Free all those held in enemy captivity. Mother of God of Zarvanytsia, implore your Son to grant a just and heavenly peace to our long-suffering homeland—our Ukraine.”
The blessing of the Lord be upon you, through His grace and love for mankind, always, now and forever, and for the ages of ages. Amen.
Glory to Jesus Christ!
