“I have someone to count on. It is you, the congregation of our Church!” — His Beatitude Sviatoslav
It is very important for me to understand that I have someone to rely on. It is you, our Church, our people! If I, as the Head of the Church, can count on you, the university community, students, believers, priests, and bishops, everything becomes different. Then, there is an understanding that this is not my personal endeavor but our common cause. His Beatitude Sviatoslav, the Father and Head of the UGCC, said this on February 9 at the Sheptytsky Center in Lviv during the presentation of the book “God Has Not Forsaken Ukraine,” written in a conversation with the editor of the Catholic Information Agency Krzysztof Tomasik.
Answering a question from the moderator, director of the Svichado Publishing House, Mr. Bohdan Troyanovsky, about how the laity can contribute to the work of the Head of the UGCC in his difficult ministry, His Beatitude Sviatoslav noted that he garners support from those who seek benevolence and come with a smile. It is crucial for the Patriarch to stand together with such people.
“I am inspired by people who know how to transform their pain into an act of kindness,” the Primate emphasized.
The Head of the UGCC recalled a meeting with a volunteer in Kharkiv who inspired him because she came to the cathedral to serve others driven by the desire to turn her war wound into action.
Moreover, His Beatitude Sviatoslav admitted that following the shelling of Kyiv, he needed to be active himself: “It is incredibly important for me to know that I have someone to count on. These people are you, our Church. It is crucial for me to understand that millions are praying for me. I am not alone; I am not acting solely on my own behalf, but rather with the support of a great Church community behind me. I feel a profound affinity and empathy with it. At times, I feel like I am at the heart of a network, present all over the world. And this network has something meaningful to convey.”
The UGCC Department for Information
