“We ought to remember in prayer the people held hostage by the Russian authorities” — His Beatitude Sviatoslav
On the 500th day of Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine, the Father and Head of the UGCC, His Beatitude Sviatoslav, urged to remember the seized priests from Berdiansk, Fr. Ivan Levitsky and Fr. Bohdan Heleta and thanked all the clergy of the UGCC who stayed with their people after February 24, 2022.
Illustration photo, author: Radio Svoboda / Oleksandr Milyukov
The Primate drew special attention to two Redemptorist fathers who had been in Russian captivity for months. The UGCC priests were arrested for praying for Berdiansk. It is known that Father Bohdan suffers from an acute form of diabetes.
“Today, even with the help of the media, I would like to ask everyone who can help release them from this imprisonment. We would be very grateful,” said His Beatitude Sviatoslav.
о. Богдан Гелета і о. Іван Левицький
Fr. Ivan Levitsky and Fr. Bohdan Heleta
According to the Head of the UGCC, the priests are showing with their example one of the unknown sides of suffering during the war on the 500th day. We always rejoice when we manage to exchange prisoners of war and free our men from Russian captivity, but there is no mechanism for releasing or exchanging civilians.
“We ought to remember those heroes who are still expecting to be released,” called His Beatitude Sviatoslav, “But I, as the Head of the Church, am grateful to the Lord God for giving me such heroes of zealous priestly and pastoral service.”
Moreover, the Primate thanked the clergy of the UGCC. He noted that where the priest stayed, a center for saving people’s lives was created because all parishes became social service centers, particularly in Central, Eastern, and Southern Ukraine.
“I am proud of our clergy because I saw our priests in Chernihiv, Sumy, Kharkiv, Kyiv, Zhytomyr, Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, Mykolaiv, Zaporizhzhia, and all other parts of Ukraine — priests who did not doubt for a single minute whether they would be there until the end with their people. All our clergymen remained with their people,” said His Beatitude Sviatoslav.
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