Consecration of the Patriarchal Cathedral marked the finalization of the process of returning the seat of the Head of the UGCC to Kyiv: His Beatitude Sviatoslav
The consecration of the Patriarchal Cathedral in Kyiv marked the finalization of the long process of returning the seat of the Head of our Church to Kyiv. The seat of the Head of the Church is not only an administrative center, but it is the place where the Head of the Church lives. It is a temple where he prays. His Beatitude Sviatoslav, the Father and Head of the UGCC, said this in a special feature of Open Church on Zhyve Television on the 10th anniversary of the consecration of the Patriarchal Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ.
“We know that historically our maternal cathedral in Kyiv was St. Sophia Cathedral,” said His Beatitude Sviatoslav, “Today, it is a special symbol for all the churches of the Volodymyr’s Baptism, and we hope that one day it will become a cathedral of unity, when the unity of the Kyivan Church, both its union part and its Orthodox part, is restored. Then, we hope, there will be a single patriarch who will have his own cathedral, again, in St. Sophia Cathedral, as Patriarch Josyf Slipyj used to dream of.”
Then, the Head of the UGCC expressed hope that the solemn transportation of the mortal remains of Patriarch Josyf to St. Sophia Cathedral, as stated in his will, will occur.
In addition, the Primate spoke about the importance of the main shrine of Greek Catholics for the entire Church — the Patriarchal Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ: “This temple has become a place of prayer for the Head of the Church, and this prayer has united not only our faithful in Kyiv, not only our faithful in Ukraine, but we see how it came to be in 10 years: it has become a center of unity in prayer for our entire Church in different parts of the world and has revealed the deep significance of our Patriarchal Cathedral.”
His Beatitude Sviatoslav said that the Patriarchal Cathedral is primarily a house of God, a space of prayer where we make a bloodless sacrifice for the Church and the Ukrainian people in the global dimension of its existence. But the Patriarchal Cathedral is also a parental home, so everyone who comes here should feel a parent’s warmth.
“I want to encourage every son and daughter of our church to feel they have to make a pilgrimage to the Patriarchal Cathedral at least once in their lives,” said the Head of the UGCC in a special feature of Open Church on Zhyve Television.
The UGCC Department for Information
