The Head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church Announces Nationwide Campaign “Donate a Ukrainian Book to Cherkasy”
His Beatitude Sviatoslav, Father and Head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, announced the launch of a nationwide campaign entitled “Donate a Ukrainian Book to Cherkasy.” He made this appeal on January 11 during the Hierarchical Divine Liturgy at the Church of the Protection of the Holy Mother of God of the UGCC in Cherkasy, as well as in his weekly video address in the 204th week of Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine.
Recounting the meetings held during his three-day pastoral visit to Cherkasy, His Beatitude Sviatoslav noted that everywhere he went, he asked the same question: “How can we serve you?”
“During my meeting with the staff of the Cherkasy libraries, they told me that people read books here. People in Cherkasy visit libraries!” emphasized the Head of the UGCC. “But I also heard a special request—a request for Ukrainian books.”
The Head of the UGCC explained that this request is linked to the process of decommunization and the removal of Russian-language imperial literature from library collections. As a result, according to him, there is now a growing need for Ukrainian-language books in the region.
“Today, Cherkasy is once again becoming a place where people are searching for the Ukrainian word, for Ukrainian books,” the Patriarch noted. “Therefore, we want to solemnly announce to the whole world the launch of the campaign ‘Donate a Ukrainian Book to Cherkasy.’”
The Primate emphasized that the search for the Ukrainian word is not only a cultural but also a deeply spiritual process. “Today, the people of Cherkasy, in their pursuit of the Ukrainian word, are discovering light, spiritual, traditional, and Christian values on which to build the future of Ukraine.”
Read also:
Video Message of the Head of the UGCC on the 204th Week of the Full-Scale War, January 11, 2026
His Beatitude Sviatoslav appealed to libraries in various cities of Ukraine, to public reading rooms of the Ukrainian diaspora abroad, and to private collectors: “Donate your books to Cherkasy!”
“Today, books,” he added, “can become a source of resilience for our people—a space from which people draw new ideas and meanings from our national culture, from the immortal Ukrainian word, whose great bearer was Taras Shevchenko, who rests nearby in Kaniv.”
The Head of the UGCC expressed hope that the appeal would be heard in Ukraine and beyond, and that the Church would be able to fulfill its special mission through this initiative. “Our Church, as the bearer of the tradition of Kyivan Christianity, can, wants to, and must serve the people of Cherkasy in a special way—through the word of Ukrainian culture and books,” the Patriarch emphasized.
The campaign is coordinated by Fr. Ihor Kotenko, rector of the Church of the Protection of the Holy Mother of God of the UGCC in Cherkasy and director of Caritas-Cherkasy.
Phone: +38 (097) 210 30 40
Email: [email protected].
The UGCC Department for Information
