“Happy New Year, mighty, free, and independent Ukrainian people!” — Head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church
The Father and Head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, His Beatitude Sviatoslav, addressed Ukrainians with a New Year’s greeting, calling on them to courageously enter 2026 with hope for a just peace and the reconstruction of Ukraine.
In his speech, the Primate emphasized that the passing year was marked by pain and loss, but at the same time it became a time of internal renewal and the birth of hope. “It was a year when certain vestiges of ‘Soviet’ Ukraine died out, but something new was born — something very bright, very dignified, which has a future,” he said.
According to His Beatitude Sviatoslav, for the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, 2025 was a year of hope — a hope that “will never disappoint” because it is based on the living presence of God in the history and life of the Ukrainian people. “Thanks to this power of hope, we were able to resist the plans of the Russian aggressor. This year was a year of resilience for us, which is the secret of our victory,” emphasized the Head of the UGCC.
Looking ahead to 2026, the Patriarch acknowledged the uncertainty of the future, but called on the faithful to have firm faith: “We know for sure that just as God was with us this year, so He is already awaiting us in the year to come.”
“We Christians know and believe that the future belongs to God. Therefore, we enter that future, the year 2026, with courage, dignity, and freedom as children of God,” emphasized the Primate.
The Father and Head of the UGCC expressed his most cherished wishes for Ukraine in the new year: “We implore the Lord God to end the war in Ukraine. We wish that, with God’s help, this year will finally bring us the long-awaited, just, and lasting peace, and that it will be a year of rebuilding Ukraine, which should become better than it was before the war.”
The Primate wished that Ukrainian soldiers would return home victorious, and that mothers, wives, and children would wait for their loved ones to return home alive. He also expressed hope that the new year would be a time of strengthening state and social institutions, cleansing of evil, and renewing strength for the creation of an independent Ukraine.
Concluding his greeting, the Father and Head of the UGCC wished all Ukrainians God’s blessing, peace in their hearts, light in their eyes, and fortitude in their good deeds: “God, bless Ukraine with Your peace in this New Year! Happy New Year to you, mighty, free, independent Ukrainian people!”
The UGCC Department for Information
