Head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church: “True Peace Has Nothing to Do with the Silence of Cemeteries”
“Peace does not mean deathly silence, but the fullness of life. In the biblical sense, shalom refers to the flourishing of a person and a nation—a blooming garden beyond our imagination. Therefore, a just peace for Ukraine means a flourishing land and a happy people building a free, united, and independent state,” emphasized His Beatitude Sviatoslav, Father and Head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, in an interview with Kyiv Diplomatic magazine.
His Beatitude Sviatoslav prays in Bucha, together with the relatives of the deceased for the victims of Russian aggression, March 2023
The Head of the Church noted that today the very concept of peace is often losing its original meaning. According to him, the first such shift occurred during Russia’s aggression against Georgia, when the notion of “coercion to peace” emerged.
His Beatitude Sviatoslav is convinced that a just peace is impossible without respect for the people who live on Ukrainian soil. “It pains me to hear calls for compromises that involve sacrificing territories. We are not territories; we are living people. A just peace is impossible without recognizing the rights of those who live here and without respecting their pain and suffering. All justice begins with recognizing the rights of the victim. Those rights must be acknowledged and restored, and the crimes must be named and condemned. Only then can we speak of restoring justice.”
The Head of the Church also emphasized that a just peace must be lasting. It cannot be reduced to a frozen conflict or a temporary truce. It must involve restoring the rights of those who have been unjustly wronged and creating conditions for life on Ukrainian soil—in a free Ukraine.
Panakhyda for the victims of the massive Russian shelling of Ternopil on the night of November 19, 2025
His Beatitude Sviatoslav also spoke about the limits of possible compromise. “Human dignity and human life cannot be subject to compromise,” the Primate emphasized. “As Christians, we cannot compromise with evil. When someone tries to sanctify war and call it ‘holy,’ we must say that this is a crime against humanity and blasphemy against the Lord. For our God is not a God of war, but a God of peace and love.”
Political and diplomatic compromises, he explained, are possible only as a means to an end: safeguarding human dignity and the sanctity of human life. “But when it comes to dignity itself, there can be no compromise. We cannot hesitate to condemn the aggressor or defend the rights of the victim; we cannot remain silent about crimes against humanity.”
The Primate also noted that the Church has a special mission: to be a prophetic voice, to appeal to the conscience of society and those in power, and to speak out about unpopular truths. At the same time, the Church calls for dialogue, partnership, and education.
“The voice of the Church does not condemn; it builds. When it comes to international agreements or documents, great wisdom and clarity are essential. Today we hear calls to pause where we are and begin a fair discussion. There is a certain logic to this. But we can never agree to the occupation of Ukrainian territory. The international community has no right to accept that aggression can be used to change national borders. Otherwise, the world will become a place where the rule of law is replaced by the rule of the strong. Then any peace agreement will lose its meaning. If international law does not apply, who will respect the agreements that have been signed?”
The Primate also recalled Pope Leo XIV’s words about the need to respect the Constitution of Ukraine in order to achieve a just resolution to the war.
“Ukraine has a Constitution that must be respected both by its own authorities and by the international community. Ukraine is a subject of international law,” noted the Head of the UGCC.
In his view, any peace agreement must be transparent and open to public discussion. External pressure cannot justify violations of international law or the Constitution of Ukraine.
The UGCC Department for Information
