“The Time Has Come for Christians to Take Responsibility for the Destiny of Their Homeland,” Head of the UGCC at the Ukrainian Christian Movement Forum
On March 20, Kyiv hosted the Forum of the Ukrainian Christian Movement (UCM)—a platform that brings together the leaders and representatives of most Christian denominations in Ukraine to coordinate efforts in response to the challenges of war. The event was attended by His Beatitude Sviatoslav, Father and Head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, who urged the faithful to apply Christian principles to the development of the state.
The purpose of the forum was to outline the strategy of Ukrainian Christianity amid intense period of historical change and to launch the first seven networks, which will work toward the spiritual restoration of Ukraine in various spheres of public life.
Addressing the event’s participants, His Beatitude Sviatoslav recited Christ’s words: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven (Mt 7:21).” The Head of the UGCC emphasized that these Gospel words should resonate today as a motivational call to every Ukrainian who considers himself a Christian.
According to sociological surveys, 70 % of Ukrainians identify themselves as Christians. His Beatitude Sviatoslav expressed his hope that in the third millennium, we will be able to firmly say: “The Ukrainian people are a Christian people in essence and in their actions.” Achieving this is the task of everyone who believes in the crucified, dead, and risen Christ.
The Primate noted that this tragic period in history—a war that has been raging for 12 years now, and a full-scale invasion—is a particular moment of kairos for the Church and society. “Right now, in the context of this war, history has reached a moment when Christians, fulfilling Christ’s commandment, must take responsibility for their people, their homeland, and their country,” he emphasized.
“We can only be resilient when we stand together,” said the Head of the UGCC, comparing the forum and the entire Ukrainian Catholic Church to the tradition of the pospolite ruszenie, (i.e., a form of mass civic mobilization in times of national crisis) when the people, the community, and civil society take matters into their own hands. His Beatitude Sviatoslav expressed gratitude that this movement “has finally begun to gain momentum.”
Now that the manifesto has been drafted, the forum participants, according to the Head of the UGCC, must take the next step: coordinate their joint efforts and embody the Christian faith in concrete actions—by establishing Christian principles in the building of the nation and society. “Be sure that your priests and your Churches stand with you. However, we all must take action,” he addressed the participants.
His Beatitude Sviatoslav expressed his conviction that the Lord God will bless this coordinated joint effort.
“Each of us has unique experience and education. But we must coordinate our activities in the areas we will outline today. And then it will emerge from the depths of our hearts that Ukrainians are a great people,” he concluded.
The work of the UCM Forum is focused on seven networks that bring together Christian initiatives in the following areas: family and protection of life; Christian spiritual and educational programs; social and humanitarian work; chaplaincy and the nation’s mental health; law, welfare, and morality; advocacy for Ukraine and the diaspora; creativity and the arts.
Meetings within the networks—before, during, and after the forum—aim to develop a joint program that will implement a strategy for the spiritual renewal of Ukraine.
The UGCC Department for Information
