“Healing Together with the Person of Jesus Christ”: Bishop Arkadiy Trokhanovsky reports to the Synod on the main theme
Bishop Arkadiy Trokhanovsky, the one in charge of preparing the central theme of the Synod of Bishops of the UGCC in 2023, spoke to the bishops with a report, “Pastoral Support of the UGCC to Victims of Russian Aggression. Healing Wounds”. He offered the Synod concrete proposals for the pastoral care of healing war wounds, emphasizing the importance of the Word of God, the Holy Sacraments, and prayer.
In the report, the Bishop of Olsztyn-Gdańsk of the UGCC from Poland stated that war trauma affected the entire nation. Therefore, to heal the wounds of the Ukrainian people, the Church needs to cooperate with other organizations. It is essential to understand that each person needs an individual approach.
He remarked that the Church’s aid to the victims should have material and spiritual dimensions.
Bishop Arkadiy presented to the UGCC bishops the process of spiritual healing of wounds based on recovery by God’s word, the Holy Sacraments, and prayer. “For a Christian,” he emphasized, “it is crucial to participate in healing together with the person of Jesus Christ.”
Highlighting the importance of each of the seven Holy Sacraments — Baptism, Confirmation, Eucharist, Penance, Extreme Unction, Matrimony, and Priesthood — the bishop noted that in this way, the Church should bring Christ to people, who “gives himself to all the wounded, the suffering, all those who have lost loved ones and wants to create a community with each person.”
“It is necessary to establish specialized pastoral care and systematic psychological counseling,” believes Bishop Arkadiy. “This is the attitude towards men who, after enduring the war, must really adapt to functioning in a civilian society free of enmity, hatred, and revanchism. It is about learning from scratch the values that positively shape a person. Showing the longevity of marriage is a daunting task. For this, we need a new pastoral style.”
Priests have an important role in healing war wounds, and they “must become spiritual leaders.” Priests, though they can be masters in various fields, cannot neglect the preaching of God’s word. “We must remember that psychology cannot replace the preaching of the word of God,” emphasized Bishop Arkadiy.
“The humanitarian ministry of many priests,” he continued, “has proven that it is possible to be very close to people, often unrecognizable, tired, dirty, but at the same time deeply convinced that you are fulfilling yourself as a priest and confident that this is a true vocation. The priesthood must convince and unite people. We must continue to walk with people and be spiritual guides who constantly, under any circumstances, teach prayer and endurance in reliance on the Lord God.”
In his report, Bishop Arkadiy also emphasized the role of prayer in healing the wounds of war. “The positive face of the Greek Catholic Church,” the speaker noted, “is the ministry of priests, nuns, and monks who did not abandon their faithful, helped, provided humanitarian aid, and stood before God with absolute trust. It is also the testimony of imprisoned priests, how they survived through personal prayers and those who prayed for them.”
The UGCC Department for Information
