“Russia intends to ‘finalize the Ukrainian issue,’ just as the Nazis sought to ‘finalize the Jewish one, ‘” His Beatitude Sviatoslav addressed the King of Norway
During an audience with King Harald V of Norway, His Beatitude Sviatoslav, Father and Head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, drew a parallel between Russian aggression against Ukraine and the Holocaust, emphasizing the genocidal nature of the war. “Russia has declared that this war aims to ‘finally resolve the Ukrainian question,’ just as Nazi Germany sought to finalize the Jewish one,” said the Head of the Church during a meeting between a delegation from the Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations and Their Majesties at the Royal Palace in Oslo on Tuesday, October 21.
His Beatitude Sviatoslav expressed gratitude to the King for visiting Ukrainian communities and remembering Ukraine, thereby restoring its very name, which Russia seeks to repudiate, as well as its right to exist.
During the meeting, the Head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church emphasized: “The very fact that we are here before you today is a miracle. We were all on Russian execution lists. Russian troops stopped a few kilometers from our churches and homes in Kyiv. If Ukraine had been occupied, we would no longer be here—we would not be sitting in front of you now, but would be in torture chambers.”
During the audience, Ukrainian religious leaders testified to Their Majesties about the heroic resistance of the Ukrainian people and its defenders in the war for Ukraine’s freedom and independence. Members of the Council of Churches highlighted the significance of Norway’s aid to Ukraine in repelling Russian aggression, establishing a just peace, and returning abducted Ukrainian children and prisoners of war home.
His Beatitude Sviatoslav shared the profound ecumenical experience of the Churches in Ukraine: “Standing over the mass graves in Bucha and Irpin, we felt that here we are all equal and alike, regardless of our denominations. Therefore, Russia’s crimes unite us and give rise to a common ecumenical response: together we save lives and speak to the world.”
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The Head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church outlined the scale of the tragedy, which is the largest in Europe since World War II: “14 million people have fled their homes—that is almost three times the entire population of Norway. Almost 170,000 square kilometers were mined — that is half the territory of Norway. Four million homes were destroyed — that is almost all the homes of Norwegians.”
The Primate appealed to the King to continue his care for the Ukrainian community in Norway. “There are 80,000 citizens of Ukraine here. You have received the best part of our society: students, young women with children, highly qualified specialists. Help them preserve their national, cultural, linguistic, and religious identity.”
Their Majesties responded by sharing their own experiences. King Harald V said that he himself was a refugee at the age of three when his family fled from the German occupiers. Queen Sonja recalled how, as a child, she experienced the joy of the people when the Germans left their country, and expressed her hope that Ukraine would experience the same joy as soon as possible and that the occupiers would leave Ukrainian soil as soon as possible.
Among the various topics raised by the participants of the meeting were testimonies about Russian crimes in the occupied territories, the abduction of Ukrainian children and their subsequent indoctrination in the spirit of the “Russian world” ideology, crimes against freedom of religion, and churches and places of worship destroyed by Russian shelling. At the same time, all members of the delegation testified to the unity of the religious community in defending Ukraine, the broad humanitarian outreach of churches and religious organizations, as well as their involvement in chaplaincy services.
His Beatitude Sviatoslav also spoke about the pastoral ministry of healing the wounds of war carried out by the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, adding that “it is easy to get into war, but difficult to return to peaceful life.”
On behalf of Ukrainians, the delegation of the All-Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations expressed gratitude to the Norwegian people, represented by King Harald V of Norway, for their assistance to Ukraine and presented His Majesty with a painting depicting Jesus Christ praying against the backdrop of the horrors of Russian terrorist attacks—the train station in Kramatorsk and families who perished in Ukrainian cities. with the words: “I do not ask that You take them out of the world, but to protect them from the evil one” (John 17:15). The artwork was created on boxes of weapons that were donated by Norway as part of its aid to Ukraine.
A delegation from the Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations (UCCRO) is currently on a visit to Norway. The delegation includes: Valerii Antonuk, head of the UCCRO and head of the delegation; His Beatitude Sviatoslav, Father and Head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church; Yevstratiy (Zoria), Metropolitan of Bila Tserkva of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine; Bishop Vitalii Kryvytskyi of the Roman Catholic Church, Senior Bishop Anatoliy Kozachok of the Ukrainian Christian Evangelical Church, Rev. Anatoliy Raichynets, Deputy Secretary General of the Ukrainian Bible Society, Oleksandr Zayets, Chairman of the Board of the Interreligious Council, and Fr. Oleh Oleksa of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church.
The UGCC Department for Information
based on materials from UCCRO
Photo: Press Service of the King of Norway
