“To be a priest of Christ means to give oneself to the people”: Head of the UGCC on Maundy Thursday
On Holy Thursday, May 2, at the Patriarchal Cathedral in Kyiv, the Father and Head of the UGCC, His Beatitude Sviatoslav, presided over Vespers with the Liturgy of St. Basil the Great. In his sermon, he referred to the Day of the Priesthood and noted that a true priest is one who gives people not only what he knows or can perform, but what he carries in his heart. He emphasized that a priest who gives himself to people shares in the ministry of Christ.
The Patriarch was concelebrated by auxiliary bishops Rev. Yosyf Milan and Rev. Andriy Khimyak, along with priests of the Kyiv Archeparchy. The service was accompanied by the singing of the choir of the Kyiv Three Saints Theological Seminary.
At the beginning, the Primate consecrated the antimensions, a cloth with the image of Jesus taken down from the cross, containing the relics of the saints, which are necessary for the service.
The Patriarch also traditionally consecrated the myrrh, which will later be distributed throughout the Church. This year, however, the myrrh was combined with the myrrh of 1943, the time of World War II, which was found in Bukovyna.
At the end of the service, the rite of foot washing was also performed. His Beatitude Sviatoslav washed the feet of the priests of the Kyiv Archeparchy.
In his sermon, His Beatitude Sviatoslav noted that the Liturgy of Holy Thursday marks the beginning of the celebration of Easter. Indeed, the Paschal mystery revolves around three main moments: the Passion of Christ, His death, and His glorious resurrection. The Primate emphasized that on this day we celebrate the liturgical memory of the Last Supper. “The essence of this New Testament Last Supper is that our Lord Savior not only gives himself for people, but gives himself to people. He gives them what He is. […] Christ desires to offer everyone who partakes in humanity the opportunity to partake in His Divinity,” said His Beatitude Sviatoslav.
He emphasized that today is the feast of all priests. The very essence of the New Testament priesthood of Christ is to make available to all people what Christ gave to his disciples at the Last Supper. Therefore, the archbishop expressed his gratitude to all the priests. He especially remembered the two Redemptorist fathers imprisoned by the Russians, Fr. Bohdan Geleta and Ivan Levytsky. “They are suffering today in Christ and with Christ. They are truly following Christ to the cross. Today we ask, pray and work—doing everything possible to free them,” said the Primate.
His Beatitude Sviatoslav commented on the recent case of a UGCC church in the occupied Kherson region being accessioned by the Russian Orthodox Church: “In the village of Oleksandrivka, Skadovsk district, Kherson region, during the Holy Week, our church was not only seized, but sacrilegiously re-dedicated and affiliated with the Russian Orthodox Church. Looking at those images, I remember the words of the prophet Elijah, who cried out to the Lord, saying: ‘Lord, they have killed your prophets, they have demolished your altars, and I alone am left, and they seek my life.’”
“Today we pray for all those who do not yet know Christ, who have heard about Him but have not yet met Him. We pray that our Church will fully minister to its people: every Ukrainian, man, woman, child, and our army, so that we can all partake of His Last Supper together,” concluded His Beatitude Sviatoslav.
The UGCC Department for Information
