“It is of great significance to pray for the victory of Ukraine in this place today”: Head of the UGCC at the Icon of Our Lady of the Gates of Dawn
The Virgin Mary, glorified in the icon of Our Lady of the Gates of Dawn, has heard and responded to so many prayers. May She accept our prayers today for Ukraine’s victory over the Russian unjust aggressor and attacker. His Beatitude Sviatoslav, the Father and Head of the UGCC, said this during the Liturgy in the chapel of the Gate of Dawn in Vilnius, the most revered miraculous icon in Lithuania.
On September 27, in the holiest place in Lithuania — in front of the miraculous IconofOur Lady of the Gatesof Dawn in Vilnius — His Beatitude Sviatoslav started a pastoral visit to the suffering Ukrainian people who found themselves on Lithuanian land due to military circumstances. This marked the beginning of the celebration of the 400th anniversary of the martyrdom of St. Josaphat.
According to the Primate, the past, present, and future intersect uniquely at the Gates of Dawn.
“We see that when three nations unite and call on God for help, we are strong and invincible… And this wondrous, glorious past we observe in this holy place,” said the Primate.
Today, on the 500th anniversary of Kostyantyn Ostrovsky’s victory, it is very important to pray at this place for Ukraine’s victory in the war, which is “the world’s greatest catastrophe” and began not in 2022 but in 2014.
“We are in great need of not being alone again in this struggle. Our upcoming meeting with the Lithuanian authorities and the Lithuanian community aims to solidify the unity of European peoples in this challenging and unequal battle,” said the Head of the UGCC. “We believe that, just as it happened 500 years ago, it will happen today through the power of great Christian universal solidarity and a shared understanding of right and wrong. However, all of this will be achieved through the power and grace of the Holy Spirit, with the prayers of the Blessed Virgin Mary.”
Moreover, His Beatitude Sviatoslav pointed out that near the Icon of Our Lady of the Gates of Dawn, we also see the future in which we want to see a free, independent Ukraine, Lithuania, Poland, Belarus — all those nations that have been coming to this place for centuries and begging for a better life for their children: “Today we ask that the Blessed Virgin Mary bless all our good intentions, so that in unity, in Christian solidarity and prayer, we can accomplish this great deed — the triumph of good over evil, life over death. And with the good news heard here from the Virgin Mary, everyone returns to their homes.”
