“There is no Polish, Ukrainian, or Greek cross — only one Cross of the Lord,” UGCC Head at the Exaltation of the Cross in Wrocław
On September 14, 2025, on the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy and Life-Giving Cross, His Beatitude Sviatoslav, Father and Head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, presided over the Hierarchical Divine Liturgy in the Cathedral of the Exaltation of the Cross in Wrocław on the occasion of the cathedral’s feast day.
The Primate concelebrated with: Bishop Arkadiusz Trochanowski, Bishop of Olsztyn-Gdańsk, Bishop Mykhailo Bubniy, Exarch of Odessa, newly ordained Bishop Mariusz Dmyterko, Auxiliary Bishop of the Wroclaw-Koszalin Eparchy, Secretary of the Apostolic Nuncio in Poland, and local clergy.
Bishop Arkadius delivered the homily, reflecting on the spiritual significance of the cross in the life of a Christian.
At the same time, Bishop Volodymyr Yushchak, Eparch of Wrocław-Koszalin, led the Divine Liturgy in Legnica, where the day before, unknown individuals cut down and stolen the cross from the main dome of the Ukrainian church. Recalling this event, His Beatitude Sviatoslav emphasized: “A good shepherd is where the pain is most acute. You know what tragedy happened the night before— criminal hands pulled down the Lord’s cross from the main dome of the church in this city.”
The Head of the UGCC noted that the Lord’s cross cannot be divided on national grounds: “There is no Polish, Ukrainian, or Greek cross. There is only one cross— the Cross of the Lord, which is honored today by Catholics, Orthodox Christians, and Protestants. Even those who do not know Christ honor it. Because it is a sign of salvation for all people.”
In his address at the end of the Liturgy, the Primate also recalled that on this day Pope Leo XIV celebrates his 70th birthday, and shared that he had sent him greetings on behalf of the entire UGCC: “On this feast day, we ask that God grant him the grace to be a Pope of peace; that he may breathe the spirit of the risen Christ into humanity, which today is deepening its descent into the darkness of war, and may say, ‘Peace be with you.’”
Addressing the faithful in Wrocław Cathedral, the Head of the UGCC highlighted the special spiritual bond between this church and the Patriarchal Cathedral in Kyiv: “There is a special spiritual kinship between the cathedral of our Church in Wrocław and the Patriarchal Cathedral in Kyiv. This cathedral is dedicated to the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, while our Patriarchal Cathedral in Kyiv is dedicated to the Resurrection of Christ. Without the Cross, there is no Resurrection... The suffering, death, and Resurrection of Christ constitute a single, indivisible Paschal mystery of redemption and salvation for the human race.”
“Our Ukrainian spiritual wisdom says: whoever has enough wisdom and strength to bow down before the crucified Jesus to the ground, the Heavenly Father will lift him up from any fall, from any humiliation, from any distress, by the power of the crucified Savior, to the height of heaven,” added the Patriarch.
His Beatitude Sviatoslav expressed his gratitude to the Ukrainian community in Wrocław for their commitment and solidarity during the war: “I would like to thank all of you who have gathered in this sacred temple. I would like to thank our long-standing community in Wrocław for welcoming new Ukrainians who have arrived from Ukraine amid the circumstances of this arduous war. This solidarity, the global solidarity of the Ukrainian community, is today the strength of our people, enabling us to triumph with the cross of the Lord as a sign of victory over the enemy, who is already beginning to attack even the airspace of Poland.”
At the end of the Hierarchical Liturgy, the Head of the Church blessed the faithful with these words: “May the Lord God bless you all, bestow strength and the grace of the Holy Spirit upon you. May He bless your families, your children, your relatives who are fighting on the front lines, and bless our land with His righteous, true, Christ-like peace.”
The service ended with the blessing of water on the occasion of the church feast.
