“Your Visit is Therapeutic for Us”: Head of the UGCC at a meeting with representatives of Kirche in Not
On December 6, on the feast of St. Nicholas, at the Patriarchal House in Lviv, the Father and Head of the UGCC, His Beatitude Sviatoslav, met with representatives of the International Catholic Charitable Organization “Kirche in Not” (“Church in Need”).
The participants discussed the main challenges that Ukraine is facing and the most effective ways the world can support our people now.
The Secretary General of Kirche in Not, Mr. Philipp Ozores, thanked His Beatitude Sviatoslav for the opportunity to meet at a historic moment for Ukraine, noting that it was his first visit to Ukraine. The Secretary-General assured that their charitable organization will continue to contribute to the support of Ukraine in the new year, which, in his opinion, is a beautiful country with good people.
The guests asked His Beatitude Sviatoslav to forward his message to the world and share his thoughts on how the world can effectively respond to the situation in Ukraine.
The Head of the UGCC spoke about the main socio-economic, cultural, political, and educational crises that Ukraine is enduring as it goes through its second winter at war.
Energy crisis
It is critical to note that last year, Russia destroyed up to 60 % of Ukraine’s electrical infrastructure. “We are waiting for the humanitarian aid to arrive. Every Ukrainian is preparing in various ways to provide themselves with light and heat for the winter. We are buying generators everywhere possible,” he said.
The wounds of war are a new challenge we face in Ukraine
The Patriarch noted that Ukrainians are exhausted from the continuous war, both soldiers and volunteers. Many people need medical rehabilitation.
“We are considering ways to treat the trauma of war. The war started in 2014, and since then, part of the medicine has been focused on rehabilitation. Our soldiers need good prostheses,” said the Head of the UGCC.
Psychological trauma
Using the personal experience of being shelled by missiles and drones, His Beatitude Sviatoslav shared that it is difficult to fall asleep in different buildings.
“I can’t sleep for several nights while my brain gets used to the sounds around me,” said the Patriarch.
“Healing the wounds of war”
The Father and Head of the UGCC told the guests about the experience of the clergy of the UGCC, which they gained while living in the territories under occupation. The priests also faced the need to answer the difficult questions that war brings to human lives through the irreparable loss of loved ones, the atrocities of the occupiers, the aftermath of shelling, and the loss of health.
“We run a special educational program for the clergy, where we teach priests to respond to the difficult questions that war brings — ‘Healing the Wounds of War,’” said the Head of the UGCC.
Then, the Head of the Church described Ukraine’s cultural, linguistic, and socio-political peculiarities in different parts of the country, emphasizing that the new time of war opens new pages for Ukraine. At the same time, we continue to suffer and fight Russian propaganda inside the country.
Education crisis
“We have other humanitarian crises in Ukraine — children no longer attend school.”
The UGCC Primate spoke about a boy named Dima from Nizhyn, who can do neither reading nor writing in the third grade.
Your visit serves as a therapy for us
“Humanity comes before humanitarian support. Your visit to us is a therapy. When someone listens, I can once again voice my pain and dreams,” assured the Head of the UGCC and called on the participants to tell the truth about Ukraine to the world.
Ultimately, the Father and Head of the UGCC gave the hierarchical blessing to all those present.
The UGCC Department for Information
