Telling the truth about Ukraine is your front and testimony, — His Beatitude Sviatoslav to Ukrainians in the Cathedral of Saint Sophia in Rome
“Saint Sophia Cathedral is becoming known worldwide because even the Italian community gathers here to help Ukraine. Today, Italy needs to know the truth about Ukraine. And who will tell her this truth? You. This is your front and your testimony. When working with Italian families, speak to their hearts. Tell them the truth they might not hear from the media,” the Head and Father of the UGCC, His Beatitude Sviatoslav appealed to the Ukrainians, living in Italy on Sunday, November 13.
“Thank you, — said the Patriarch to the gathered Ukrainians, — for the fact that the global Ukrainian community, the children of Ukraine, never leave it, even when life takes them to a foreign land. Thank you that you are always in the womb of your Church, wherever you are, because your Church is always and everywhere with you.”
Reflecting on the Gospel passage of the 23 rd Sunday after the Pentecost about the demon-possessed man, the preacher noted that this passage reveals one of the essential divine signs — at the most critical moments, God reveals himself to his people as God the Deliverer, who frees man from the bondage of sin and death.
Ultimately, Christ restores human dignity, bringing back a clear mind to the possessed. It was the spark of God’s Spirit that replaced the enslaving power of the evil spirit in him, the Primate explained.
A story about a herd of pigs is always interesting. The Holy Fathers, the bishop recalled, encouraged everyone to look at themselves because each of us feeds his herd of pigs: sinful habits, sinful preferences of various kinds, lusts — all the things the devil wants to enter.
His Beatitude Sviatoslav drew attention to the fact that Ukrainians often hear the word “liberation” in recent months. “Yesterday and the day before yesterday, we heard about the liberation of our Mykolaiv Oblast and glorious Kherson. Interestingly, residents of Kherson saw the ‘legion’ drowning in the waters of the Dnipro. Terrible thing! They saw how those demons, legions destroy those in whom they dwell, how they destroy the army that came to our land to steal, kill, destroy. They all turned out to be powerless before the people who said ‘no’ to slavery. They were powerless before those people, among whom their Lord and Redeemer are personally present.”
According to His Beatitude Sviatoslav, the most crucial battle for world democracy is in Ukraine today. That is why Ukraine is respected and supported by all democratic countries today, because they understand that Ukrainians, saying “no” to shackles and “no” to Russian slavery, are driving the last peg into the policy of colonialism.
“It is difficult for anyone to fathom that a colonial war is going on in Ukraine, that Russia is coming to make us its colony, said the Primate. — Some thinkers assumed that colonial wars were taking place far away in Africa and Latin America. Instead, there is a colonial war in the heart of Europe. When the world international community supports Ukraine, it lays the foundations for a new future. The very concept of democracy is sitting its final test.”
Assuring in prayer all those who work daily for victory in Ukraine, His Beatitude Sviatoslav affirmed that Ukrainians in Italy could also work for victory. “Don’t let your conscience bother you that you are not on the front line. Banish this thought! Because with your prayer, witness to the world, your kindness to those in need, you can and should do a lot for the victory of Ukraine where the Lord has called and placed you,” he emphasized.
During the Liturgy, His Beatitude Sviatoslav ordained Mykola Chapliuk, a Kyiv Three Saints Theological Seminary graduate. Congratulating him at the end of the Liturgy on this significant event in his life, the Head of the Church said that during the ordination, he experienced an extraordinary moment because he became the first alumnus of the Kyiv Seminary to receive his ordination in the Basilica of Saint Sophia in Rome.
The UGCC Department for Information
