“Stand together! Don’t let yourselves be divided,” Metropolitan Borys Gudziak to UCU students
“Those who want Ukraine to collapse will seek to divide Ukrainians. Those who cannot comprehend Christ’s message and the mission of this university will also seek to divide our community. We are not sinless. We make mistakes. But let us cherish the unity we have.” These words were spoken by Metropolitan Borys Gudziak during the academic Liturgy marking the beginning of the new academic year at the Ukrainian Catholic University.
This was reported by the UCU Press Center.
Archbishop of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Archeparchy of Philadelphia, President of the Ukrainian Catholic University, Metropolitan Borys Gudziak, presided over the first academic Liturgy of the new year in the university chapel of St. Sophia, Wisdom of God. He emphasized that such opportunities do not occur often, but are extremely valuable.
During the Liturgy, the memory of the Bazylevych family members who perished in the Russian assault on Lviv a year ago was also honored—UCU student Daria, her mother Yevhenia, and sisters Yaryna and Emilia.
“In recent days, Lviv, Ukraine, and ultimately the whole world, have been horrified by yet another despicable, diabolically planned assassination of a leading Ukrainian politician, Andriy Parubiy. Such acts by the enemy are not the first, and they will not be the last,” Metropolitan Borys stressed.
In his sermon, he reminded that Ukrainians have been resisting full-scale invasion for more than three years, defying enemy predictions that they would collapse within days. This resistance, he said, proves that if we are united with God, no evil can overcome us. He recalled that the word devil in Greek means “the one who divides.” Therefore, today’s main struggle is the struggle for unity, which is fundamental to Christian life.
The Metropolitan urged students to limit the time they spend on social media and instead devote it to prayer, reading, meaningful communication, and rest, in order to nurture their inner unity. “The struggle being waged today is not only for economic or political rights, but above all between good and evil, life and death, for human dignity, which is a gift from God,” he concluded.
Finally, Metropolitan Borys emphasized the mission of UCU, which he called a symbol of the Resurrection, as it was revived on the very site where Soviet authorities had planned to build a cultural center for the Red Army. In his words, this is a sign of God’s humor and the ultimate victory of life over death.
The UGCC Department for Information
