Address by the Head of the UGCC for the 247th Week of the Full-Scale War, November 8, 2026
Glory to Jesus Christ!
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ!
This Sunday marks the 247th week of this horrific, bloody, and sacrilegious war. The most heartbreaking event of this week was the horrific massacre of civilians on November 2 in the village of Komyshuvakha, in the Zaporizhzhia region. People had gathered to receive humanitarian aid when the Russians dropped a guided bomb on the school where they were assembled. Volunteers rushed to rescue them.
We can say that today in Ukraine, acts of mercy are coming under Russian fire. It is deeply painful to witness this destruction, and we still do not know the exact number of victims. As of today, the President of Ukraine has stated that approximately 100 people may have been killed at that one location.
The enemy is attempting not only to kill us but also to instill in people a fear of doing good, a fear of showing mercy. On the one hand, people are made afraid to come forward and receive humanitarian aid; on the other, volunteers and workers from various emergency services are exposed to mortal danger while carrying out their professional duties. Today, I would like to express my special gratitude to all those who are not afraid to show compassion under fire.
We saw that horrific footage from a police officer’s body camera, showing the final minutes, the final seconds of his life. He died alongside the people at that very spot.
Today, I want to express my special gratitude to all those who rush to help people in need: law enforcement officers, our rescue workers, volunteers, and all those who are heroically carrying out their professional duties.
I say to you: do not be afraid. Do not be afraid to love. Do not be afraid to save lives. May the enemy never makes us afraid to do acts of mercy. Once again, we want to declare to the whole world: Ukraine stands. Ukraine fights. Ukraine prays.
Yesterday, November 7, a very important event took place in the life of our Church. The Patriarchal Forum of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church was held, focusing on family ministry in our parishes, exarchates, eparchies, and metropolias, both in Ukraine and throughout the world. Given the ongoing war, we are unable to convene a Patriarchal Council in its usual format.
This event brings together the laity, members of our monastic communities, intellectuals and professors, priests, and bishops. However, with the help of modern technology, we can gather online, hear one another, and coordinate our activities. It is noteworthy that this forum took place immediately after a pan-Church event—a meeting convened by Pope Leo XIV with the presidents of bishops’ conferences and the leaders of the Eastern Churches to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the publication of the papal exhortation Amoris laetitia.
Today, our Church seeks to care for the Ukrainian family, which is perhaps the most neglected institution among the Ukrainian people in the context of the war. We have heard testimonies from various parts of our Church—Argentina and Brazil, Canada, the United States, Western Europe, and Ukraine. The Ukrainian Mother Church cares for the wounded Ukrainian family.
I want to thank all those who help young people respond to the vocation of marriage, all those who prepare engaged couples to receive the Holy Sacrament of Matrimony, and all those who accompany young couples during the first years of their married life. I thank all our pro-family movements, which help the Church carry out its pastoral ministry to families today. But today, on this Sunday, a special event is taking place in Canada, in the city of Winnipeg.
I am now in a very holy place. Here rest the incorrupt relics of Blessed Martyr Vasyl Velychkovsky, here in Winnipeg, at the monastery of the Redemptorist Fathers.
Today, in this place, at the see of our Metropolitan in Canada, the installation of the new head of our Church in this country is taking place. We have all gathered here today to mark the beginning of this ministry and to congratulate His Eminence Archbishop and Metropolitan Michael Kwiatkowski. Today, we pray for and support our Church in Canada.
We thank Ukrainian Greek Catholics in Canada for their witness of faith, for their ability—even here, in a foreign land—to remain true to themselves, to gather those who have been scattered, and, most importantly, to pass on the faith to their children and to the younger generations of Ukrainians in this blessed land. May the Lord God bless our Church in Ukraine and throughout the diaspora.
Today’s event is a sign that God cares for His Church. The Lord God cares for the Ukrainian people. The Lord God cares for Ukraine. Therefore, we pray: O God, bless Your people.
Blessed Martyr Vasyl, pray for Your Church in Ukraine and throughout the world. Jesus, stop the war in Ukraine and bless our long-suffering Ukrainian people with Your righteous heavenly peace.
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.
