Address by the Head of the UGCC for the 233rd Week of the Full-Scale War, August 2, 2026
Glory to Jesus Christ!
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ!
This Sunday marks the 233rd week of this great sacrilegious war. It has been an incredibly painful and brutal week for our people.
In just one night—the night of July 30—the Russians launched a massive missile and drone attack across all of Ukraine. Dozens were killed, hundreds wounded. The main target was our beloved city of Kyiv, our capital. An entire family was killed in a village near Kryvyi Rih. Consider this: the Russians struck with a North Korean-made missile, and a large family—children along with their parents, who were peacefully sleeping in their beds—was killed.
Our historic city of Lviv was also targeted. At least one person has been confirmed dead, and dozens more have been injured. Entire apartment buildings were destroyed.
Against this global backdrop, we see that Russia consistently demonstrates its unwillingness to engage in any peace talks. “Peace is not for us,” declare the Russian invaders. Yet, the Ukrainian leadership has held critically important meetings at the highest level between the President of the United States and the President of Ukraine.
The whole world is seeking paths to peace, but Russia has once again chosen the path of war.
According to international experts, July was the deadliest month since the start of the full-scale war on February 24, 2022. Over 400 people were killed that month, and 2,200 were injured, most of them civilians—women and children. Thus, the wheel of war is only accelerating. And, unfortunately, no diplomatic efforts have been successful so far. The more peace is discussed at the highest levels, the more people Russia kills on Ukrainian soil.
But what was particularly painful for us—a challenge to our Christian conscience and Christian morality—was that at precisely that time, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, published another book about the war. The whole world is speaking of peace. His Holiness Leo XIV, together with the Consistory of Cardinals, condemned the concept of a “just war,” while the Moscow Patriarch is publishing a book titled “War Beyond Causes and Consequences”.
And what’s interesting is that this book goes beyond the metaphysics of war; it addresses the soteriology of war. It argues that such a war is God’s plan and calls on the faithful to cultivate a new form of patriotism. Patriotism is no longer about love for one’s homeland or one’s people, but rather about loyalty to some divine plan.
By preaching about a God who blesses war, the head of this church urges those serving in the armed forces not to shy away from their calling to victory. These statements are painful to us because we understand that such claims constitute not only blasphemy but also present yet another obstacle—both doctrinal and moral—to genuine ecumenical dialogue among the Churches today.
Nevertheless, we are grateful to all those who fight against war and say “no” to war, both in Ukraine and in the Middle East.
We believe in God, who is the Source of peace. We believe in God, who is Love. There is no war in His plan, for He is the God of life.
And so, once again, from Ukraine, believing in our God who is Love, we proclaim our traditional, deeply spiritual words: Ukraine stands, Ukraine fights, Ukraine prays!
This Sunday, we experienced a significant and deeply spiritual event—the All-Ukrainian Pilgrimage to Krylos Mountain, located in the ancient city of Halych, where the glorious Cathedral of the Dormition once stood, built by Prince Osmomysl and consecrated as early as 1156.
Twenty years ago, there on Krylos Mountain, the coronation of the miraculous icon of Krylos took place. This is a unique devotion to the Mother of God at that holy site. According to tradition, the prince who built this cathedral brought the icon of the Mother of God Hodegetria from Constantinople to Krylos Mountain.
And so, 20 years ago, as we commemorated the 850th anniversary of the consecration of the Cathedral of the Dormition, we were once again blessed by the presence of the Mother of God, and the icon was crowned with papal crowns. Twenty years ago, this coronation was presided over by my predecessor, His Beatitude Cardinal Lubomyr Husar, of blessed memory.
We are celebrating nearly a millennium of devotion to the Mother of God in our ancient city of Halych. For us, for our Church, this is a special spiritual event that reflects many of the defining characteristics of our Church today.
First and foremost, we thank the Blessed Virgin Mary for her special care and protection of our Church and our people. The identity and consciousness of our Church and our people were formed around the spiritual unity of Kyiv and Halych. Only the Head of our Church has retained the title of Supreme Archbishop of Kyiv-Halych. It is very important for our Church that this icon of the Mother of God has journeyed with us through those tumultuous centuries, enduring fire and destruction.
We know from tradition that Bishop Yosyf Shumliansky returned this icon to Krylos Mountain in 1707. And today, that icon is before our very eyes. We thank the Lord God that even today, the Mother of God is present in this ancient princely city, where we rediscover our roots, experience the continuity of centuries of faith, and recognize our spiritual continuity with Kyivan Christianity and the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. This unity—this heart—is embodied today in the Blessed Virgin Mary.
We pray: Mother of God, honored in the miraculous icon on Krylos Mountain throughout the ages, intercede with your Son that the war may end; implore Him for peace—a just and lasting peace that the world cannot have, but which comes only from Christ the Savior.
May the Lord God, through the hands of the Blessed Virgin Mary, bless our long-suffering people.
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.
