Freedom is a gift inscribed deep into the human being by our Creator, — Head of the UGCC on the 217th day of the war
Being yourself, being a person means having the opportunity and the right to do good. Unfortunately, this love of freedom and consciousness of calling for freedom of the Ukrainian people has always been terrible for any tyrants or invaders who came to the Ukrainian land. My great predecessor, Blessed Lubomyr, once said, “dictators are less afraid of hunger riots in their countries than free people because you can buy the hungry, and the free one can only kill.” The Father and Head of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church, His Beatitude Sviatoslav, said in his daily military address on the 217th day of Russia’s war against Ukraine.
On this day, the bishop began to reflect on the source of our stability. “The world is surprised — Ukraine is in an unequal battle for the 8th month. Where do that strength and inviolability come from? During this war, communicating with our soldiers, those who were in Russian captivity, in Russian torture camps, and with our refugees and immigrants, with our monks and nuns, I somehow felt that there are certain principles and certain foundations of this stability. Perhaps we still can’t understand everything until the end. But there is something that gives us the strength to stand, a fulcrum to lean on.”
His Beatitude Sviatoslav reckons the first principle of stability for Ukrainians is the national feeling of freedom and the will for it. As for him, the Ukrainian character is not solely about one ethnic group but an inborn sense and aspiration to be free. “It is the consciousness that we are children of God, not slaves of human illusions. And we understand that this is also our Christian vocation, the path to true, complete freedom. It is not about some anarchy, the desire to do whatever one wants. It is a profound national understanding that freedom is the ability and right to do good.”
“Many of those who were in Russian captivity, in Russian torture chambers, somehow felt that even they, being with their hands tied, eyes closed, were freer, lived in a higher level of freedom than their executioners. And that is why the Russian occupier hates a free Ukrainian person because this occupier is enslaved. He is slave to the human illusions of their dictators. He understands this in the depths of his heart.”
His Beatitude Sviatoslav emphasized that freedom requires us to have the courage to take responsibility for the common good. “No one can take away a person’s freedom. A person can only give freedom, personal freedom herself. She can renounce it; she can run away from it. Run away from responsibility without courage. The Ukrainian people demonstrated that we dare to be free.”
The Head of the Church also recalled words said by one nun, who he had known since Soviet persecution, in response to the fact of some world politicians falling for Russian money: “It appears that, similarly, among the rich in the West, there are more hungry people who are bought than free people who are ready to appreciate and defend freedom.”
“O God, You gave us our freedom as a calling to the fullness of capability to do good. Help us fulfill this calling. God, help us to have the courage to be free. God, help Ukraine today to stand in this unequal battle. God bless our Ukrainian army. God, grant our Ukraine freedom and Your blessed heavenly peace,” asked His Beatitude Sviatoslav.
The UGCC Department for Information
