UGCC Priests Released from Captivity Participate in Pilgrimage to Zarvanytsia
The Redemptorist priests Ivan Levytsky and Bohdan Geleta, who were recently freed from Russian detention, participated in the All-Ukrainian pilgrimage to Zarvanytsia. On Sunday, July 14, they concelebrated at the Hierarchical Divine Liturgy, presided over by His Beatitude Sviatoslav. The UGCC Synod of Bishops from around the world prayed together.
Father Bohdan Geleta, His Beatitude Sviatoslav, and Father Ivan Levytsky in Zarvanytsia, July 14, 2024
“For so long, our Church has been praying for the release of our priests from Berdiansk. And here they are with us!” His Beatitude Sviatoslav joyfully affirmed. “Today, we truly feel that Christian hope will not put us to shame, because its strength is the power of God.”
The Head of the Church stated that today there are at least 7,000 Ukrainian prisoners of war and more than 10,000 civilian prisoners who remain in the torture chambers of Russian prisons.
He emphasized that with the presence of the UGCC priests released from Russian captivity, the Lord God sends a sign of hope: “Until recently, there were shackles on those hands, but they fell off,” said His Beatitude Sviatoslav, “and so will the shackles that our enemy is putting on us today.”
The Patriarch expressed his honor and gratitude to Fathers Bohdan and Ivan on behalf of the entire Church, emphasizing that they are a sign of hope for many Ukrainians: “We thank the Lord God that you are alive, that you are with us today, and that you are a sign of hope for thousands of Ukrainians. Allow me to express my gratitude to you on behalf of your mother Church and make one symbolic gesture—to kiss your hand.”
The Head of the Church then invited the newly freed professors of the faith to share a blessing: “Bless our people so that your testimony, your beacon of hope, may become a tangible experience for people, showing that our hope will not put us to shame, and that the resurrected Christ is with us.”
We remind you that the UGCC priests, hieromonks of the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer Ivan Levytsky and Bohdan Geleta, were released from Russian detention on June 28, 2024, as part of the 53 rd prisoner exchange. This exchange took place with the mediation of the Apostolic See. The priests spent more than a year and a half in captivity. They were arrested in occupied Berdiansk on November 16, 2022. For a long period, there was no information about them.
The UGCC Department for Information
