The voice of faith, truth, and hope: timely quotes from His Beatitude Sviatoslav

On God and Faith

“Where is God when war is raging? Where is God when we are being killed? God is with us! He is being crucified once again in the body of Ukraine by those who fire upon us, once again condemned to death by religious leaders who justify war. He is being buried once again by those who are mass burying the residents of Mariupol, Izyum, and other cities and villages of Ukraine.”

(March 15, 2022, broadcast on national television)

“Imagine the devastation of a refugee who has to leave everything behind, their entire history, take their child by the hand and set off into the unknown… The Word of God says that there is something that no one can destroy, something that remains constant and immovable, even when the foundations of human life are destroyed. That immovable rock is God’s throne and the Lord God on that throne. He alone can give everything that man needs to rely on.”

(March 16, 2022, Moleben during wartime)

“A people who believe in God and draw strength from the Sacrament of Confession are invincible.”

(July 16, 2023, sermon in Zarvanytsia)

“It is only through faith that we can touch God, or rather, allow Him to touch us.”

(Sermon on the 24^th Sunday after Pentecost)

On Ukraine and its People

“Ukraine stands and will stand firm. Ukraine battles — and will win its battle. Ukraine prays — and will receive from the Lord God what it prays for.”

(December 21, 2023, final broadcast of “Open Church”)

“We are fighting. And our battle has not lasted two years, or even ten. Our battle is a battle against the colonizer who comes from Moscow, and it has lasted for more than a century.”

(December 21, 2023, final broadcast of “Open Church”)

“We pray. And the way Ukrainians conduct themselves and profess their Christian faith in times of war is truly admired around the world.”

(December 21, 2023, final broadcast of “Open Church”)

“Ukraine is wounded, yet unbowed! Ukraine is exhausted, yet standing strong! Believe me, no one even thinks of giving up, even in the areas where hostilities are ongoing — listen to our people in Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Odesa, Kharkiv, and Sumy!”

(March 9, 2024, New York)

“Nothing could be further from the truth than the claim that Ukraine does not want peace. No one wants peace more than Ukrainians!”

(September 2023, speech in Berlin)

“The radiant face of Ukrainian women is an icon of hope for our people and our land. These are women who are often wounded because they shield their children from Russia’s deadly weapons; women who live their lives in exile, overcoming the hardships of being internally displaced persons or emigrants. She carries the deepest trauma of war in her heart, but at the same time she is a mystery of resilience and invincibility — every day she gets up, moves forward, leading her children by the hand… Her strength is incredible.”

(May 4, 2025, Sunday sermon in Florence).

On Peace and Hope

“Peace is attainable, and Christ desires to grant it to those who seek it. Let us pray that the hearts of world leaders may be open to this peace.”

(April 27, 2025, homily on Thomas Sunday)

“The value and meaning of every human sacrifice is revealed in the risen Christ.”

(Easter message 2024)

“Do not lose heart, do not despair, believe in God who lifts you up! And you will rise, you will gain, you will triumph.”

(May 25, 2023, homily in Wrocław)

“Today, hope has many bright faces in Ukraine. Hope shines on the faces of Ukraine’s defenders, who for the eleventh consecutive year have shown that the Russian invader, which outnumbers us, can and must be stopped. Hope shines on the faces of medics and rescuers who selflessly save the lives of children, adults, and the elderly in the aftermath of every missile attack. Hope shines on the faces of loving parents, mentors, and teachers who, amid the horrors of war, often at the cost of their own lives, raise children and teach them to believe in God and in all that is good, just, and eternal. Hope shines on the faces of young Ukrainians, on whose shoulders the burden of wartime hardship has fallen like a heavy cross, and who, despite everything, do not cease to love and dream, to start families and have children, to conquer the heights of knowledge and to sacrifice the most precious things, even their own lives and health, for the freedom of their homeland.”

(Easter message of 2025)

“Hope does not mean the absence of pain. It means trusting that pain will not have the last word, that Good Friday will be preceded by Easter. And we, a people enduring our own Calvary, are already becoming a people of resurrection.”

(April 20, 2025, column for Ukrayinska Pravda)

“This year, as the entire Church celebrates the Jubilee Year 2025, Pope Francis has called us to be pilgrims of hope. Ukraine has already become a pilgrim, carrying hope that cannot be destroyed by missiles; hope nurtured in the crucible of pain; hope that is not ashamed of tears but does not allow itself to fall into despair; hope that the world needs… We are no longer just asking for solidarity; we ourselves are becoming a source of hope for others. That is why we must not remain silent about what is happening. Let us not hide our faith. Let us not be ashamed of hope that will not disappoint us.”

(April 20, 2025, column for Ukrinform)

On Freedom

“Today, Ukraine can and must give the world hope that freedom is not a mirage; hope that freedom is not a mirage, Freedom is never free — it is something worth even giving your life for.”

(April 15, 2025, opening of the Ukrainian School of Management in Kyiv)

“Our consciousness has been shaped for centuries by freedom, by our awareness of it, by dignity. We suffer for this and continue to fight for it to the present day.”

(November 2023, address on Freedom and Dignity Day)

“To be free means first and foremost to be open to doing good. Only free people can build a free state and homeland. Let us fight for freedom from all evil!”

(August 24, 2023, address on Independence Day)